Via Doug Ross' Director Blue blog [2],
I Generally speaking, government always grows -- it never shrinks -- whether times are good or bad.
II In each area it purports to "assist", government attempts to replace individual decision-making with central planning.
III In order to implement its grand central plans and solidify its power, government must take from one citizen to give to another; this is, in effect, lawful theft.
IV No matter how many times central planning fails, the self-appointed masterminds in government assert that "this time is different" and that with only a few tweaks and more money, their delusional plans will succeed.
V Because it uses funds confiscated from taxpayers, self-restraint is no obstacle to government's ambitions.
VI Its fundamental misunderstanding of human nature notwithstanding, government must claim to grant "rights", which require it steal the labors of one citizen to give to another (such as food, shelter, employment, and health care).
VII No matter how widespread the harm it causes, government will never provide an honest and historical accounting -- a report card -- of its failures.
VIII As more individuals and families are harmed by the failures of central planning, government must find suitable scapegoats, must lie to do so, and therefore must also repress dissent.
IX In order to build its network of redistribution and grow a culture of dependency on its services, government must inevitably undermine the family unit, religion, and the notion of God-given rights in order to cow, bribe, or intimidate its citizens.
X As government grows ever more powerful, it must also become increasingly oppressive through compulsion and force. To do otherwise would mean government must shrink, and this it cannot do.
Any of these characteristics recognizable?