There is no doubt that the United States has become a divided country from a political and even cultural perspective. There are many issues that divide us. However, the source of this divide is really a disagreement about the role of government (the state) in society. In other words, there are those who believe that we should expand the size of government and those that argue that we should be limiting (decreasing) the size of government. The former is likely to favor higher taxes for social programs and redistribute income/resources and the latter wants to lower taxes and reduce government intervention and regulation. For example, during covid, the former argued that the state had the power to impose restrictions on life, including vaccine mandates, while the latter argued that it is better to allow individuals to decide whether or not to get vaccinated and wear a mask in public. The former perspective argues that only more government intervention can alleviate or solve the pressing issues of society, such as homelessness, income inequality, etc. The latter argues that government intervention is actually causing many societal issues and thus, we must reduce the size and power of government and lower taxes.
With the above being said, what is the best path forward for the United States? Should we expand the size of government or would we be better off with limiting the size of government in our everyday lives? In other words, should we raises taxes and increase social spending to solve the problems of society or should we reduce taxes and regulation, thus reducing the size of government and allow individuals and communities to work out the issues of society without government intervention?
