"The Government Does Not Produce Anything"

 I've looked for books that summarize the hatred of the federal government, without finding exactly what I'm looking for. In the Trump era, populists have been vocal opponents of pretty much everything the government does. Lauren Boebert could not vote for the infrastructure bill because....I don't know. Some amendment she found objectionable.  the bill passed. She goes back to Colorado explaining how she will then direct some of that money to Colorado projects.

We then come to the problem of what does the government do? According to some guy a few years back, running for the senate with cowboy hat on, "the government does not produce anything." He on the other hand produces things. We should not tax him, so he could make more things. Making things is wealth. Taxing and spending is not.

Obama tried to explain it. Mr. Cowboy would not be making ANY things if it were not for government at various levels. The city (as well as the state)  is the most essential. it taxes and builds roads and such.

The only book that I have found to explain the role of government is this:

Of course the Trump  MAGA folk will never read it. They are angry and no book will change their mind. Life changed in the past 40 years. Somebody is to blame. Must be Democrats and the federal government. All those regulations! Soon they will ban gas and oil! Wind power will only work during the day! All that. None of that changed the life of the working poor yet. What changed was wages and the corporate world. Jobs going abroad pushed most of them into service jobs at minimum wage.

It's a ridiculously simplified view of the world. I completely understand the pride people have in doing their own things free of rules and regulations and even support. They want to feel proud of what they do. I did it! No government needed! But you can chop your own firewood, other things are more complicated. You can't make electricity reliably for very long. Only as long as there is gasoline for the generator.

The other major view of MAGA people is that the government providing support for someone else is taking money away from you. Well, it is complicated. But consider a hurricane damaged area such as New Orleans. It is to our benefit that we can provide temporary help in an area. It will come back as the area is restored and people are back to work. This is the world as zero sum game, but they generally do not know the term.

Is this how it is going to be from now on? Well, for a while. But soon you will see a significant portion of the white working class getting jobs from the new energy jobs, from the somewhat badly named IRA bill passed recently. Inflation is something different, and we will always have inflation at some rate. The government does very little to slow it. But jobs are jobs, and unemployment is something the federal government has more effect on.

Lastly, let us look at the seeds of this anti government feel. It was Reagan. The regulations are bad, continue as before. There is no need for government control of our future!

PS: I should have concluded with that. However, I have to point our that some of the things the government does are too complicated. If you are putting up a new mine or a new wind turbine, both end up with years of back and forth documents in the environmental impact statement. The government could help the businesses and outfits doing useful things for us to get through all that. There are costly studies at times. Set up some sort of system where the business and the EPA can sit down and work it out as partners, not as enemies.  Some things need to be done, and soon. Those are slowed down too. Someone has to understand the big picture of the environment in terms of energy, water and all our other needs.