Do Conservatives Contribute to Government Inefficiency by Blocking Reforms?
I often hear conservatives criticize government inefficiency, but progressives argue that conservative policies sometimes contribute to that inefficiency by cutting funding, blocking reforms, or imposing restrictions that make agencies less effective. Then, when the government struggles, it’s used as proof that government doesn’t work.
For example:
- The Affordable Care Act (ACA) – The original proposal was closer to universal healthcare, but after compromises and opposition, it became a more complex system reliant on private insurers. Some conservatives now argue it didn’t fix healthcare—wasn’t part of that because it was watered down?
- The IRS and Underfunding – Conservatives criticize the IRS for being slow and inefficient, but they’ve also pushed for budget cuts that reduce staffing. With fewer resources, audits decrease, tax enforcement weakens, and inefficiencies increase—doesn’t this create a cycle of dysfunction?
- The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) – A 2006 law (passed under a Republican Congress) required the USPS to pre-fund retiree health benefits decades in advance, which caused severe financial strain. Now, people point to USPS delays as government failure, but isn’t this partly due to restrictions imposed on it?
I get the conservative view of limiting government, but how do you respond to the argument that these policies sometimes create the inefficiencies later criticized? Wouldn’t making government work better be a better approach than shrinking it to the point of dysfunction?