Government 

The Good

The Bad 

The Ugly 

It has been said "ask not what your Country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." These are famous words from a man who held the most powerful position in the Western World during times of racism, conflict and internal strife. Of course, this man was none other than John F. Kennedy. He urged the American people of the early 60's to join together, to create a a civilization of unified patriots who would reach for goals farther than the moon. John F. Kennedy had achieved many things during his first three years in Government, yet the hopes and dreams of American progression were shot down on November 22, 1963 Dallas, Texas.

                                                                                With that being said, it is obvious that the Government plays a significant role in the lives of the common North American citizen. In the example of President Kennedy, the American people were influenced by the policies developed by the President. Policies regarding freedom, racism and space exploration affected. It is also accurate to say that the actions of those who are under the Government's control affect the way in which it operates. Through voting, referendums and general protests influence Governmental decision and action. In the story of John F. Kennedy, it is clear that the actions of one free American who had the right to posses a weapon changed the fate of America indefinitely. One bullet changed the Governmental landscape of the World's most powerful country and shook the foundations on which it stood. 

what is the point of the Government? 

Government can be defined as an external body that controls and regulates a nation and people. Through this definition we see as, specifically Canadians, we are as free as our government allows us to be. Our rights are always upheld, barring we do not infringe on the rights of other people. This infringement leads to governmental interference and a loss of rights for the guilty party. Through this we see that the government serves the Canadian people, to preserve peace and freedom for those who choose to follow the rules the government creates. Beyond this, the government has many other responsibilities that affect cities, provinces, and the country as a whole. In general, there are about 6 core functions of the Government.

The Government is in charge of stabilizing the economy. Within this act the Government attempts to attack issues such as unemployment at the root. A nation is only as strong as it's citizens bank accounts, if the people of a country are not employed they are not productive members of their society. Between Canada and the United states much focus is spent on job creation to internally generate an income for it's people. If there is more money in the pockets of the people, the more likely they are to spend it. In addition the Government spends its own money to subsidize businesses. These businesses are then hopefully able to survive and succeed to boost the economy for future benefit. In this way price ceilings and price floors are implemented by governments to preserve  competition between companies and protect the consumers. 

The Government also corrects for externalities. The government instills sanctions on corporations that are polluting the earth in which all people share. At this day and age people all around the world realize that the environment that we are poisoning is only going to become worse for future generations. Governments tax corporations that exceed pollution limitations no matter what degree of offence. On the contrary, the government also recognizes there are worthy causes that deserve and require money to continue to prosper. Systems such as education and healthcare are highly regarded in Canada and the government opens its pocketbook so that theses systems continue to work. 

                This system is not always perfect. In many situations corporations still find ways to avoid governmental regulations and dump waste into our communal system without punishment. Our schools and healthcare system have major flaws where the people who depend on these systems suffer greatly due to their needs not being met. Lastly, we see that the government also makes decisions that could be perceived as extremely controversial. Such as bailing out major corporations at the expense of the people who are forced to pay thousands of dollars in taxes. 

The government is responsible for redistributing income. The Government attempts to create a system that taxes the rich more than it taxes the poor. In an ideal world this makes sense when the upper class is charged appropriately for what they owe to society.. but of course, once again, the system is not perfect. Personally, I see many flaws with it because the Government is majorly affecting the middle class through this action. By no means is my family extremely wealthy, but my parents work very hard for the money that they earn. Additionally, they were smart through their investments in the company that my father works for. Without going into exact values the payout that we will be receiving in the next 5 years exceeds what we spent many years ago… enter the Canadian and American government. After taxes from both the American and Canadian Government's, my family will only see 54% of the money that was earned through our investments. By taxing the "rich" we see that the people who have created this country, the middle class, many people are affected by the decisions of the government. 

The government also provides Public goods and services that the market is not able or willing to provide. Whether it be transportation, defence, disposal or infrastructure the government spends a lot of its budgets on services that affect the everyday lives of its people. Everyone who lives under a governmental system is affected by the goods and services it supplies… yet the complaints are endless. "They never fix the potholes" "canada has two seasons, winter and construction" "The bus was a half hour late today, I missed happy hour at Starbucks." It seems the government can't win when it comes to satisfying the needs of the people, and it never will. Living in the western world the people of canada and America have expectations that exceed the budgets of their governments. Although sometimes it can be argued the government misuses tax payer dollars, efforts are made to make our country better. The services the government provides such as garbage disposal and public transportation are essential, and as free citizens we should all be thankful for the luxuries we have. 

The government makes attempts to maintain competition. In order to maintain a strong economy a government must make efforts to ensure that all business have an opportunity to succeed. As mentioned before, price ceilings and price floors are established by the government when the government feels it is necessary. Price ceilings are enforced when a government feels that the equilibrium price is too high. When too many consumers are unable to afford a particular commodity, especially a necessity, a government will enforce a price ceiling to allow all to take advantage of the product being sold. Price floors are put into place so that businesses are able to stay competitive with each other. When equilibrium prices are too low for many businesses to stay in production the government steps in and sets a price floor to establish a price that more businesses are able to afford. In addition, the government realizes there are monopolies that exists (hydro) that are natural in existence. That fact forces governments to regulate the actions of these corporations to ensure the people are not being taken advantage of. 

The last of the functions is maintaining legal and social frameworks. Trough this function the government establishes laws, provides information and services to boost economy, establishes a monetary system and defines and enforces property rights. These are the basic frameworks that outline the daily lives of people within the governments. People go to work to make money while abiding by the law, both of which are established by the government. These same people return to their houses which they have a right to, thanks to the government and thrive within this system if the economy is strong enough to sustain this quality of living. Through this we see the government permits a lot of the luxuries that many citizens enjoy. We enjoy freedom and peace thanks to governmental law and authority. We enjoy the comfort of being financially secure in homes that we own and have a right to because the government has a system in which we are able to benefit from. And lastly, we are able to continue to make money and purchase houses because the economy is (hopefully) thriving because of governmental management. 

Final Thoughts  

It is clear to me that people, generally, have no problem complaining about their government. In Canada, complaints about infrastructure, laws, leaders and policies are constantly under duress, yet… only 62% of Canadians voted in the last major election. It seems that because we are born into freedom it is our inherent right to complain endlessly about all aspects of Canadian life. Yes, I believe in free speech. Yes, I have complained about policy from the municipal to Provincial level. and YES, I even complained about the governmental system of taxing the rich in this opinionated biased blog. I guess you could say its within our nature as a western society to uncover and dissect all negatives that affect our lives; this is a terrible trait a majority of us share when it comes to our government. But as the late great John F. Kennedy said "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" we need to consider we are all blessed to enjoy this free democracy. As a people united we will all prosper under the good intentions of our leaders, divided we will all perish under the weight of our own criticism.