Conservatives realize government lacks the ability to change the human heart.  Government's structural inability to be compassionate has lead to freakish programs. The program designers cannot figure this basic element into the program's construction. A flawed view of human nature creates failure in the programs.  If you look at the soaring rhetoric of the great society, it was to end poverty and it was meant to be compassionate to the women who gave birth without a husband available. Lyndon Baines Johnson envisioned a greater degree of community involvement and a feeling of unity. The reality was highlighted by Sowell and others were it created a perverse incentive to produce children out of wedlock making having multiple fathers and multiple children lucrative. Uncle Sam replaced the father, as breadwinner the result was a program while having great intentions ended up doing more to disrupt African American communities then any grand wizard in the KKK could. By the same token, when the aid to the poor became more federalized smaller more agile state and private agencies got out of the aid business. The feds were taking care of it so why should locals do. LBJ instead increasing a sense of community decreased a feeling of unity. The story of one hot summer in France also illustrates this. The elderly were at retirement homes dying of heat related illnesses while everybody was on vacation. Grandma, grandpa were being taken care of by the government, so why should the family give a rip?

Conservatives also pay attention to motivation. Those administering aid programs realize if you solve the problem, you lose your job. Management of government aid program the poor person is a way to get your paycheck. That is the antithesis of compassion. You pay your registration for your vehicle and your pay your money on a loan where generally where you will get the better service. We know you will get better service at the bank. While the pay at the bank teller maybe less he or she will be attempting to move faster and be more polite then the attendant at the Tax assessor collector’s office. The teller at the bank has more a stake in making you happy then the person or man at the window at the tax assessor collector’s office. A builder working directly for a private consumer will attempt to do a better job then a contractor on a government house. A builder working for a private consumer has an interest in meeting or exceeding that customer’s expectation. Money is a powerful incentive. A government contract is more less to spec why…work harder when you do not have to. In a private school, many parents find their concerns more readily addressed with less effort then a public school In the long run the parent has the money and you are dealing with the second golden rule. They who have the Gold make the rules. Once again we deal with imperfections in a private school because ability to get away with rule breaking would be influenced by the degree of financial support provided the institution by the parents. Obama during is campaign said a higher tax rate would make businessmen work harder. Conservatives responded no the greater at tax rate there would be less incentive to invest or to work harder. The taxation means less incentive to hire. Do you think prescription drug companies would research and develop new drug if their was no profit in them? If you reduce the profit potential conservatives argue knowing the fall you reduce the incentive to produce new innovations. The idea of a bigger corporate jet, a nicer house, job security are all factors that drive research you reduce the profit potential you reduce the motivation that even Ayn Ryand highlights this.

The fall defines the health care debate. Why do health insurance rates go up? What happened with every involvement with the feds in health care? When someone else is paying, you use more health care its someone else’s money. I remember in high school my mom’s attitude I paid might as well use it. Never mind the fact the services consumed are going to be beyond the employer and employee contribution. What happens? Naturally health insurance rates will go up. Without a profit or other gain there would no health insurance offered.

Finally we get to relative impotence of government to change the basic nature of man. I want the thief , the murderer and rampaging army intimidated. This is the role of the government. The impotence of the law is that you can not mandate wisdom, or compassion with the threat of force. An intimidated heart is not a reformed heart. My father was looking for a solution using a hammer that needed to be addressed by other factors. It is not we are not to help the poor, the sick etc. It is not that we are supposed be gluttons indulging in only ourselves its that government can not change, envy, greed, and lust. Lets face it the capital building is a den of debauchery called by liberals to regulate debauchery. To my father there was one total solution government. He was blinded to other institutions of man that offer partial solutions to problems. At the core of Christian conservatism it the knowledge unsettling as it is William Golding was right. Partial solutions will be covered in the next essay.