[ExI] 78 percent don't trust big government -- well, DUH!

[samantha]

Giulio Prisco wrote:
> We Italians don't trust governments, big or small. Ask anyone on the
> street, and they will say that the government is a big machine to
> steal money from the citizens, and all politicians are greedy thieves
> who go into politics to steal money.Yet, the government is still here,
> even in our country, and shows no sign of going away or becoming
> smaller. Actually, over the last 35 years I have only seen government
> becoming bigger and bigger and more intrusive nanny-states, everywhere
> (even in the US).
> 
> How to run things without government? I don't know of any alternative
> system that can work in practice. If there is a viable system without
> government (or with a minimally small government), how to implement it
> in practice?

Well, we had a small government in the US before the 16th Amendment 
allegedly made a general tax ok although expressly forbidden in the 
Constitution as I read it.  At the time we passed it no one believed the 
tax rate would every be over 5%.  Big laugh.  Give a government the 
ability to tax everything just be saying so and it will get big and 
bloated fast and power hungry.  Even then we didn't have that big a 
government until post "Great Society".

So there have been historical instances of much smaller governments even 
in quite powerful countries.   I don't think you need government at all 
personally but that is a longish subject.  Besides Murray Rothbard made 
the case a lot better than I can.

- samantha