Chapter 4 Government Is Good At Doing Business

In this chapter, Wheelan shares two lessons about the role of government in the economy. These are: First, he states that "the government must not be the sole provider of a good or service unless there is a compelling reason to believe that the private sector will fail in that role." He expounds further that the government will be freer to take care of things that need to be really handled by the government. There are things that the government should not be doing because when it dips its hands on that, it will presumably be inefficient. He cites the example of postal mail. He posits that the technology today has radically changed and things need to be implemented differently. The second point is that even if the government has an important role to play in the economy, it need not be the actual one to do the work (p 66).

The role of the government in our country is defined in our Constitution as to, "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the

The responsibilities of government are to protect its citizens by such means as our armed services or military weapons. Government is to ensure there is a way of fairly maintaining order as an example our police, National Guard, and to ensure every citizen has equal access to items, products, goods such as schools, and highways. However, government or politics often has a negative connotation too many as it is viewed as a way for lobbyists and those with money to make policies that are important or in some way helpful to them. Many view politics as dishonest and that politics is a manner in which someone or group benefits for their own advantage and not for society as a

On the contrary, its disadvantages are that the heavy taxes incurred reduce incentives provided for the public in the private sector to work hard and make profits. The government is also less efficient than the private sector; hence the essential services provided will not have the best quality. An excessive control over business activity via taxes incurred can also add to a firm’s costs and discourage

Why is government necessary? In the words of Alexander Hamilton, “Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint” (Federalist No. 15 137). Men have a sin nature and must have an authority set in place to keep them from falling into anarchy. America has federal and state governments with a system of checks and balances for exactly this reason, but one sector of the government has overstepped the bounds that were set for it in this country’s infancy. In order to answer the question of whether more power should be put into the hands of the federal or state government, three things must be considered: the history of state’s rights in America, the differing types of government, and the constitution itself.

4. You are now familiar with government and how it plays a role in our economy. What are the advantages and disadvantages of governmental involvement? What changes would you make to improve government’s role?

The federal government role in America from the late 1800s during Reconstruction, up to the early 1900s during the Great Depression, often expanded and contracted in response to the demands of the American public. During this time frame, the nation underwent major changes and faced many challenges in order to get where we are today. As a country, our priorities shifted from being concerned about encounters right in front of us, to encouraging and pursuing a better future for everyone. After years of hard work and dedication, with the help of the federal government, our nation was finally focused on a greater life for all people. Therefore, without both the high and low points of the federal government throughout this period, we would not reside in the homeland we have today. To conclude, the role of federal government has changed over time in many ways, including but not limited to: protecting rights, promoting economic development, encouraging expansion, and providing financial support.

2) The United States government is an extremely successful government and it is all because the framers made an outline of government that was successful. The framers wanted a government that would have checks and balances and prevented tyranny, but the government today is changing and going against the ideals of the framers. Because of things like block grants, factions, and unfunded mandates the government is continuing to ignore what has brought america to what it is. The states and the government represent a cooperative federalism system, although cooperative federalism has a cooperation between states and government the federal government is vastly more powerful than the states and it is interfering with state functions and their powers.

As a citizen of the United States of America it is easy to get caught up with your day to day life and not realize everything going on around you. If you sit back and think about all the ways government affects you, you will be amazed. Let’s discuss our different levels of government, our federalist style of government, the pros and cons associated with our federalist style, the way government affects you daily, the private sector, as well as what things our government is involved in I feel is unnecessary.

The government solely protects the rights of the employees and consumers and offer of public goods. Government spending and expenditure are one way by which the government control market economies, with increased spending to increase cash flow in the economy, and increased expenditures to minimize cash flow in the economy. Such increases

Thank you for your post. In your post you point out that the government is in position to stipulate order and protection, however in providing healthcare and bailing out failing companies they have crossed the boundary. The authority does a immense job for the most part in controlling us, however where they have fallen short is on them controlling themselves. As Madison elucidate in The Federalist number 51, without the separation of powers among the branches there would be a misapplication of the restricted quantity of power as they fought over unauthorized influence. Washington's Farewell Address verbalized the conviction of The Founders of the Republic and their companion leaders, in keeping with history's lesson, when he caution that usurpation

Government protect us in many ways. I can see that each states are better in their own ways because of government. The community look nice and beautiful. As I learned the six purpose of government, I know more about how and why each country are different. In United States, the purpose of government are to create more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our children.

This chapter basically says that government is good to a certain extent, but like most things, too much of anything isn’t good. The author states that all people play a role in the economy including the government. Wheelan explains the there are some things the government has to do and has to get involved in if they believe a private sector will fail in that role, such as the role it has on the Department of Motor Vehicles (pg. 82). Wheelan states that government should not be running the postal service due to technology but I disagree. I believe that within the next century the world is going to be overrun and ultimately dominated by everything technology. Until there is a secure and financially stable element that can sustain the United States

Having government involved in the economy has its pros and cons. One of the Pros is that the government can help prevent or discourage harmful behaviors or actions. Government regulation can prevent man-caused shortages. Fishing regulations are often put in place to prevent overfishing. These regulations prevent or discourage fishermen from fishing too much in one season, which allows the fish to repopulate and remain available in the future. In the book, Wheelan mentioned how the government can also tax bad behaviors to encourage behaviors that benefit health and/or the environment. An example of this is a tax on gasoline and/or larger vehicles, or a tax on cigarettes.

Tax provides revenue to fund governance, ensures resource redistribution, streamlines consumption of certain goods and services, reduces inflation and generates employment.