"We will make sure that the caretaker government contains people of stature, people of a neutral band, and those that can perform government functions well, " he added.

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Even the most radical libertarian would probably agree that a government must perform two essential functions: keep you alive, and protect your property.

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Bush had made the use of public-private competitions to determine who should perform commercial functions for the government one of his key management initiatives.

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Conservatives wanted a less activist government that would let markets perform their disciplining functions.

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The ideal tax rate is the rate at which government collects enough revenue to perform its essential functions and not a dime more.

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The federal government, on the other hand, will essentially perform all functions of exchange management except customer service and plan management.

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As we consider how to budget in this era of surpluses, we must consider carefully the resources available for these often-anonymous functions that the Nation has a right to expect its government to perform well.

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