Q. During the depths of the economic crisis, the U.S. government inserted itself in the private sector to a degree not seen since the 1930s. Does the level of government involvement in the private sector concern you? If so, how would you extricate the government? Do you believe the government should regulate executive pay in the private sector?

A. I believe in limited government. In the 1930’s we had the same questions asked relating to the new and even greater role that the Federal government took in the economy at that time. The result was the longest depression in our history and we are on the verge of repeating that mistake. In addition to enacting a panoply of regulations and agencies that were later ruled unconstitutional, the government used the crisis existing at that time to saddle us with Social Security which remains wildly popular, politically untouchable, and economically unsustainable. This President and this Congress are heading down the same road which will ultimately lead to an even more economically unsustainable program in universal health care. We need to examine how much harm the government is doing to the economy in an effort to “help” us. I am very concerned with the level of government control over an unprecedented number of industries, especially banking, automobiles, and insurance. I favor the government selling off its controlling interests in these businesses to the public as soon as is operationally feasible. Some of these companies will no doubt fail without the government propping them up. In the end, however, the strongest will survive and the best assets will be purchased by other thriving businesses. There will be some unfortunate short-term disruptions, but the economy will recover quicker and more strongly without government meddling. Just as I do not believe that the government should own or control U.S. companies, I do not believe that it should be interfering in the free market for salaries. Productive businesses are in the best position to determine the value of their employees, not bureaucrats in Washington.