Re "Economy burdened by weight of government" (Viewpoints, Feb. 10): Rep. Kevin McCarthy points out that the U.S. fell from first to is fifth in competitiveness, and blames big government. Countries ahead of us include Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden and Finland have national health care, good public education, and solid national retirement programs.
Four rank higher in the Environmental Performance Index. All ranked higher in the child welfare index. Four rank in the top 10 counties in the world for generosity of unemployment benefits (the US is last among developed nations).
Health care, social safety net, public education and environmental protection are all functions of a big government. If countries that out-rank us in economic competiveness also out-rank us in these government functions, perhaps simplistic claims are false that big government is the problem.
We do not need to shrink our government. Rather, we need to refocus it.
-- Tom Donohue, Rocklin