Mr. Ropehl, in "South Bronx to South Bay: Adventures in Wonderland" spins a fantasy regarding the protracted debate to raise the debt ceiling.
If a whimsical fiction were ideal, one could look no further than "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. . ."
Would that the federal government operated the same way that Willy Wonka ran his chocolate factory.
He provided for the Oompa-Loompas.
He let the kids (and adults) play in his factory.
He gave each kid something to enjoy.
Yet when kids strayed beyond their proper limits, demanding what they could not have or trying to take what was never theirs, they suffered the consequences. Willy Wonka, refusing to sweat a wit over any of it, let them suffer for their foolishness.
Government should be the same, providing a free space in which people may pursue their interests free from government meddling, yet also letting individuals be held accountable for their failures or for their unwillingness to respect the rights of others.
Of all the children invited to the Wonka factory, only Charlie Bucket made it to the end. Respecting his parents and his aging grandfather, minding his manners throughout his visit to the whimsical factory, he is duly rewarded.
So should happen to every person who minds himself, respects the rights of others, and receives what is voluntarily given, yet never at the expense of others.
A free market works the same way. A limited government promotes the same principles.