The Bigger the Government… | 5 Minute Video
In every society throughout human history the following relationship has held true: as government grows, human freedom and happiness shrinks. Best selling author, Dennis Prager puts it this way: “The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.” This has been true in Europe for decades and is becoming ever more so in the United States. But it’s not the kind of nation, the Founding Fathers had in mind. Can we get back to the principles of liberty and individual responsibility? It’s a big challenge. But first we have to recognize the problem.
🚨 PragerU is experiencing severe censorship on Big Tech platforms. Go to https://www.prageru.com/ to watch our videos free from censorship!
SUBSCRIBE 👉 https://www.prageru.com/join/
📲 Take PragerU videos with you everywhere you go. Download our free mobile app!
Download for Apple iOS ➡ https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prage…
Download for Android ➡ https://play.google.com/store/apps/de…
📳 Join PragerU’s text list! https://optin.mobiniti.com/prageru
SHOP! 🛒 Love PragerU? Visit our store today! https://shop.prageru.com/
Script:
The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen. This is one of the most important realizations about society you will ever have. In fact, this understanding is the primary reason for America’s unique success as both a free and affluent society.
Everything gets smaller as the government gets bigger. Liberty gets smaller, individuality gets smaller, goodness gets smaller, and human character gets smaller. This is not a political point on behalf of a political party. It is simply an observable fact. And it’s just common sense.
Now, no one denies that government can and must do certain things. There’s plenty for government to do. It’s the government that must protect us from foreign attacks. That’s why we have armed forces. It’s the government that must protect us from criminals within our country. That’s why we have police. Likewise fire departments and courts are obviously necessary government institutions. And, yes, when all else fails — private and religious-based charities, families, friends — then, too, the government must be there to provide a safety net of last resort. But it must always be “of last resort.” When government is the first resort — the first place citizens look when they have a problem — bad things happen.
As government grows almost everything else begins to disappear.
The first thing that goes when government gets bigger than it needs to be is goodness. Yes, goodness. As the state gets bigger, people simply do less good for their fellow citizens. After all, why help others when the government will do it for you?
This is the reason that, as noted by the international non-profit organization, Charities Aid Foundation, and shown in study after study, Americans give more charity and volunteer more time to help others than do Europeans, not to mention just about everybody else in the world.
From the beginning, Americans understood that government must be small and therefore individuals must devote time and money to helping others, as well as non-governmental institutions of goodness, they have to be large and plentiful.
Europeans, on the other hand, with their philosophy of big government, came to rely on the state to help their fellow citizens — and even their own family members.
For the complete script, visit https://www.prageru.com/videos/bigger-government
source
At my previous job, a small company with around 110 employees, we were asked to donate PTO to a coworker diagnosed with a terminal illness. I donated a day and shared this experience on my WeChat page, which is similar to Facebook for Chinese users.
An acquaintance living in Sweden mocked my act of kindness, arguing that it should be the company’s responsibility. I explained that my employer was a small business and couldn’t afford such a large expense, not to mention the precedent it could set. She countered that if the company couldn’t afford it, the government should step in.
In the end, she dismissed the value of my kindness, as she was accustomed to Sweden’s comprehensive government support system.
I just found this video that says similar stuffs –
https://youtu.be/_6Ca5GbMYIs?si=8TkvzH4RqyipgbHJ
I recently learned how incorrect you are about some really important things. Like slavery. Unsubscribed.
Trouble is you have huge corporations paying workers peanuts. But you greedy Wall Street Wankers put your hands out for your tax payer funded Bailouts.
total propaganda.
I admire conservatives efforts to appear liberal even though both liberal and conservatives are both bad for the country
My question is how are we going to make government smaller when politicians in both sides, will not be willing to give up their own? Aside from a new American revolution, I don't see how that will happen.
