The purpose of government is to guarantee, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but government is only a means to end not an end in itself. The purpose of society is to provide the maximum amount of freedom and security through four key social institutions: family, business, religion, and government. Government is only one institution within a wider society of individuals, families, businesses, and other private associations - religious, economic, and social - that mediate between individuals and the state. Government exists to protect and serve our wider society, not to be its master. Before we can begin charting where we should go, we need to get a clear idea of where we are. The chart above is a snapshot of America today. Government has gotten too dominant over society. Seventy percent of all dollars spent is at the federal level, and only 30 percent is spent at the state and local level. The American family is in a state of crisis, business is over-regulated, and the influence of the non-governmental institutions of civil society - Churches, Charities, Neighborhood Association - has been severely restricted by the expansion of government. CHART 1 (REALITY - BAR GRAPH) The list of confounders has grown to include liberals over the last fifty years, with their "Great Society" ironically expanding government at the expense of American society. Lyndon Johnson did an admirable job in depicting a positive vision of American society, but his fixation with federal government solutions to social problems got us five trillion dollars in debt, and had a devastating long-term effect on the moral fiber of our nation. The welfare system has not only failed in its objective of ending poverty, but by imposing bureaucratic as opposed to community solutions to social problems, it has transformed poor, but vibrant, urban communities into wastelands of dependency, drugs, and despair. CHART 2 (CURRENT EFFORTS) The next chart demonstrates the current efforts we House Republicans are making to scale-back the federal government. As sincere as we are, the effort that led to the government shutdown in January was a helter-skelterattempt to reduce the federal government, without consideration of how what we were doing would affect the other institutions in this country. Localizing, deregulation, and eliminating federal involvement in education and social programs should not be attempted unless we are able to articulate to the American people, in a positive way, how our society should change, what institutions would assume these responsibilities, and how they could be empowered to do so. CHART 3 (LEGISLATION) We should remember that the concept of the Good Samaritan is found in Scripture, not in the Constitution, and this explains why government has been an abysmal failure at reducing the ranks of the poor and needy. While government simply gives the disadvantaged a handout and then leaves them to fend for themselves, Religious institutions provide continuing physical and spiritual care, increasing the chances of rehabilitation. Shifting this obligation away from government requires a tax policy that gives large deductions for donations to churches, charities and nonprofit groups, to encourage those institutions to fill the gap, while the role of government is correspondingly reduced. Deregulation and tax relief will reduce the cost that the federal government imposes on business,and the institution of business will expand as a result. The education system must be answerable to the family and not the state. This can be accomplished through vouchers and increasing local control. Giving local school districts more than the current 5% discretionary spending in their budgets, controlled bystate and federal mandates, would be a good first step toward expanding parental involvement at the local level. Localizing, or moving government to its most local level, will reduce the triplication involved with multiple layers of government. You will note that Legislation alone will not allow religious, family, and business, institutions to function at their full capacity. Personal responsibility makes up the difference. CHART 4 (PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY) The call to personal responsibility is the function of the religious institutions in our country. Any attempt to rebuild our society must include a way for us in government to encourage our religious institutions to arouse the conscience of the American people. This is necessary in order for the religious institutions to successfully assume the care of the poor and needy. Raising the conscience of the American people will encourage personal responsibility in the family institution, and will encourage fewer lawsuits and the establishment of peer review as a buffer between no regulation and harsher government regulation of business. CHART 5 (VISION - BAR GRAPH) The result is a positive vision of what America should be based on a new foundation: a society of four institutions contributing equally to provide freedom and security to the American people. History is abundant with examples of disproportionate institutions: Inquisitions, Monarchies and Industrial Revolutions. The current century brought us communism, fascism, and socialism as examples of overbearing government, and America is faced with the residual effect of these in a failed "New Deal" and "Great Society." CHART 6 (VISION - CHAIR) Our vision can be described in terms of a common chair, which provides a foundation of freedom and security to its occupant. A well-built chair allows an individual to concentrate on discussion, communication, study, etc. without worrying about falling on the ground. That is so because the chair has four legs, each contributing equally to the stability of the chair. In society those legs represent government, religion, family, and business, each contributing equally to stability and allowing the individual the opportunity to pursue happiness in life. CHART 7 (REALITY - CHAIR) Would you be willing to sit in a chair representing the American society as we know it today? Paid for by Radanovich for Congress, PO Box 579729, Modesto, CA 95357-9729 Not paid for at taxpayers' expense - Betty Presley, Treasurer

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