We often complain of “Big Government” in the abstract—a tangled assemblage of bureaus, departments and offices in and around Washington, D.C. But sometimes it helps to zoom in on the details. Pickles, for instance.

Recently I showed how big government turned two words of a hastily passed law in to 850 pages of regulations. All of those pages are stored in the massive Code of Federal Regulations. The CFR is a compendium of every rule and reg ever concocted by the federal government, from soup (9 CFR 319.720) to nuts (21 CFR 164.110). And despite being incredibly important to businesses big and small, it doesn't make for very enjoyable reading.

FREEDOMWORKS

National School Choice Week 2013 kicked off Friday night at a packed house in Phoenix, Arizona. The annual event, which this year runs from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2, highlights a diverse selection of educational options for all kids. It made sense to launch this year’s effort in Arizona, a pioneer in school choice initiatives.

With more than 7,000 attendees and thousands more watching online, this was the biggest kickoff ever for National School Choice Week. The occasion is just the first of more than 3,500 independently planned special events that will be held across all 50 states.

Much of the crowd was made up of Arizona students who have benefited from the state’s dynamic school choice environment. With the first education reform laws passed in 1994, the Grand Canyon State has lead the nation in empowering parents to choose what’s best for their children's academic success.

As President Obama took office in 2009, I sold electronic health records, which track a patient’s medical history by computer instead of by hand. For a couple of decades, companies like mine had helped medical providers save money while they improved their patients’ quality of care. Once we installed and launched EHR software at a doctor’s office or hospital, it was a win for everyone.

Many in the EHR industry were thrilled when Congress passed Obama’s “stimulus” package since it included nearly $20 billion of incentives to help doctors and hospitals purchase software. D.C. is opening the money spigot, manufacturers thought. Let the good times roll!

As any free-market advocate knows, there’s no such thing as a free lunch — or a free software launch. The feds provided yet another object lesson in the perils of government intervention.

FREEDOMWORKS

I miss the heady days of January 2012, just 12 months ago. Sure, the economy was lousy, GOP primary debates were tedious, and “We Bought a Zoo” was still in theatres. But there was a faint glimmer of hope on the horizon.

Conservatives had made huge gains in 2010, the Supreme Court had a decent chance of tossing out Obamacare, and the presidential approval rating was well under 50 percent. If everything broke just right, the GOP could recapture the White House and start to fix the economic damage.

Business leaders and politicians at every level were holding off their big decisions. If we can just hold out until November, they thought. The cavalry is coming. Help is on the way.

FREEDOMWORKS

If you ever want to lose an audience, start talking federalism. Sure, a few of us policy geeks love this foundational principle of American polity but the other 97.4 percent closes the browser window faster than you can say “Alexis de Tocqueville.”

Simply put, federalism divides political power between the Beltway and each of the 50 states. Washington, D.C. handles the big issues (international treaties, national defense, printing money, etc.) and the states handle the rest. This arrangement allows each state to tailor laws to their wants and needs while ensuring basic civil rights are protected.

With federalism, California can follow the economic wisdom of Greece, while Texas dumps red tape into the wood chipper. Utah can limit easy access to booze and pot while Colorado hands out shot glasses and rolling papers. Best of all, it’s easier for American citizens to register their wishes with local leaders and vote with their feet if they strongly disagree. 

FREEDOMWORKS

Anyone who’s met me knows that I’m the humblest guy around. I’m very proud of my humility; it’s one of the many qualities that have made me one of America’s most beloved public figures. (It ain’t bragging if it’s true, y’all.)

So, naturally, I was upset to learn that many young Americans don’t value the humility for which I am rightfully celebrated. In fact, some of our young people are — unlike me, of course — complete narcissists. 

The American Freshman Survey has concluded that college students are more likely than ever to call themselves “gifted” and “driven to succeed,” even though their test scores and study time are dropping faster than our national credit rating. The researcher also found that students’ narcissism has shot up 30 percent in the last three decades.

FREEDOMWORKS

Since November's debacle, hundreds of conservative pundits and activists have wrung their hands over the GOP’s messaging problem. Luckily for Republicans my background is in branding, marketing and communications, so let's fix this.

In today's mainstream media, conservatives can't catch a break. Epic Democratic catastrophes are ignored while minor Republican faux pas are branded as threats to the republic. Among the chattering classes liberalism has all the power; that won’t be reversed overnight. So conservatives must use liberals' power against them.

The Japanese term for this technique is jujitsu — literally, "the art of yielding." Instead of rushing to fight a stronger opponent head-on, a jujitsu fighter wins by co-opting his opponent's strength. If the attacker throws a devastating punch at your face, you grasp his arm and redirect it to the ground behind you. Sure, the bad guy is more powerful, but that power leads to his defeat.

FREEDOMWORKS

When President Obama came to office, he promised that government would solve all kinds of problems. The economy would boom, war would end, and the scourge of crabgrass would never again despoil suburban lawns.

Progressive believers never doubted that Washington could merely snap its fingers and the infinitely complex global economy would snap to attention. Even the ocean levels would obey President Canute.

However, as Thomas Sowell famously said, “there are no solutions... only trade-offs.” Like a half-filled balloon, if a politician squeezes one side, the other side pops out.