It is tempting to think that government can become a benevolent overseer of society, however considering the same people that make up society at large, also make up the government, this expectation is utterly unrealistic. If there are thieves in the private sector, then there are thieves in the government. But, the government is a body that polices itself, decides what is and isn’t legal for itself to do, and spends other people’s money taken by using various methods of coercion, including threat of jail. Therefore, where would thieves have a greater opportunity to thrive, the government or the private sector? The answer is government. And since government gets to make its own laws, things otherwise considered as theft, are just the law of the land when done by government.

By growing government, socialists give more opportunities for those who wield the most influence over government, i.e. the rich and politically connected to benefit at the expense of everyone else.

For example, you can read here about how Obama and Joe Biden promoted a specific small and not particularly distinguished energy saving windows manufacturer, and a top executive in that company just happened to be married to the Assistant Secretary of Energy in the Obama Administration. Better yet, you can watch John Stossel’s report about this and other instances of crony capitalism.