By State Rep. Erwin Cain
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Everywhere Ive gone in northeast Texas people have echoed the same theme government is too big & too expensive. Once elected to the Texas House of Representatives in November I began the painstaking work of discovering creative new ways state government can run more efficiently.
Thats why I was very encouraged to learn the Legislature intended to create the Committee on Government Efficiency and Reform.
On my request I was appointed to serve on that committee.
This is an opportunity to pass common-sense reforms that bring state government more in line with the true purpose of our form of representative government.
The central question of governments over the course of world history has been the struggle between individual freedom and the authority of the State. Until a few hundred years ago individual liberty was almost non-existent.
People were at the mercy of a central dictator or monarch. Its no coincidence that most people in the world lived in what we would today call extreme poverty. Ignorance disease and suffering were common.
The American Founders had a new idea a government in which individual freedom would be central and would do only that which individuals could not do for themselves. Maintaining a common border coining money managing foreign relations and protecting property rights were all recognized government functions.
In short its key purpose was to protect its citizens God-given rights of life liberty and property rather than impose man-made rights upon them. After all a government that can
give its citizens rights can also regulate ration and even eliminate those rights.
History speaks for itself the great experiment worked.
America has experienced an explosion of growth and prosperity unlike anything the world has ever seen. Texas has been the jewel in Americas crown because unlike any other state we embody the true spirit of the Founders vision.
Today Americans from every corner of the nation recognize Texas as an oasis of individual liberty.
Too often however the proper role of government gets lost and individual freedom is set aside in favor of a burdensome state government. When the web of state government grows unchecked its core missions are forgotten. Layers of bureaucracy clutter state agencies until they become next to impossible for citizens to navigate.
Texas now finds itself at a crossroads. We can either follow the path toward fiscal uncertainty like so many other states or we can have a sober conversation about the way state government has operated. Its time we focus on the true purpose of governmentto protect our God-given freedoms and do only that which individuals cannot do for themselves.
Necessity now dictates we embrace efficiencies we have not had the courage to employ in the past.
With every bill that crosses my desk I intend to ask:
Should this be a function of state government?
The private sector charities businesses and faith-based organizations can often do the same job quicker more effectively and for less money. We should explore those options whenever possible. The more essential the government function the higher its priority.
Moving outward from that center lawmakers should begin asking tough questions about the fiscal wisdom of continuing to fund non-essential services. Some programs will pass that test others wont. But fiscal responsibility compels scrutiny.
I want to extend to you an open invitation to help us find efficiencies in state government. Remember these are your tax dollars. Texans can weather this budget challenge and I am confident ours will be a stronger state for it. Its in that spirit that I begin work on the important issues before the Committee on Government Efficiency & Reform.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Texas House of Representatives.
State Representative Erwin Cain of Como Texas was elected to represent Texas House District 3 which includes Lamar Hopkins Delta Titus Red River and Franklin Counties. He welcomes your thoughts at 512-463-0650 or at Erwin.Cain@house.state.tx.us.