Democrats represent the people and believe in government as an essential tool for the good of society. They see gov as providing necessary services: defense, police, fire, utilities, etc. They also see gov as a tool to address the needs of the people: medical, education, poverty, retirement, unemployment, etc. Republicans represent the rich and corporations. They believe gov is the problem, and they want small gov because they don’t want to pay taxes or have their freedoms restricted. Many middle-class and poor people don’t understand big gov provides them with services and benefits, thus saving them money and enhancing their ability to improve their lives. Government programs redistribute the wealth DOWN to the people by absorbing the cost of living for the middle class and poor. Small gov restricts services and benefits, making it possible to cut taxes and redistribute wealth UP to the rich. The vast majority of regulations apply to corps, not the middle class. These regs control how corps do business by restricting them from abusing employees, polluting the environment, and defrauding the public. Millions of regs require corps to produce safe & effective products: food, drugs, toys, automobiles, clothes, electrical devices, and services. Although regs protect the public, they diminish corporate profits. Progressive taxes also encumber the rich with the financial responsibility to pay for big gov while it provides relief to the working class and poor according to the depths of their poverty. It should be noted that the working class creates the wealth and should receive a fair share of it. A significant benefit small gov offers the rich is to starve gov departments of revenue necessary to function effectively. A weak gov cannot prevent corps from abusing the public with impunity. That is MOST important to the rich. Good gov relies on people who believe in gov, not people who see it as a problem and want to impair its activities. A political problem for the rich is that they lack the numbers to win elections. For that, they must fool middle-class people into voting for small gov by manipulating their prejudices and ignorance. The rich benefit by distracting the public from serious legislation onto empty issues that don’t influence how they make money: issues like abortion which inflame the public, distract their limited attentions, and expend their political revenue. These issues have no impact on the rich who don’t care which way the decision goes. If abortion is outlawed, they can afford to send their women to Paris for a weekend holiday.
PragerU: BIG GOVERMENT BAD!
also PragerU: I want mommy, I want oil, a want tax cuts….
I'm almost with you Dennis but you're missing a few points. We no longer need a military we can hire mercenaries like Black Rock and Swiftwater. The police are a socialist institution which also could be privatized.As you said laws restrict our freedom and police are designed to enforce the laws. Police are another institution that could be privatized just like health insurance if you feel as though you need protection hire private security agency. You can do that like with health insurance the people who subscribe get the protection of the security agency. Why should my tax dollars going to protect someone else I live in a gated community we do not have crime. While we are at it we can privatize the fire departments and some locations that's already being done. You subscribe to the fire insurance service if you have a fire they will send someone that will come out and take care of your house.
Anarchy is the only true solution the one closest to the law of nature the Strong survive.
THIS IS A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE. Likewise…in a dysfunctional family where THE OVERBEARING CONTROL OF A PARENT GETS BIGGER, THE HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR CHILDREN IS STUNTED ALONG WITH THE CHILDREN’S LIBERTY, INDIVIDUALITY, GOODNESS AND PERSONAL CHARACTER.
When men relinquish their headship, unfaithful women think they have won a battle against evil, but in reality, we are all doing evil when we allow the headship of men to be cancelled out by women…in family court, the voting booth and now by asking young men to compete with young women in sports, where no honor exists for either.
Why else is Jordan Peterson being elevated to a point of Light where he punches far higher and harder than his “weight,” except that the LAWLESSNESS (Mt7:23 anomia, rejection of God’s Instruction/Torah) of these days is indeed resulting in mental health wounds and disorders?
I think it can easily be proven that all mental health disorders are actually NOTHING MORE THAN TRYING TO TAKE INFANTILE SELF-ORIENTATION INTO ADULTHOOD WITHOUT ANY ACCOUNTABILITY.
These are hard words, to be clear. But, like Adam, I allowed this for decades in my home, being told that I was taking the “high road.” But in reality, like Adam’s silence did, I was only enabling a train wreck!
Within a few days of Bumbling Biden telling the Nation that Conservative Republicans were a serious threat to democracy, a grown Dummycrat man had killed a 18-yr old Republican boy that had disagreed with him.
The open LAWLESSNESS of the Left produces the exact same spirit as the contentious woman who was happy to agree with the ruling of king Solomon to cut the baby of another woman IN HALF, if she couldn’t steal the child.
Beloved, that is how a wise king leads reprobate people. When they prove that they will commit crimes to get what they want, THEY MUST BE DENIED THEIR SELFISH REPROBATE WAY, and pay the price for their crimes! Keep in mind that the evil prostitute actually fought for her way within the courts, thinking it would bolster her deception! Just like the Dummycrats! God is leading this whole Trump derangement syndrome all the way to the Justice Dept, so that TRUTH WILL PREVAIL! Criminals and traitors to our Constitutional Republic must be charged and given a traitors sentence—ASAP! The rule of Law must stand!
Of course that is exactly what the evil kidnapping prostitute said to king Solomon, too! So the Truth must be brought into the Light, and unless that effort is applauded and supported, we will ALL be destroyed by the result. And sadly—With “no regrets” from the people like my poor children’s mother who simply want their infantile way…because no matter what, “it’s always about them,” even when they are leading their own kids to suicide.
That is who we are dealing with!
