Most Government Programs Actually Work Very Well, Thank You
Economic and social societies are made up of three major sectors: Public, private, and educational. Public programs are administered by local, state, and national governments; private enterprises are run by individuals, small companies, and corporations; while educational facilities are a mix of private and public facilities and staffs that educate us all. Together, they complement each other, while individually they each provide services the others do not.
Of the three sectors, the “government” takes the most heat. And the reason is because they take on the most difficult tasks—tasks the other sectors will not touch with a ten-foot pole because they are too difficult or too expensive. Free enterprise does not provide police protection or standing armies because they are too expensive. It does not pay for the highways, railways, and waterways for the same reason. There is a very long list of services that a modern society needs but cannot or will not provide via businesses and corporations. These projects and services are beyond the reach of the “profit motive,” and are therefore society's “problems.”
God bless the government for taking on the big issues. The difficult issues. Overseeing the construction and maintenance of our transportation system, for example, is an ongoing project of mammoth proportions. And with hundreds of millions of travelers and vehicles to keep an eye on, it borders on the miraculous that it works so well. Even floods, earthquakes, fires, erosion, wear and tear, and reckless individuals cannot bring it to its knees. And God knows they try.
There are 1,607 such programs at the federal level. Add in state and local programs and the number rises to perhaps 10,000. Be patient and tolerant of them. And remember this: Your first contact with almost any government office is almost always with the lowest paid person on their staff, someone the private sector probably would not hire. But he or she is still a person, just the same as you or me.
How many times have you heard a politician say “Government is not the solution; government is the problem?” That is like calling St. Jude (the patron saint of hopeless causes) the cause of hopelessness. Or it is like calling Mother Teresa the cause of destitute circumstances, not that saintly lady who devoted her life to helping the poorest of the poor. Or, as in the case of one politician, it is voting to reduce food stamps for the hungry but taking $10 million in grants from the same government program for yourself and your family farm. Oh, yes. It's not the government that is the problem. It's the politicians who screw it up that is the problem.
Neither the government nor any of its programs is perfect. They come from the same population that all others come from. But there are not many scam artists, nor Ponzi schemers, nor outright thieves in government. There are no billionaires and not many millionaires. But I'm proud of the members of the Armed Forces, as well as the police and all first responders who put their lives on the line everyday. I cannot imagine NASA being run by the profit motive; and I celebrate every time we land on the moon or on Mars, or probe the outer regions of the solar system. I am glad there is research and development underway constantly for new fuels, new drugs, and updates to our defense systems. I like the rules and regulations that make our skies safe, that keep our food supply relatively free from harmful elements. And I am thankful when a new born baby that is abandoned is taken in by public, private, or religious persons who really care. There is nothing more pathetic than a politician who whines about a government he is hell bent on destroying.
There are two points that I would like to add: the first is deregulation. The idea is that the private sector can do a much better, more efficient, job at many government services than the government. When looked at very carefully, these programs start out inexpensively, but eventually cost more and are less uniform than the government program they replace. Instead of long-term stability of government action over many years, competing private entities cause constant fluctuation in service and employment while money flows to the executives and stockholders of the companies that run these quasi-government enterprises like government contractors in war zones, charter schools, and private prisons. Many of these wonderful solutions have become disgraces for the greed and corruption involved.
Secondly, for those that opt for "states rights" over "bloated" federal government, they ought to consider the idea of of 50 separate countries with their own laws and infrastructure. The whole idea of the "United" States of America is so that there is uniformity in all aspects of society. Even with that, when the economy in one state or its government fails to provide a certain service or services, people flee that state and go to others where things are more favorable. Without uniform government practices throughout the states, anarchy is not far behind.
Having 50 separate governments providing armies, educational regulation, infrastructure like highways and public works projects, would be way more costly than the multistate projects that the federal government routinely does. Europe has formed the European Union for the simple reason that services, trade, and defense are more easily handled when separate states join together under central rules and economies of scale.
Ron