The two articles featured in the The Nassau Institute's weekly e-newsletter on Saturday past were Toward a Civil Society by Lawrence W. Reed, president of FEE and False Promises by the institute. They are from 2009 and 2003 respectively.

One of the excellent points from Mr. Reed is;

"For all people interested in the advancement and enrichment of our culture, this is a crucial observation with far reaching implications. Cultural progress should not be defined as taking more and more of what other people have earned and spending it on "good" things through a government bureaucracy. Genuine cultural progress occurs when individuals solve problems without resorting to politicians or the police and bureaucrats they employ."

Yet for some reason, in spite of all the wonderful things our government has created (said with tongue planted firmly in cheek of course) we continue to believe that given a few more tax dollars and time, they will sort it all out. Yeah right!

As the article by the Nassau Institute points out, until we see;

• The Public Accounts Committee must do its job. The Official Opposition controls this committee and they have the opportunity to review documentation and call for persons in any matter relating to government expenditure.
• A comprehensive review of government programmes and how they overlap is imperative. Far too often, several government ministries or departments do the same thing. These should be combined to realise economies of scale and efficiency.
• Focus by the government on performance and accountability requirements. By making these priorities and attaching consequences to good and bad performances where rewards (financial and otherwise) are given for good performance and fixing or eliminating programs and people that do not do well is imperative. (Virginia L. Thomas, The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1380).
• Honestly debating these ideas in the House of Assembly. This will focus attention on where the country should be going instead of continually blaming each other for the various problems facing the country. (Virginia L. Thomas, The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1380).

To paraphrase Lawrence Reed: The private sector and taxpayers are expected to offer certainty and perfection while government has only to make promises and express good intentions.

Sickening really.

We will never return to being a civil society as long as we want to hand our responsibilities over to that entity called the government.