The Role of Fiscal Conservatives

The Role of Fiscal Conservatives
By Randy A. Samuelson

In today’s world, there is a perpetual conflict between individuals and government. This is mostly espoused in the terms of taxes and services provided. Typically, conservatives push for smaller government, lower taxes, and less intrusion by the government on the individual. Liberals generally push for increased government services which results in higher taxes and more government regulation of our everyday lives. The general population, which is politically apathetic, tends to look to government for solutions to their problems which allows the liberals to control the debate and our pocketbooks. Conservatives need to attack the problem of big government on multiple fronts, but mostly, in the minds of the average person.
Because the average person looks to government for services, there will always be an increasing need for more bureaucracy, more government workers, more government spending, and more taxes/fees/bonds/debt. One key point to remember is that the government does not create wealth within the economy. The government can only provide services by taking existing wealth from the economy in the form of taxes and redistributing this wealth in the form of services. To combat this problem, fiscal conservatives must be willing to create alternatives to government services either in the form of non-profit charities or businesses that can provide the services better. This is a daunting task, but the only way to prove to the average citizen that the free market works better is provide cheaper alternatives to government services that actually work to grow the overall economy. The individual entrepreneur is and always has been more creative than the bureaucrat.
Fiscal conservatives must also work within government to hold bureaucracies accountable with their spending practices. The average person will be surprised to find that nearly 25% of government spending for the fiscal year is done in the last 10% of the respective state, local, or federal fiscal year. This is because each appropriation must be spent at the end of each fiscal year to balance, or zero, the bureaucracy’s budget. Any money “left over” at the end of the fiscal year must be spent. Taxpayers do not receive this money back nor do they receive the benefits of the services that the money is spent on. The majority of this money is spent on equipment that the management teams think necessary to carry out the “mission” of the bureaucracy. Many companies know that a large portion of government funds are spent at the end of the fiscal year and will send their sales reps to government offices to showcase new equipment and to offer special pricing for end of the fiscal year purchases. In other words, these bureaucracies are over-funded by the taxpayers each year by probably 10% of their overall budget. Conservatives must stay in management positions in these bureaucracies to ensure that the initial budget estimates are created appropriately so that tax money does not go to waste on new toys for bureaucrats at the end of fiscal year.
Fiscal conservatives must also stay involved in the public policy debate and stay in tune to politics. There is no better way to hold a politician’s feet to the fire than to show up at government meetings and ask the question, “What are you doing to lower my taxes today?” If the answer is not satisfactory to you, challenge the politician in the next election. Only by staying involved in the political process and reminding your elected officials of the fact that they work for the taxpayers (and not vice-versa) will they even attempt to remain accountable. In the same sense, conservatives must also work with their local elected officials to promote accountability and transparency of government spending, alternatives to government bureaucracies, and the elimination of wasteful redundant bureaucracies.
Fiscal conservatives tend to allow others to take the lead on these issues while they are making money in private industry. That needs to change because each of us, as a conservative, needs to do our part in ensuring that our government does not encroach on our liberties and will effectively and efficiently provide the necessary public services and not all of the special interest services. If we cannot accomplish this, our future generations will continue to see their government grow, their taxes increase, and their government continue to fail to provide the quality of service they claim to provide.