Democrats Long Term

The Reality-Based Community: The Long Term

Go read what Steven Teles has to say, he makes a very important point and does it well. The Democrats need to focus on the importance of social insurance as a means of reducing risk among the general populace. I would go further than what he said. I believe that the essential function of government is to do exactly this, reduce risk among the general populace by pooling resources, that creating a kind of insurance. National Defense and law enforcement are both functions in which risk (that is to say cost) is spread among the population primarily to insure the security of larger concentrations of property and wealth. This is appropriately <i>the</i> essential function of government. The Democrats have been, and need to continue to, push policies that expand that role toward securing the bulk of the population against the greatest risks they face, health problems and economic dislocation. My point is that these policies are in no way an expansion of government into new areas where government does not belong, but rather an expansion of the proper role of government to provide its advantages to a greater portion of the population. All but the highest income Americans (really those with very large property holdings) pay inordinately to support the functions of government, those people deserve to enjoy those benefits that government provides.

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