Government: Monitor or Partner?

News item: GDP grew by 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2016, up from 1.4 percent in the second quarter.

   Dismantle government and the nation will prosper, has been the underlying philosophy of conservative Republicans for generations. But for all the talk about reducing government interference with business, it's more likely that GOP control in Washington will lead to closer government partnerships with corporate America.
   Nothing new here. That was the case in the 19th Century and early 20th Century, when the Republican Party dominated the federal government and encouraged and cooperated with business interests over those of the general public.
   Students of history can cite a long list of examples where business interests used government help in major projects from start to finish. This  cooperation including everything from railroad building to suppression of labor rights.
   In the guise of not interfering with private enterprise, government often became an enforcement arm to subdue public objection to abusive corporate tactics.
   Now, following that same philosophy, the incoming Republican administration wants to dismantle many government programs, claiming that the economy in recent years has been wretched and only by cancelling government programs and reducing government spending can the economy recover.
   History and recent events show otherwise.
   Throughout the 20th Century and into the 21st Century, the American economy has stumbled or crashed during Republican administrations, and recovered when Democrats took over.
   Highlights including the Great Depression, which began in 1929, the big stumble during the Reagan Administration, and the Great Recession during the second Bush Administration. Each time, Democrats inherited a severe economic problem and treated it, leading to recovery and growth.
   This is true again this year, as the U.S. economy continued to grow, slowly at first, but accelerating so that the latest report from the Commerce Department showed an annual growth rate of 3.2 percent during the third quarter of this year.
   Nevertheless, Republicans led by President-elect Donald Trump have continued their claim that the economy is a mess and only they can fix it.
   How? By cutting taxes, which would reduce government revenue, and at the same time increasing government spending, which would increase the deficit and the national debt. It's the return of trickle-down Reaganomics, which teaches that improving income for the wealthy will encourage them to spend more, and the benefits will trickle down to the rest of the economy.
   Eventually.

   Meanwhile, a bigger worry is the effect of substantially less government monitoring of corporate activities that often cross the line of legality, coupled with increased government cooperation and involvement in business activities.
   Leading the list will be Trump's myriad business ventures with their strong potential for conflict with government monitoring and inspection, not least of which is the looming practice of foreign governments renting space at Trump-owned hotels to ingratiate themselves with the President and thereby by influence his policy decisions.
   Flatly unconstitutional, if not impeachable offenses.

   Yet another example of a government-business joint venture would be the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, as promised by Trump. But despite the ranting, the ACA, also known as Obamacare, is not likely to disappear. By requiring that everyone buy health insurance (with government help if needed), the act provides a business opportunity for the insurance industry.
   Note that the industry itself has not raised objections to the ACA, for that very reason -- it increases their customer base, and thereby boosts their revenue.
   The GOP, however, did oppose Obamacare, mainly because it was a Democratic plan. Ironically, it was based on a Republican plan begun in Massachusetts when Mitt Romney was governor.
   Despite repeated promises by Trump to "repeal and replace" Obamacare, the President-elect has already begun backing away from that position, saying that some parts will remain. However, there are few specifics on what the rest of the plan would be.
   So how about this: The mandate that everyone buy insurance will remain, but the government assistance part will be dropped, on the claim that it's too expensive.
   Health care is too important to be left entirely to private enterprise. Why? Because before the start of government social welfare programs such as government-sponsored old age pensions (Social Security), job security and unemployment assistance, health care for retirees (Medicare), and health care for the poor and disabled (Medicaid), people died a lot.
   By reducing or eliminating sponsorship of social welfare programs on the premise that they are inherently evil -- read, Communistic -- and that only private enterprise can do things for the best in this best of all possible worlds, a government that abandons its responsibility to the general public in favor of collusion with private enterprise can only invite chaos into society, enriching the few and putting leeches on the many.
   Dismantling government, ending its role as monitor and doubling down on its cooperation with corporate America are three very bad ideas.