Every week I open the Bellevue Reporter and every week I am confronted with the rally cry of big government and tax and spend liberal as evidence for why we’re headed in the wrong direction. Sometimes a misinformed reference is made to socialism. I’m left wondering if there’s something I’m not getting.

What do people mean by the phrases “big government,” “tax and spend liberal,” or “socialism”? Lastly, why are all those things bad if we all benefit from them?

It has always seemed more than just a bit hypocritical when people rail against big government. If we didn’t have big government we’d have no public schools, no police, no firefighters, no road maintenance, no libraries, no parks, no mass transit, no water or sewer service, no post offices or anything else that makes life in Bellevue better than anywhere else in Washington state. We all benefit from them. In fact, most of the things on that list are not just symbols of big government; they fit the very definition of socialism operating well within free market democracies.

Now that I think about it, what about the big government programs like Medicare and Medicaid that keep our elderly and poor somewhat healthy after they’ve been forgotten by big business? Would the big government, anti-socialist, tax and spend liberal haters take those away? What about our public universities, federal student loans, FHA mortgages, or Social Security? Which one of those programs would people prefer to live without?

But, of course, I’m sure people will use the new health care bill and the government bailout as the best examples of big government takeover. Once again, they’d be right. I would strongly argue those programs are exactly what our big government needs to do.

When 30 million people can’t get or keep health insurance, it’s the moral imperative of government to intercede. When laissez faire economics threatens us with another Great Depression, the federal government has to get involved to stop the bleeding.

Certainly, there is waste in our massive government. In any massive organization there’s waste. There will always be ferry workers who overcharge the taxpayer and mayors who swindle the people and government projects that don’t work as efficiently as they should. What we need is more accountability not fewer social services.

Like it or not, we are inextricably connected to each other. But that interconnectivity comes with a price. Occasionally, we’ll all need our big government, taxes, and yes, even socialism, to keep us healthy, prosperous, and educated.

None of us are islands of rugged individualism. The self-made man is a myth. Furthermore, none of us should be. Our best moments as a community are when we help each other, either intentionally, through service or unintentionally, through tax-provided government programs.

My advice? Celebrate your taxes, pour yourself a cold glass of city water, and read a good book on American history. I’m sure the public library has lots.

Paul Sutton lives in Bellevue.