No Government? Think About I!
We have all heard protestors yelling "Down with Government"; "You can't trust government" etc. Really?Let's depict what might be a typical day in the life of Joe/Suzy Citizen. The bracketed numbers represent services provided by taxes. Taxes are collected and spent by whatever level of government. Who or what will take their place?
Here is the list of services we encounter:
1. Electricity 13. Education Standards
2. Water 14. Court System
3. Sewage 15. Justice System
4. Gas 16. Traffic Laws
5. Oil 17. Issuing of various Licenses
6. Roads 18. Local, State, Federal Laws
7. Airports 19. Police and Law Enforcement
8. Ports 20. Parks and Recreation
9. Infrastructure Maintenance 21. Social Benefits
10. WEB, Broadband, Internet 22. Rights of citizens
11. Education 23. The Military
12. Teachers College
The alarm goes off (1). You reach out to flip on the lights (1). Then you plod off down the hall or into the ensuite to turn on more lights (1). You use the toilet (2) and then flush it (2,3). Moving over to the sink, you wash your hands (2,3). The house is too cold/hot so you crank up the heat or air (1,4,5). You use these services several more times while cooking before you head out the door. What did you eat? Every item came from a store or market, including the stove and fridge. How? (6,7,8). This only happened after all of these were cleared of ice and snow (9). You get dressed into clothes. Where did they come from? Stores (6,7,8,9). Ah but you bought these online (10).
Now you are out the door. You drive the kids to school (6,11) in your purchased/leased vehicle (6,7,8). There, they are taught by teachers, who were educated at colleges often assisted or provided by government (12) to attain qualifications that are set by regulators (13).
During that brief commute, you are hit by an unlicensed driver and vehicle. You are properly licensed (17) and have to take them to court (14,15) to be tried by a judge and jury (14,15). You are both represented by lawyers who must be properly educated and licensed (13,15,17) so as to be able to enforce the law and your rights (18).
When you return home (and we haven't even covered your typical day at work) you find your house has been burglarized, so you call the police (19). Now you have to go to pick up the kids at soccer (20) and day care which you could only afford because of child benefits (21). Finally you sit down to read a newspaper and watch a ball game on TV which you can enjoy because of free speech (22). Most of it is about war and conflict (23).
I could carry on but you get the picture. Who provides any of this without government? If you say other non-democratic countries have similar things you are wrong at least in scope. But in those societies, good luck changing or increasing such facilities. Do you think private enterprise and entrepreneurs will fill the void? They might fill their pockets, but not the void. Who will manage and enforce all the private contracts with your best interests in mind? To whom will you complain when something is wrong?
Too much government might be bad but none is just a pipe dream. in another society if you smoke the wrong thing in that pipe you might be shot.
8. Ports 20. Parks and Recreation
9. Infrastructure Maintenance 21. Social Benefits
10. WEB, Broadband, Internet 22. Rights of citizens
11. Education 23. The Military
12. Teachers College
The alarm goes off (1). You reach out to flip on the lights (1). Then you plod off down the hall or into the ensuite to turn on more lights (1). You use the toilet (2) and then flush it (2,3). Moving over to the sink, you wash your hands (2,3). The house is too cold/hot so you crank up the heat or air (1,4,5). You use these services several more times while cooking before you head out the door. What did you eat? Every item came from a store or market, including the stove and fridge. How? (6,7,8). This only happened after all of these were cleared of ice and snow (9). You get dressed into clothes. Where did they come from? Stores (6,7,8,9). Ah but you bought these online (10).
Now you are out the door. You drive the kids to school (6,11) in your purchased/leased vehicle (6,7,8). There, they are taught by teachers, who were educated at colleges often assisted or provided by government (12) to attain qualifications that are set by regulators (13).
During that brief commute, you are hit by an unlicensed driver and vehicle. You are properly licensed (17) and have to take them to court (14,15) to be tried by a judge and jury (14,15). You are both represented by lawyers who must be properly educated and licensed (13,15,17) so as to be able to enforce the law and your rights (18).
When you return home (and we haven't even covered your typical day at work) you find your house has been burglarized, so you call the police (19). Now you have to go to pick up the kids at soccer (20) and day care which you could only afford because of child benefits (21). Finally you sit down to read a newspaper and watch a ball game on TV which you can enjoy because of free speech (22). Most of it is about war and conflict (23).
I could carry on but you get the picture. Who provides any of this without government? If you say other non-democratic countries have similar things you are wrong at least in scope. But in those societies, good luck changing or increasing such facilities. Do you think private enterprise and entrepreneurs will fill the void? They might fill their pockets, but not the void. Who will manage and enforce all the private contracts with your best interests in mind? To whom will you complain when something is wrong?
Too much government might be bad but none is just a pipe dream. in another society if you smoke the wrong thing in that pipe you might be shot.
#thebrewsterblock
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