Don’t let them project their evil on you…and for God’s sake don’t project your reasonable faithfulness and love for Truth on them!
People who not only allow others to kill inconvenient babies, but fight for the legal right to do so in a godless land, and are indoctrinating children with reprobate self-destructive lies and sin that God requires Capital punishment for are not worthy of gaining the dominion they have seized over those who are reasonable and faithful. STOP THEM!
We will all answer to God for these things, and we do sinners no favors to silently condone their rebellion, like Adam did, when Eve was deceived and delusional.
“I have not come to bring Peace, but a sword that divides the faithful from those who love sin and reject my Word.” —Jesus
https://biblehub.com/amp/matthew/10.htm
You can't measure charity just by individual or corporate donations. You have to include the government contribution. In addition, you need to measure the effect.
As governments get smaller, big business gets bigger, starts taking over more and from citizens and makes them even smaller. Finally, they even begin controlling the government. Prager's philosophy is music to their ears.
We're seeing that in america now.
the government should never mfing dominate life. I want to d**
I love the idea of communal living/intentional community. How would a conservative design such a community to support individual freedom and prevent people from feeling exploited but also allow people to live interdependently. ( I am assuming this means avoiding pure income sharing)
agree 100%. Beware of politicians who promises nirvana for your votes!! They only want to help themselves to stay in power and get re-elected.
You do realise that the Conservative party in the UK, which is now in power, which is the party which supports a lot of what Denise Prager is saying actually is passing a bill which gives the police more power to crack down on protests even just for making noise (they leave the police to decide what to noisy is as well) which will make peaceful protesting extremely difficult and in some cases ignorable which doesn’t go well with that whole small government, less tyranny plus are the most corrupt party and is extremely incompetent.
Where states are not strong, terrorists are stronger.America supports terrorists in Syria and the Middle East.He gave 20000 truckloads of weapons to Pyd, the Syrian branch of PKK.America is trying to destroy States by supporting terrorists
“Yeah EU countries and UK having government funded healthcare how terrible is it that people on all incomes get healthcare and how dare they feel so entitled they think healthcare for all is right and government is too corrupt to be big instead there should be a smaller government with expensive healthcare which some can’t afford and puts others in debt and the same small government that is too corrupt and incompetent to be big should have the death penalty and put people to death as Denis mentioned in another video. Isn’t the government Denis has in mind great”. Yeah right. Healthcare and other things which Denis didn’t mention should be a human right.
Very good video.
8:42am NZDT
2 April 2022
Excellent lesson 👍🏼!
Thank you
This is so dumb, all of the arguments are based in opinion.
This is an outright lie. When you shrink the government the corporations gain more power and they already control everything. We need to shrink the corporations not the government…The corporations are why the government is not doing shit….. it's money interest plus lobbying from the corporations that's the problem not large government.
So for small government? No healthcare ,education?
Yeah private enterprises never hoard wealth, commit fraud and inhibit the freedom’s of people through things like debt. Yeah okay Dennis…
The one of the most important things this video did not mention is that although the US is not controlled by the government but is controlled by the corporations who control the government. Your freedom is pretty much controlled and dictated by the directions of the corporations that don't normally put the concerns and benefits of the people in first priority. In a capitalistic society, the only thing that corporations are concerned is the profitability which can be achieved at the expenses, misery and suffering of populations. This is the main reason, the capitalistic society wants to have less government control and more freedom for the corporations (not the general public) to do whatever they want freely and lawfully. That is the primary reason that more and more homeless people in the US while corporations are making more and more profits and wealth. The riches get richer while the poors get even poorer in the US and other capitalistic society. A good government is a government who is accountable and competent and who can work together with corporations in putting the concerns and benefits for the people and country as first priority.
That was great. Thank you. Question is it too late for small government?
I hate big government, it does cheat.
I keep telling everyone around me that the government isn't supposed to get too big! America's government is supposed to be about Power To The People. But lately I get the feeling this is all starting to change.
I would argue, that ANY GOVERNMENT makes the citizens small. It's just that has the government grows, citizens continue to shrink, until there is nothing left of them but mindless drones.
😆😲👏🤔⌚❇️😆🥀🛢️🍄❇️🔗😆😤💕🔗😚😶😊😙🤗
The Government…..It's like feeding a pig…….It just gets larger and more useless and has no benefit to anyone until you slaughter it for bacon and ham.
Thank you
Yes yes yes !
Government is NOT responsible for protecting us. The police exist to determine who cause harms and then to capture and deliver those people for prosecution.
God bless you Mr Denis PRAGER