R: Cut the Safety Net

Ronald Reagan once quipped, “a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth.” Since the Republican Party’s nomination of Paul Ryan for Vice President, a new national debate over how we think about entitlement programs has arisen. While many conservatives believe that the federal government has expanded at an alarming rate, others fear that drastic measures to reduce the welfare state could do irreparable harm to the neediest in society - something that goes against central "American values."

Taking all this and more in mind, the Federalist Party will look to tackle fundamental questions: What should the government’s safety net look like? Where is the border between a compassionate society and a nanny state? Can other groups help those in need better than the government? Should we ever play politics with people’s livelihood? Can entitlements ever be reformed? Ultimately, what kind and level of government involvement in entitlements is best to secure human flourishing? Can history - ancient and modern - be a guide for the 21st century? The American conservative heart is surely compassionate enough, and the mind nimble enough, to answer these questions with care and responsibility.