Interview with Archie Richards, Author of Shrink Government Its Too Big  

What is your greatest concern about America?

Shrink Government Its Too Big Archie Richards
Shrink Government Its Too Big Archie Richards

America is going wrong. Its governments are too big, too powerful, and too intrusive, especially the feds.

Can you do something about this?

Millions of Americans suspect America is going wrong. I can use my writing skills to tap into this suspicion.

What’s the solution?

Make American governments smaller, less powerful, and less intrusive. The government sector of the United States should be reduced from the current 40% of the Gross Domestic Product to less than 5%.

Wow, that’s an enormous change! Is it even possible?

It certainly isn’t possible if you leave it up to the people in government. They don’t want to lose their power and their jobs. They’ll fight it tooth and nail.

Who will make the change?

The millions of Americans who suspect that the nation is going wrong and eventually, their legislators. But first, they must learn the consequences of a massive government.

How will they learn this?

From my book. At least ten million copies of the book must be sold to influence public policy for the better. Preferably, many more.

How can you accomplish that?

Before the book comes out in April 2024, I hope to obtain donations totaling $200,000 via crowd funding and other forms of solicitation, mostly for publicity. Later, in addition to contributions, I will plow back most of my royalty payments into additional publicity.

What sorts of things will people learn from your book?

  • Government consumes wealth, creates no wealth, and inhibits the creation of wealth. At the same time, government tries to satisfy ever more needs. More needs, but less and less money to deal with them. A crunch results.
  • With few exceptions, government is the worst and most expensive way to do anything. As Ronald Reagan said, government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem.
  • With government’s use of force, it’s often true that the actual results of its policies are opposite to the intended results. Government doesn’t prevent poverty. It unintentionally causes poverty.
  • If government were greatly diminished and tax rates greatly reduced, the income of most people would rise, and the gap between rich and poor would narrow.
Interview with Archie Richards, Author of American Governments are Too Big and Too Powerful  

Here’s the principal damaging sequence America has undertaken for over a century:

Government solutions result in bigger government and more use of force.

These cause problems in addition to the ones the government first dealt with.

Government then designs solutions for the new problems.

The new solutions create even more problems. The final result:

A massive government and a multitude of problems, hurting the poor most.

High tax rates enable more and more wealth to flow through government, with the result that the rich become richer, and the gap between rich and poor becomes wider.

Will all this solve every problem?

Interview with Archie Richards, Author of American Governments are Too Big and Too Powerful  

Of course not. The first goal is to get government out of the way. Afterwards, problems that need to be solved will be solved within the private sector, involving a variety and complexities I couldn’t begin to fathom.

What do you mean by “problems that need to be solved?”

Good question. Government tries to solve every problem because – this is key – government’s primary goal is to become bigger and more powerful. With government out of the way, only those problems for which money can be raised will be dealt with. Problems for which money can’t be raised may not be serious, and some of the problems might be left for people to solve on their own. Nothing’s perfect. Individuals may turn to private-sector welfare for help. In the long run, a society is most successful when it accepts modest imperfection. Government, in contrast, causes widespread ruination, as in downtown San Francisco. 

Future Americans, who did not incur our federal debt, will refuse to pay it off and will vote legislators out of office who insist on raising taxes to do so. There’s darkness at the end of the tunnel, and the tunnel isn’t all that long. But there is a way out . . .

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