Marsh Smith, I respect you.  You are no hypocrite.  You're an outspoken Statist and make no bones about it.  I appreciate your candor and your willingness to engage in public debate about ideas rather than hurl mud ball attacks from afar.  That is a sign of integrity and you are always welcome at Moore Tea Citizens where encourage the respectful debate of ideas.

That said, there is very little on which we agree with you.  Once again you want taxpayers, regardless of their financial circumstances or personal opinions, to fit the bill for a project you want.  Instead, why don't you simply make the case to the community?  If it's such a great idea, citizens who can afford it will donate the money!  It happens often in Moore County.  The State can take the citizens' money from them under threat of force, but that doesn't mean it magically, ethically becomes a slush fund for you to fill your desires.  Quite to the contrary!

In this same The Pilot article, Lowell Simon, another man with many uncamouflaged Marxist ideas, presented his own pet project to the Southern Pines Town Council, but apparently he has garnered private donations to pay for it.  I have no doubt that you two men are well acquainted.  Marsh, why don't you talk to Lowell and find out how do it without raiding the purses of citizens who live on the verge of loosing their property?

BOTTOM LINE: If you have knowledge of specific departments, agencies or offices in the U.S. Government that you think need to be eliminated or closed, click into this Website and submit your ideas.

Technical note: To choose more than one option in a list, you will have to hold a function key (on my Mac it is the "command" key) as click offices. I recommend you test it on the first few options so you don't waste your time.

DETAILS: The Trump Administration is soliciting input from citizens about what parts of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government we want it to close or restructure. Is it just a gimmick? We don't know*, but assume it's legitimate. At the very least, it will provide the President with a survey of public opinion.

Scrolling through the lists may stagger you. With the breadth and depth of the federal (too often national) government it is no mystery why every aspect of our lives is (or is subject to) manipulation by unelected, national bureaucrats. The vastness of the structure is literally beyond the capacity of any one person to comprehend.

What are your targets? The Department of Education (aptly abbreviated "ED")? The National Labor Relations Board?  The JFK Center for the Performing Arts (yes, it's there!)? The EPA? Make your comments!

From your personal experience, do you have personal insight you can share with the White House? Then comment!

This isn't a rhetorical question. This a real (non-theoretical) dilemma currently facing our Board of Commissioners that gives us the opportunity to have a philosophical discussion about the role the local government, then to act on our individual decisions by contacting the commissioners.

Read the story: Nonprofit Makes Case to County for Continued Assistance

There is no question that Friend to Friend does truly great things in Moore Co. Many of us have donated to it, personally, but does that mean we can obligate our neighbors to (partially) fund it? Well, it may! They have to pay for law enforcement, roads, etc. Are the services offered by F2F those that are proper functions of government?

Point: This expenditure is a rightful public safety role of the county and F2F is a more efficient way of providing it than county bureaucracy would be.
Counter Point: I don't have the right to obligate my neighbors—who may have serious financial challenges (sick child, disability, caring for a parent, leaky roof, etc.) and can barely pay the property taxes on to the house they outright own—to pay for part of Friend to Friend's operating costs.

​What do you think?

As a young person, all things living and dynamic were my obsession. Biology would have been my college major of choice, but somehow I found myself railroaded into fine art. Living organisms and the way they relate to each other and interact with their environment is still a major fascination for me.

So, when I recently became aware of that immensely complex and entangled ecosystem known as politics, I was very desirous to understand how it worked. Well, three years later, I have only developed a very basic analysis method for understanding the roles and ecological niches of all the many political organisms.

The political ecosystem is composed of two separate but intertwined Ecotopes; the "Private Sector Ecotope," and the "Government Ecotope."

The most obvious and shocking thing about the Government Ecotope is that it is not self-sustaining. At best, it is a symbiotic and benevolent parasite but, nevertheless, a parasite, wholly dependent for its sustenance upon the Private Sector Ecotope. The Government Ecotope creates no tangible products; no food is grown, no clothes are sewn, no shelter is built by this tremendous ecotope.

In contrast, the Private Sector Ecotope is self-sustaining and largely capable of self-direction. The benefit it derives from its relationship with the Government Ecotope is an orderly structure that provides a stable environment for the Private Sector Ecotope to operate and thrive. However, as the Government Ecotope expands, this symbiotic effect diminishes. It places ever-increasing demands and restrictions upon its Private Sector Ecotope host which will inevitably become damaging to both host and parasite.

The detrimental effect becomes exacerbated with the increasing size of the Government Ecotope. Exchange between the two ecotopes becomes increasingly inefficient. The political organisms within the two ecotopes become less aware of their roles in the symbiotic relationship and may assume aggressive parasitic, pathogenic or even active predatory roles within the overall ecosystem. Conversely, a corresponding expansion in size of the Private Sector Ecotope actually enhances the well being of the entire ecosystem.

Next month I will examine the individual political organisms and their roles in the political ecosystem.

Contributed by Miriam Chu