| Brooks is onto something, but it remains preferable to decentralize decision making to the extent possible, and therefore to federalize questions as little as possible, and to respect private life and intermediate institutions, rather than being biased towards governmental meddling. I believe that the government functions as an insurer of last resort, and that the "socialization" of some risks is appropriate, on the analogy of fire and police. Thus, I approve of some social welfare programs, along "safety net" lines. I also agree that government has a responsibility for infrastructure, either directly or in partnership with business, that is likely to have a wide and hard to calculate influence on the fortunes of the community. For example, I thought that Don Schaeffer did a brilliant job revitalizing downtown Baltimore when he was mayor. But I still think that we should prefer smaller and more efficient means of accomplishing legitimate goals, be cautious about unintended consequences, leave a lot of things to states and municipalities, and not create an oppressive regulatory environment........ |
