Why Does the Government Spend so Much Money? Do We Even Know?

Many people are often couch potatoes, myself included, when it comes to the government and their decision-making policies, and this has got to stop. According to Wikipedia, political philosophy is the study of such topics as rights, law, property, justice, liberty, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority, and is the process by which people make collective decisions. It shouldn't have to be said, but people make some pretty bad collective decisions. We then complain that the government needs to do this or that, that it needs to pay for this, and it needs to pay for that with government money.

Oooooo, Hot Potato!

Politics is, of course, considered a hot topic, so why do there have to be politics, anyway? Can we just avoid politics and hope that they will go away? People create politics and so it is a necessary evil. Wikipedia's definition of politics: "A process by which groups of people make collective decisions." It is a necessary part of the decision making to create conflict. People take sides in a debate, an issue, an argument, or a discussion, or sometimes take the middle. Most of the time people think that the government is doing something wrong or could improve, but how many people do you find who really want to do their civic duty by voting? If you feel like your voice does not make a difference, then you will be allowing those who do vote to make the decisions, and you have no right to complain about them. Candidates are chosen to political office who are incompetent at least part of the time. The question is, if you didn't vote, whose fault is that? Shouldn't the people who have to put up with the problems that the government creates have a say in who their leaders are?

A government involved with picking fights, or solving problems. Which are the most important issues?

If one were to google "political controversy", they would find stem cell research as one of the top controversies. If you were to google "oil spill" you would find people arguing over that, for good reason. Some people are interested in making certain that the rights of the unborn are protected, and for good reason. What it all boils down to is freedom of choice. The government has its hands in so many projects that it can hardly succeed, with one man, usually a white male, presiding over the decision-making, and in the case of George W. Bush, flying in the face of any feedback.

Voting comes around.... yawning because you don't care, or voting for reasons of civic duty

How involved are you in your government? Have you done anything that has changed it for the better? Do you know what government spending is, and why? Do you care? In history, people were better acquainted with the structure of their government, and more participatory. George Washington, Abe Lincoln, and those old heroes do not get made fun of nearly so much. The question is, why? It is so important for elementary, middle school, and high schools to teach civics and civic responsibility, and to teach a little bit more than the structure of congress and what a filibuster is. Civic duty goes far beyond being a couch potato and watching the government screw up.

The United States government has some websites for the American public to become more involved with budget limitations and budget expenditures. In a time of recession, cutbacks, and spending to control the oil spill, it is so important to pay attention and to tell the government what your needs are, especially if they are health insurance so that you can stay employed. Here are a couple of government finance websites:

www.usgovernmentspending.com

www.usaspending.gov.

If you have a concern, the United States of America Whitehouse website is www.whitehouse.gov.

Sources:

1. Wikipedia. Political Philosophy.

2. Wikipedia. Politics.

3. Wikipedia. Politic.

4. Wikipedia. Propaganda.

5. Wikipedia. Civics