The Conundrum of Limited Government

The Conundrum of Limited Government

The story in the Seattle Times this morning is a perfect example of the conundrum of limited government.  It seems an elderly gentleman buried his wife, per her last request, in his front yard.  He lives in a very small town in Alabama where family plots are common, and he applied for a “cemetery license” and was turned down by the city.  He buried her anyway and now is in conflict with some of his fellow town’s people as well as the city who are trying to have him dig her up.

Small Alabama towns are bastions of limited government and non-interference in people’s lives.  However, opponents have to now rely on government regulations to force him to move her.

I call it the Paul Ryan effect.  People are for limited government until they’re not.  Paul Ryan is a vocal proponent of people and states being free of government interference, but that didn’t stop him from asking for government assistance for his state from the very programs he despises.

Limited government can be a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, but it’s easier to have your neighbor swallow it instead.

I gave up trying to figure people out a long time ago.