0027 - 03OCT2013 - "Who needs a government, anyway?"

And so it goes, that on October 1st 2013, the US Government was shut down and more than 800,000 ‘non-essential’ government workers were furloughed… Are the national parks and museums non essential? During WWII, somebody told Churchill that the funds dedicated to the preservation of Arts and Culture in Great Britain had to be diverted to fund more military equipment. He responded “If we are to disregard our Arts and Culture, what are we really fighting for?” Now, there are several key questions that, depending on your psychological profile (because that dictates your political persuasion) are valid or not, simple or not, fair or not…

Question #1: one political radio commentator asks: “If they are non-essential, why are they working for the government anyway?” Interesting question because it indicates that only essential functions are needed or necessary, right? It makes sense. However, like with everything else, the devil is on the details and, after further analysis, this criterion for essential-or-not starts getting a little fuzzy… Are janitors essential to the Pentagon or to the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building? No, they are not; Pentagon is Defense and the FBI building is Justice; period. And that all makes sense until there is no paper in the bathrooms, or the toilets are not working. The alternatives are to wait until you return home to go to the bathroom or go in any dark corner of your choosing. Are electricians essential? The same answer applies: no, they are not; that is until a breaker blows and there is no power to the whole wing of a building, or light bulbs need to be changed, or the A/C is not working, etc. Now we are talking about a stinky, dark hot and humid workplace; still non essential, right? And one can go down the line and talk about guards, cooks, secretaries, travel arrangers, couriers, etc. Can you see the difference between essential and needed? Can one understand that non-essential does not mean unnecessary? A bathroom in one’s house is non-essential because a house essential function is to provide shelter, plus you can go outside and do your ‘businesses’. Does that mean the bathroom’s services and functionality are not needed? I know that the answer to those questions depend on your political persuasion and, as such, I leave it up to you. I know what my answer is!

Question #2: another political radio commentator said: “It’s been two days with the Government out of business and I, for one, see no difference. Who needs a government, anyway?” I’d say that the logic here is infallible and as perfect as one can conceive, right? Justice, Foreign Policy and Trade, Defense, Treasury, Agriculture, Labor, Transportation, Education, Energy, Veteran Affairs, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services. All those things are a waste of money and play no role, whatsoever, in the day-today lives of God-fearing, Bible/Torah-totting, red-blooded Americans. Let’s make a simple list:

• Justice: Courts where to air one’s grievances; “Who needs that crap? Every man for himself.”
• State: Healthy and honorable relations with other countries of the world; “what the hell for, who needs to even know who they are?”
• Defense: Ability to defend our land, citizens and interests wherever they may be; “hey, we are all rugged individuals and I need nobody to defend me; I have my AK47 ready to go against those government thugs!”
• Treasury: Control and manage monetary policy. “What kind of gibberish is that? A dollar is a dollar is a dollar. Inflation, recession, depression those are inventions of the bureaucrats!”
• Agriculture: Educate, incentivize farmers and help market crops. “Bull crap; farmers need no help; they know best; leave them alone!”
• Labor: monitor, regulate and maintain healthy work rules and environments. “Who the hell needs that? A fair wage for a fair work day; that’s how this country was created; don’t interfere with the business owners”
• Transportation: safety, maintenance and expansion of means of transportation. “There is no place in the Constitution where safe roads, bridges, cars, trains or planes are guaranteed, OK? So, stop whining and travel at your own risk” 
• Education: management of educational standards for curricula and educators. “It is a broken system; I don’t trust them; I do my own schooling; teacher are lazy and, at an average of $30,000/year, they are grossly overpaid; college Professors are worthless and always in their ivory towers; those who can’t do, teach!”
• ... And the list goes on with many examples of how little value the government brings to us…

I have one more example of government irrelevance, a close-to-home example: Elizabeth Warren, a senator for Massachusetts, is referred to by many people of certain political persuasion (i.e. psychological profile) as a God Dammed Liberal, a true Communist! Many also ignore (or choose to ignore) that this same ‘communist’ fought for long and hard, and founded, the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau); she caught hell from many patriots who opposed the creation of such a wasteful entity; it had to be created by executive order because the patriots in congress did not want more government. Ironically, this is the same outfit we are all looking at, and talking to, and pleading with to help us with the mess the developer left behind in Hawks Bluff… What a waste!

Lastly, for those of us who still think that government is not needed, here are a couple of suggestions where one may find the closest thing to Paradise: Somalia or Afghanistan. Little or no government whatsoever; there one can live happily ever after!