This is an interesting video and well worth a listen, the video that Dan is referring to in the first one is the one posted below. He talks about the ‘Rahn Curve’ which is a ‘Government spending effect’ version of the Laffer Curve. The argument for smaller government is massive, in Ireland we have almost a fifth of the workforce either directly or indirectly employed totally by the state.
Extraction cost is something that we could do well to begin to come to grips with in Ireland, the autopilot answer we often hear about the ‘government needs to fix this’ should be more carefully considered, because the state is happy to step in (for the most part) but at what price?
One thing that does concern me is this… how do we take care of the unfortunates in society without a government safety net?
It is shameful to say this, but many people cannot turn to their families for aid in their darkest hours. I understand that the welfare state disincentives families to take care of their own, but what alternative is there? Most people don’t give a sizeable portion of their income to charities.
This is one of the huge turn-offs that libertarianism has for me. I believe that we, as a people, must protect those in danger and help those in need. So far, I haven’t seen this addressed by libertarians by anything other than a hand-wavy dismissal of government spending.