ABSTRACT
Competition with government is really a competition for the confidence of the American people. Government's recent growth means simply that it has been able to convince Congress that it can perform better than independent or commercial institutions. The government is quick to perceive emerging human needs. An honest concern for the poor does not justify imaginary statistics to scare off non-government competitors in the public business of helping the poor. The government sector's boosters overstate public problems. They also say problems have causes only the government can remedy. And government often reasons backward—from remedy to cause. The federal government is "solving" the farm problem with bewildering and costly price supports. The government sector spends millions looking for new items of public business. Government is the master huckster of its plans and programs. The independent sector—humble and reticent, mute and invisible—has been no good at all.
