John Stossel (most known for co-anchoring 20/20) has an interesting column today called Who Will Run America?. He made two especially good points.
First, ultimately in America, it’s the people who govern. Referring to a recent interview with economist Walter Williams, he writes:
Williams pointed out that the White House doesn’t govern what happens in your house. And a president certainly cannot control the economy. We, all of us, run the country.
“Politicians have immense power to do harm to the economy. But they have very little power to do good,” Williams says.
The failure to understand this is at the root of many of our problems.
Second, most change comes from the people, not the government.
“Most of life is outside the government sector,” says David Boaz of the Cato Institute. “Most change in America doesn’t come from politicians. It comes from people inventing things and creating. The telephone, the telegraph, the computer, all those things didn’t come from government.”
This is why one of the most important functions of government is to stay out of the way. To let people live their lives, create, and serve.
Any administration that truly wants to see “change” (of the right kind) will make its central aim the preservation and maximization of individual freedom.