[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7012]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MADISON WEAVER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 16, 2012

  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the 
brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my 
Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening 
to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. 
They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger 
constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of 
being an active participant in the political process. Many of the 
students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am 
pleased to share these with my House colleagues.
  Madison Weaver is a senior at Clements High School in Fort Bend 
County, Texas. His essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should 
government play in our lives?

       Government is defined as the political direction and 
     control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, 
     or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states. In 
     other words, the government is the ultimate source of 
     authority in our country. However, I believe that this power 
     should be used with restraint. I also believe that government 
     should focus on protecting the people, instead of controlling 
     the people.
       Helping secure jobs and keeping companies in business is 
     something the U.S. government has been promoting heavily in 
     the past few years. With the passing of the `bail-out' bill, 
     numerous corporations, that would have otherwise failed, were 
     saved by the government's decision to give them enough money 
     in order to stay afloat. Consequently, millions of people 
     were able to keep their jobs. But what does that say about 
     our government? Is it humanitarian that our government reacts 
     in order to save those companies and jobs? No, in fact this 
     shows that our government is pushing forth its own agenda of 
     what will be produced in America.
       The fine line between government protecting and controlling 
     is the difference in outcome. Protecting, will ultimately 
     promote a healthier economy; while controlling, will produce 
     quicker results, yet negative, long-term effects. For 
     instance, by giving money to banks that made numerous bad 
     loans, was essentially saying that it was `ok' to make bad 
     business decisions. Also, by giving money to the auto 
     industry, was essentially saying that it was `ok' to make 
     products that people didn't want. Yes, the government was 
     able to save many businesses, and countless jobs; but do we 
     want failed businesses to operate in America? The answer is, 
     ``no''!
       Instead of looking at every business failure as a sign of 
     weakness of the government, we need to see to the failures 
     and embrace them too. Without the fear of failure, there is 
     no drive for success. Therefore, we need to have failures, 
     recessions, and yes, even job losses in order to drive people 
     to succeed and make our country better. I believe that the 
     government has done us more harm than good in attempting to 
     control the recession. By stepping back and letting the 
     business cycle run its course, only then can government truly 
     guide our country to a more productive America.

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