Tuesday, April 8, 2008 | 2:02 a.m.
In response to the Sunday column “Brian Greenspun seeks help with a few questions,” I’m not going to deal with Democratic Party politics or military readiness, but I will bite on the question of government consolidation.
Our political system is designed to drive us crazy. It is maddening in its inefficiency and duplication. But those ostensible glaring weaknesses are its real strength. Break government up. Break it down and disperse the power of the institution as deeply as possible into the social pyramid and into as many different hands as possible.
Why have two governments instead of one? For the same reason we have six governments in Clark County instead of one. For the same reason we have 17 counties instead of three (Clark, Washoe and Rural). For the same reason we have 50 states instead of five or six “consolidated” superstates.
As Thomas Jefferson said, government tends to expand and liberty recedes. Consolidation may be great for the “business” of government, but it is far from great for us as human beings, as Americans, as Nevadans or as Las Vegans
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