[AP Photo by Gerald Herbert - from Boston.com]
I keep hearing bout how the government is too big; it is the problem; it doesn’t work, etc. But those who make such claims seem unable to be specific as to what the government should or shouldn’t do - it is just too big, they say.
But it is interesting that when anything goes wrong with climate events, oil spills, financial meltdowns, a delay in arresting a terrorist, two costly wars, unemployment, bad results from schools, etc., the government is always blamed and expected to step in and cure the problem.
The financial world imploded because the government canceled regulations that might have prevented part or all of the disaster that affected the U.S. and most of the world. The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico resulted from a lack of government insistence on a fool proof plan to prevent damage that such a spill would cause. Now the government is called upon to help contain the problem and we can only hope BP will somehow pay for all the damage. But who will pay for the lost businesses, jobs, damage to the eco system, etc? In the long run, government will have to deal with most of the problems.
Who is the government? We, the citizens, elect our representatives whose responsibility it is to make the laws and govern (run) the business of the government. Most of us could not list all the functions, good and bad, in which our government is engaged. Most of us would be quite unhappy if the government stopped checking our food, environment, air, water, research, medical care for all that it currently takes care of (over 50% of our population) aviation, armed services, diplomacy, public safety, police and fire, forest Rangers, Coast Guard, etc.
If not the government, who?
The oil companies managed to get permission to engage in off shore drilling for oil. They put up the money for the rigs, and personnel needed. They do it to make profits and get tax breaks and help from a variety of governmental agencies. Unfortunately, if something goes wrong, we, the people suffer. The oil companies may take heavy losses, some of which will be handled by insurance, but they will eventually get on with their business.
Those affected by the spill will not be so lucky. Forget the birds, fish animals, coral reefs, marshes, etc. They cannot sue anyone. What about the businesses and employees that will close if fishing is shut down; the people dependent upon tourism for their income, the long term effects upon the environment, etc.? At some point the government will have to pay to help some of these victims. The tax base of many areas will go downhill and the citizens will suffer. All of this because the government did not have a way to guarantee that it was safe to drill or that the benefits to the people outweighed the risks. I am not forgetting the loss of life but that too was a risk that was not considered.
The government was at fault, but which part? I think Congress was wrong to not have laws, as other countries do, that insist upon stop loss machinery that has been proven to work in case of a problem. I think lobbyists managed to convince our representatives that the need for more oil outweighed the need for controls to minimize the risks. The same problem was instrumental in the financial meltdown. We are the government. We should be asking what is meant by the government is too big, when it obviously is not big enough to prevent such problems.
We should demand that those who keep repeating the mantra that a smaller government is better, and thus we need smaller or less government, to explain how we will benefit and what we will give up. Let’s concentrate on how to make government work for the greater good. Let’s concentrate on punishing those that subvert the government with bribes or willful misinformation.
We might have to pay for better government with higher taxes. If so, let us make sure that all pay a fair share.
Bumper sticker slogans are meaningless. Let’s demand practical suggestions and work together to solve the real problems.
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