We must seize this opportunity to reverse a trend that has begun to choke State and local initiative and overload the Federal Government. They are the ones who have fed off the present system, and I don't mean recipients. I mean various representatives of bureaucracies and particular special-interest groups. Other opponents perhaps genuinely believe that the farther representatives are from the people they serve, the better democracy will function. Well, that's an assumption I reject, as I know you do.
Democracy depends on government being close to the people.
I have a quote that's kind of a favorite of mine that I came across one day by an individual who is known more for his silence than for his profound utterances. No plan of centralization has ever been adopted which did not result in bureaucracy, tyranny, inflexibility, reaction, and decline. Of all forms of government those administered by bureaucrats are about the least satisfactory to an enlightened and progressive people. Being irresponsible, they become autocratic, and becoming autrocratic they resist all development. Unless bureaucracy is constantly resisted, it breaks down representative government and overwhelms democracy.