Role of the government

Recently there has been many articles about the government's way of doing things, and what they should or should not be doing. I quote Abraham Lincoln:

The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not so well do, for themselves.

I believe what he said simplify what the government should or should not do. They are elected so that they are able to listen to our problems and attempt to find a solution to it. They are able to do more than us because they are in essence more "powerful" than us. Using the example of a fund manager vs a retail investor. The fund manager is able to aggregate funds from all the investors to invest in products that require a higher capital, something that a retail investor might not be able to do. The government acts the same way.

Previously, there is a lot of discontent because the government seem to not attempt to find a solution to our problems. In fact, the ministers on some occasions push the blame back to us and did not try to even find a solution to the problem. The fundamental reason why we elect a member of parliament is so that they could represent us when governing the country, taking into account our feelings and suggestions. Just because other countries are having the same problem doesn't mean that you do not even attempt to find a solution to it.

The ministers seem to have learn after the election and are finally taking our problems seriously, trying to find a solution to it. Personally, I would advice to give them some breathing space. No matter how much they are paid, they are still human. Solutions to difficult problems do not drop down from the sky.

If they show the effort in finding a solution, be understanding to them. Or better still, recommend solutions to them so that they could review the feasibility and help to resolve the problem. Who knows. You may have part of the solution and your idea may trigger a full solution to the problem.