One of the minor themes I've been pursuing in RPK is that government is a necessary and generally good thing (see the first posting on this subject here). The response of local, state, and federal government agencies—up to and including the once mightily despised FEMA—to Hurricane cum Tropical Storm Irene affords an opportunity to beat the government is good drum again. According to a CNN news report (here), "...authorities at all levels of government are winning praise for their handling of Hurricane Irene." Those who "hate bureaucracy" and think of it as being only riddled with waste and fraud really need to step back and think again. In the last week, tens of millions of Americans have benefitted from government in a time of crisis when only government could do all the things necessary to cope with a major natural disaster. Churches couldn't have coped. Big business wouldn't have coped. There are many things that only government can do in the name of the people, and some folks in Washington are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in their ideological drive to cripple government by cutting spending. End of rant.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Another Government is Good Note
One of the minor themes I've been pursuing in RPK is that government is a necessary and generally good thing (see the first posting on this subject here). The response of local, state, and federal government agencies—up to and including the once mightily despised FEMA—to Hurricane cum Tropical Storm Irene affords an opportunity to beat the government is good drum again. According to a CNN news report (here), "...authorities at all levels of government are winning praise for their handling of Hurricane Irene." Those who "hate bureaucracy" and think of it as being only riddled with waste and fraud really need to step back and think again. In the last week, tens of millions of Americans have benefitted from government in a time of crisis when only government could do all the things necessary to cope with a major natural disaster. Churches couldn't have coped. Big business wouldn't have coped. There are many things that only government can do in the name of the people, and some folks in Washington are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in their ideological drive to cripple government by cutting spending. End of rant.
