Pahrump Town Board — Up or Down?

“That government is best which governs least.”

In 1849, America’s first hippie, Henry David Thoreau, began his masterpiece, “Civil Disobedience” by agreeing with this motto.

The quote is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, and while the sentiment clearly comports with Jefferson’s philosophy on government, this exact wording has never been found in any of his writings. Others point to Thomas Paine as the genesis of the limited government creed.

Whatever the origin, it may well be the best definition of good government ever penned.

Limited government shows the ultimate respect for the governed — for We the People. Less government assumes that individuals are best able to govern themselves, author their own lives, make their own decisions — without being told by Big Brother — how best to pursue happiness.

Thoreau went so far as to opine that eventually people will become so disciplined that government will not be necessary.

I told you he was a hippie.

This idealistic extrapolation by Walden Pond’s literary resident was probably not the result of what he was smoking, but rather a consequence of wishful thinking and fantasy regarding the reality of human nature — perhaps spawned by living too long alone in the New England forest.

Thomas Paine, despite his healthy distrust of government, admitted in his revolutionary pamphlet “Common Sense” that “government even in its best state, is but a necessary evil.”

Evil though it may be, government is still necessary in 2025.

We the people of Pahrump are faced with a question about our government.

Should there be a town board or shouldn’t there be a town board? Down to the board or up for a board?

Those of us aligned with Thoreau, Jefferson and Paine might have a gut reaction of: Not no, but Hell no, to a town board.

But Thomas Jefferson uttered other insights about government including: “The government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.”

The fewer citizens served by a government entity, the better the chance every man can be involved and feel a part.

It is a matter of math that governing 100 people allows the input and voice of each individual to be heard more than in a government with 10,000 citizens.

The power of each citizen increases as the number of the citizens governed decreases. Again, math.

I expect Thoreau, Jefferson and Paine would all agree that government with the fewest citizens can best serve the individual citizen. This is one reason the founders reserved power to the states so much.

The Nye County commissioners must, to fulfill their duty, consider the opinions, desires, happiness of those in Tonopah, Beatty and everywhere else in this huge county.

A Pahrump town board would only need to focus on what’s best for We the People of Pahrump.

Admittedly, the issue is complex.

But, at a minimum, it deserves informed, thoughtful consideration and a vote by the people.

James Madison, the president who followed Thomas Jefferson in 1809, said: “A popular government without popular information… is but a prologue to farce or tragedy or perhaps both… A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

So, let us educate ourselves and pursue open-minded study. Let us arm ourselves with the power of knowledge before we decide.

Every American has seen quite enough government… farce and tragedy.

Philip S. Bovee is an attorney and writer who has lived in Pahrump since 2023.