In American politics, the age-old narrative suggests that it’s a battle between two opposing forces – the party of “big” government versus the party of “small” government. This oversimplification has been repeated time and again, with the Democrats being perceived as the party of the state, and the Republicans as the party of the market.
However, a closer look at the postwar period of American politics reveals that the size of government was never really the crux of the matter. A modern state requires a large and active government, and the real issue lies in the government’s scope and reach. Who will it cater to, and how much control will it exert over the lives of its citizens?
It is in this context that we must examine one of the most common criticisms leveled against the current Republican Party: that it represents chaos, dysfunction, and an almost cult-like devotion to former President Donald Trump.
But that isn’t entirely accurate. Regardless of Trump’s involvement, the Republican Party has a well-articulated and clear agenda. It falls outside the usual categories of big or small government – the Republicans are pushing for an intrusive government that targets the most vulnerable people in our society.
Take Iowa, for example. The state’s Republican lawmakers are determined to remove as many people as possible from the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, claiming fraud and misuse. According to a report from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, the state disqualified 195 SNAP recipients out of a total enrollment of 287,000 people in the previous fiscal year, giving a fraud rate of 0.07 percent.
Despite this low rate of fraud, the Republican-led state legislature is preparing to approve some of the harshest restrictions on SNAP in the nation. The restrictions include asset tests and new eligibility guidelines, and the state will spend around $18 million over the next three years in administrative costs to scrutinize the finances of every SNAP recipient in Iowa. This is all to ensure that working parents and struggling seniors don’t receive a single dollar more in food assistance than they deserve.
This issue isn’t just limited to Iowa. Republicans across the country have been working hard to restrict access to social welfare programs, such as Medicaid and food stamps. The goal is to create a smaller government that only benefits a certain group of people, while the rest are left to fend for themselves.
It’s worth noting that these efforts have not gone unnoticed by the public. In recent years, there has been a groundswell of support for policies that address inequality and provide a safety net for the most vulnerable among us. The success of these policies shows that Americans are not against an active government that works to improve the lives of its citizens. They are against a government that actively works to undermine and harm its citizens.
The fight over the size and role of government is ongoing, and it’s unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. However, what is clear is that the issue isn’t as black and white as it’s often made out to be. The question isn’t whether we should have a big or small government; it’s whether we should have a government that actively works to improve the lives of all its citizens or one that only benefits a select few.
The Republican party’s efforts to create a more intrusive and domineering government are focused on restricting bodily autonomy through the banning or limiting of abortions, regulating gender expression, and placing restrictions on individuals’ right to make choices about their own bodies. These actions create a web of state surveillance that encroaches on the private lives of individuals. For instance, Idaho has explicitly restricted out-of-state travel for abortions if the patient is a minor, with anyone caught helping them punished with up to five years in prison.
In Kansas, transgender athletes are banned from girls’ and women’s sports, from kindergarten through college. The state of Missouri has effectively banned gender-affirming care for adults, and Kentucky has restricted residents’ access to medication abortion. The Republican vision of limited government is only applicable if individuals live according to their values. There are vanishingly few limits in most Republican-led states on the ability to buy, sell, own and carry firearms, and Republicans have taken steps to loosen limits on the ability of children to work in factories, meatpacking facilities and other such places. However, when it comes to Americans deemed deviant for their poverty or their transgressions against a traditional code of patriarchal morality, Republicans believe that the only answer is the heaviest and most meddlesome hand of the state. The state treats different groups in different ways, and for those with egalitarian sentiments, the goal is to make the government treat everyone with the same respect and autonomy.
In conclusion, the battle over the role of government in society is not as simple as the conventional wisdom would have us believe. Republicans are not solely against big government, but they are pushing for a government that targets the most vulnerable in society while benefiting only a select few. The fight over the size and scope of government will continue, but it’s crucial to keep in mind that the real issue is how the government operates and who it benefits. As a society, we must strive to ensure that our government works for the betterment of all citizens, not just a privileged few.
Acquire our monthly English and Urdu magazine promptly by accessing the Daraz App hyperlink!
https://www.daraz.pk/shop/3lyw0kmd
Read more:
