Seven Right-Wing Ballot Initiatives That Could Ruin Your Government for Decades to Come

November 1, 2010 |

If you could create a political party that convinced a large number of people that by electing you they could eat all the ice-cream they want, and then sit on their butts watching TV all day and never put on an ounce, you'd have a pretty good chance at gaining power. That's what the conservative movement has done in terms of taxes and spending. The idea of "limited government" is appealing in the abstract, but in the real world, people really like much of what the government does -- they want well-funded schools, safe food, a clean environment, good infrastructure and a whole lot more. Arguably, the conservative movement's greatest achievement has been disconnecting the taxes we pay from the services we expect in the minds of a large chunk of the electorate.