Issues and Philosophy: What I Believe: A Contract with Hays County

Contract With Hays County: What I Believe

This website includes a lot about specific issues and current events, but if you're like me, sometimes what you really want is an insight into core beliefs. Does a person have a foundation? How will they react to unforeseen events?

With that in mind, here are TWENTY THINGS I BELIEVE about government, and the role it ought to play in our lives. (I posted this in early 2006, near beginning of my campaign. Now that I'm in office, I find it usefl to re-read -- and to leave here on the website.)   

Jeff Barton

 
1. Government will never solve all our problems. It will never do as much good in the world as Little League coaches, soup line volunteers, vaccine inventors, big-hearted entrepreneurs,  weekend firemen, preachers, pastors and priests. Faith communities, job-makers, neighbors, family, reading to your kid at night - that's what makes the world go 'round.

2. Government should use tax dollars, and all public funds, sparingly and efficiently. If you're in politics, a good rule to remember is this: every dollar you spend is a dollar some taxpayer somewhere had a dream for if you had left it in their pocket.

3. While government is not the solution to every problem, nor even to most, it does have  it's place. It is not the enemy; it's a mirror turned on us ' or it should be. It's an expression of who we are as a community. It matters. There are times when it matters a very great deal: when the burglar is at your door, when the water's rising, when you're accused of a crime you didn't commit.

4. Government's first responsibility is to safeguard the fundamental rights of its citizens, all its citizens, and to act with their safety and security foremost in mind.

5. Every single person who runs for office, or who runs a government, is a politician. Politics is inherently good, not bad, but it tastes bad to most of us these days because so many of the cooks in the kitchen have dirty hands. The word politics just means the 'art or science of government.' It's about setting goals and values as a community. Work by committee is frustrating. That's politics ' work by really big committees, called voters.

6. If we don't like the way politics tastes and smells these days, we have the power to change it - especially at the local level. I don't know what it takes to change the world, but I know a few committed people can make a difference in our community.

7. Tax dollars are precious, but government shouldn't be penny-wise and pound foolish. In government, as in business and personal life, there are times when dollars well invested pay big dividends in the long run. It's all about balance, of course, about judgment and common sense. But that taxpayer who dreams of keeping his dollar probably also wants a public health department planning ahead against the bird flu, a road that's not totally congested, and enough cops on the street - especially at midnight when that burglar's at the door.
 
8. If someone campaigning for a paid political position tells you they are not a politician, grab your wallet and run away.

9. A rule for a rule's sake is bad business. The greatness of our society is that it's free. We're a big, complex democracy. We need rules and regulations, but the fewer, the cleaner, the better.

10. Once a rule is in place, enforce it fairly. Politicians: remember, you're not God because you get to enforce the rules. You're just a politician,  representing a big, crazy committee.

11. How we treat the poorest and weakest among is how we will be judged.

12. Business (especially small business) creates lasting job growth, not government. Politicians can help. Sometimes that means smart programs. Sometimes it means encouragement. Often it means getting out of the way.  Government should be leery of competing in the private sector.

13. It's all about cooperation. School, city, state, county, federal - they're all tax dollars. If people want to watch a turf war, they generally go to a football game.

14. The American Constitution is a document full of wisdom. (The Texas Constitution, not so much, unless you're really into micromanagement .)

15. If you want to live by the Constitution you have to live by all the Constitution, even the parts of it you don't like. Or go amend it.

16. Most Constitutional Amendments are a bad idea.
 
17. A precious few things are so valuable that no one individual or property owner gets to decide how they are spent or when they are used up. Like water.  Thus, the trick is to balance property rights with community rights.

18. There is no magic ideology or political party that has all the answers. The best philosophy of government includes a healthy does of pragmatism, common sense, and compromise, along with unwavering respect for the individual.

19. Competence matters.

20. Never trust a politician who does not like baseball. Except maybe Eddy Etheredge, former Hays County judge. And he's retired from politics. He couldn't hit a baseball with a bat if his life depended on it, but he can hit one with a rifle at 50 paces. That's good enough for me. Especially when I'm within 50 paces.