REUTERS: WASHINGTON - A public furor over big bonuses paid by firms bailed out with U.S. taxpayer money is fueling resistance to President Barack Obama's ambitious plans to extend government intervention in the U.S. private sector.
Republican opponents say his commitment of huge sums to try to revive the ailing economy is driven by a philosophical belief in greater government intrusion in many areas, from healthcare to education, dubbing it socialism.
Obama is pursuing these policies just 13 years after President Bill Clinton, a fellow Democrat, disarmed Republican opponents by declaring: "The era of big government is over."
As the enormous cost of the Obama's effort to stimulate the economy grows, many are weighing just how far government should be extending its powers.
"We're in the midst of a huge political battle, which is being obscured behind a financial crisis," said Bruce Kogut, professor of ethics and corporate governance at Columbia University. "If the financial crisis wasn't here we'd be having this battle anyway."
"The question I think we need to figure out as a country is what is the proper role of government?" said David Moss, professor of economic history at Harvard Business School. >>> By Tabassum Zakaria – Analysis, Editing by David Store | Sunday, March 22, 2009
