The terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" have had their definitions evolve over the last two hundred years. In the days when countries were ruled by kings and queens, those who were liberal wanted to remove the king as absolute ruler, and have him replaced with another form of government. Conservatives, on the other hand, were content with maintaining the status quo. Today, liberals are regarded as those who believe in large government; that is, the government should ensure that citizens are provided with all basic needs and protections. This requires a large and complex federal bureaucracy; therefore, higher taxes to pay for it. Conservatives, on the other hand, believe in a small federal government that has minimal influence over the lives of its citizens. They believe in lower taxes, so people can use their own resources to provide for their needs. Recent events have clearly shown that neither liberals, nor conservatives have effectively persuaded Americans to accept their respective political philosophies. This has been most clearly demonstrated by the two issues that are of primary concern to most Americans: health care and education.
For one thing, neither political philosophy has the answer to our current health care issues. Liberals believe that government should ensure every American has access to health care by maintaining a single, government-run insurance provider. Ideally, this is the perfect solution, but the problem lies with accomplishing it. Expanding a program as Medicare for all Americans would cost huge sums of money, which could only be subsidized with higher taxes. Administering this program would be an immense task, as well. Conservatives, on the other hand, believe Americans should provide for their own health care, without government interference. This view does not address the problem of providing health care for the uninsured. Firms are contributing less to their employee's health insurance; in fact, a growing number have stopped providing health coverage altogether. Nearly fifty million Americans lack health insurance, because it is either unaffordable, or unavailable because insurance companies won't provide coverage to those with pre-existing medical problems. Neither side has a solution acceptable to the majority of Americans. The real solution lies somewhere in the middle: the offering of a government-sponsored health insurance for those who are unable to attain coverage, while allowing those who hare satisfied with their health insurance to maintain what they have.
Second, consider the issue of education. Liberals believe the federal government should ensure access to a quality education, including college, to all Americans. As with health care, the problem lies with how this can be achieved. A large bureaucracy will be needed to administer this program which will have to be paid for with higher taxes. Conservatives, on the other hand, believe Americans should have access to education without government intervention. This view, unfortunately, does not deal with the skyrocketing costs of a college education; even at state universities and community colleges; both of which are suffering from decreased funding and rising enrollments. Again, the solution acceptable to the majority of Americans will lie somewhere in the middle.
On the surface, liberal and conservative philosophies can seem very appealing. Many are attracted to the idea of big government providing necessary services as health care and education. Others find the notion of making choices without government influence the preferred option. Unfortunately, neither approach effectively deals with these issues. The solutions to these, and other problems will require some degree of government intervention.