Imagine if the federal government ran a Pizza Hut, would you really expect to receive the pizza in under 30 minutes, or at anything close to market rates?

Heck, the US Senate’s Government operated cafeteria has lost 18 million dollars (a cafeteria, yes!) since 2000, and only made money 7 out of the last 44 years. Senate members are quoted as stating the cafeteria is an embarassment and they would never take a guest, yet they continue to fund it.

When the federal government demonstrates it’s efficiency so dramatically on a host of issues (whether it’s those above or more serious issues like Katrina, 9/11, or WMD’s in Iraq prior to invading them, why give the federal government one ounce of control over what happens locally? If socialism works, then the FED should run all of these things… maybe they can also replace my alarm clock with a government run ‘wake up call’.

Imagine if the federal governement determined if the street connecting your house to the park needed a sidewalk (and scheduled it as they saw fit), or whether your school would have a music program, or whether your child was allowed to take extra classes for college credit. Why would you want that?

In a socialist medical system, imagine the waiting for various procedures (see Canada), if of course you qualify to receive the procedure at all (again, see Canada).

I do not believe we should depend upon the government any more than is needed for their basic constitutional obligation to defend this country from attack and keep the basic checks of government in tact. The founders considered the federal government a necessary evil, and went to great lengths to limit its power… we’ve just been ignoring that foresight the last 100 years or so.

IMO, all issues that can be delegated to the states (or local municipalities) SHOULD be. This is to keep power and governance in control of the people, instead of politicians in Washington DC pandering for re-election.

I’ve seen first hand what has come of federal funding of many of these *much needed* civil services… frequent if not constant squandering of $$$. Now I’m not stating that the states are perfect, nor are cities, or even townships, but I will always go for local control over federal management/mandates/bureaucracy.

Why do you think we need federal funding for roads, schools, fire departments, etc? Who’s money is it anyways? It’s YOUR money, not the government. Reduce the government footprint, reduce taxes, and then YOU’ll have the power to see your fire / police / roads / schools run the way you want, b/c at he local level the people maintain much more control.

What has happened to medical costs since the government got involved in healthcare? What happened when they placed mandates on insurance companies? Outside of healthcare, what happens when they mandate companies to insure homes in high risk areas… what happens to the prices?

I agree we need a federal government for national defense and basic governance duties, but beyond that, please show me something they can do more efficiently than local government or the private sector.

Sorry, I see socialism as a bad investment.