posted by Damozel |
As the governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, put it:
""This is an opportunity to realize that these bridges were not built by themselves and require all of us to invest in our infrastructure . . . to make sure tragedies like this don't happen." (Washington Post)
In a country this rich, the stinginess of citizens when it comes to spending money that would do its bit to make things better for all of us never ceases to amaze me. Instead of screaming about government waste---by which I mean taxpayer dollars that get pissed away through inattention or fraud----people scream about taxes, by which I mean money that the government needs to do things for us that we can't really do for ourselves. We should be screaming that we're not getting more bang for our buck, not that we have to contribute our share. After all, it costs money to get the stuff we---and our cities and states---need to survive. Sometimes it's necessary to put money into the common pot; the real challenge is to keep an eye on where it goes after that.
We've got to give the government money to do things if we want to be a civilized people, is what I'm saying. But after they've got it, we should be paying a lot more attention to how they use it. It's not the taxes, it's the waste. But we've got to pay for things we need. (And by we I definitely mean "people who are fellow citizens but not actually you or me.")
Then we can all have health care and a place to live and bridges that don't collapse when we drive over them. There's such a thing, after all, as "false econcomy." Countries that have learned this offer certain assurances to the middle class, including the assurance that if the bottom falls out of your business or your product becomes obsolete or you get fired or very ill or forcibly retired, you will still at least be assured of housing and something to eat and health care while you get yourself back on your feet. In those places, whole families and the elderly or mad are less likely to end up homeless and living in the woods or in crates. But to make it work, you've got to hold the government accountable for the money you give it, meaning part of the deal is putting people in place to oversee things and then paying close attention to what they tell you.
But of course, politicians don't want you to think too much about how the government is using taxes that you pay to them because that's not an interesting sound bite and also because it would make people look a lot more closely at people---and businesses---who contribute heavily to their campaigns.
On the other hand, it's easy and also almost risk free to get people who don't think things through too far exercised over having to pay taxes (and especially people whose contribution is relatively limited) and convincing them that sharing the wealth is socialism instead of a major precept of the religion that these same people insist is fundamental to our law and our history as a people. Just get enough people pointing fingers at "the government" as if the government were somehow separable from the people and yelling "no new taxes!" and you can take their money for anything your campaign contributors want.
But the government is, of course, us and the trouble is, we and the government don't really know how to manage money. Maybe it's time we start learning.
RELATED BN-POLITICS: Government Waste
BN-POLITICS BACKSTORY:
The Collapse of a Minnesota Bridge.
The Collapse of a Minnesota Bridge Part 2 (updated)
QUOTED, LINKED, OR CITED
Michael Laris and Virgil Dickinson, Area Bridges Need Pricey Repair Work (Washington Post)
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