We complain about taxes forgetting that paved roads cost money, sidewalks cost money, crossing guards and buses for our kids cost money.
Somebody has to come and put out our fires.
Somebody has to be paid to fill in potholes.
We have indoor plumbing and sanitized water that comes to our house in pipes that have to be laid and, sometimes, repaired and replaced.
We have schools to send our children where there are teachers who do many things for our children on their own time, at their own expense, who have to keep up with the latest information on their subjects and who expect to be paid.
We're afraid of anything and anyone with which we're not familiar so we want an Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and Marines to protect us. We also want street lights so we can see people coming at night.
Some of us think it's both necessary and appropriate to raise hell, from time to time, drink too much, get into drunken fights, cause property damage, steal from our neighbors, etc. so we have to have police and they expect to be paid
Some of us like to read and to learn new things so we want libraries. Some of us can't afford to keep up with technology with the latest gizmos so we want libraries to have some available for us to share there.
Many of us can't be trusted to drive in a reasonable, safe manner, keeping the safety and comfort of other around us in mind so we have to have signs and traffic signals to control our movements and to tell us what's ahead.
Streets, sidewalks, schools, school buses, teachers, librarians, library books, magazines, DVDs, music CDs, public computers at the library, street lights, sewers, public water, gas lines, crossing guards, musical instruments at schools for kids to practice on, school books, school nurses, firehouses, fire equipment, public works employees, parks, road signs, traffic signals, sewage treatment plants, water treatment plants, sand and salt for winter roads, power plants, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard, policemen, judges, bridges, reservoirs, all kinds of supplies, buildings, equipment, vehicles and employees to make all these things available. These are just a few of the things our taxes pay for.
In the meantime, most of us have never been to a town council meeting, don't know who our local officials are and don't care, never communicate with our state or federal representatives because we want to believe they don't pay any attention (that's called self-fulfilling prophecy). [They actually log each call, piece of mail, email by subject and stance - not quite personal, individual response but they are paying attention]. How do I know that? Ask me.
But, we all have lots of opinions about how things should be done, what's wrong and who's to blame.
Just remember that when our Constitution was put into force (1789), the population of the United States was roughly 3.5 plus million; it's now almost 323 million. You might consider the possibility that providing all those things listed above and more for all those people is extremely difficult and expensive.
I'm not saying there aren't inefficiencies and waste. I'm not saying there isn't corruption. I'm not saying that we should overlook the distance that's grown between our representatives and us (whose fault is that?).
I am saying that constant bitching about "the government", as if it's some foreign entity instead of a bunch of institutions and people that we have some responsibility for having allowed or ignored in its growth and evolution. And, looking at one (the president) or a few (our representatives) as the source of our problems is stupid and ignorant. Bitching is not taking an active role in our government. Voting isn't enough. Thinking and worrying about what's wrong are wastes of time.
We need to educate ourselves about how our government works - no, not textbook stuff. I'm not talking about how government works in general; I'm talking about how government works on a day by day basis; because that's where things happen.
How are decisions made in your town about where street lights are installed, where sidewalks are laid and what they're made of? Why are there 6 people and 3 trucks at a road repair (just an example)? Do you know why that pothole in front of you house hasn't been fixed in 2 months?
Who is your state representative? How has he/she voted on the last 10 bills that were proposed? What legislation is coming up? Have you ever read your state constitution?
The same questions for the federal level? How often have you written to, called, or emailed your senator or congressman? What's actually in the federal budget - do you know, have you ever seen a copy? This is incomplete - the 2010 budget (the last I saw) was about 6 or 7 volumes: Budget Overview
Even our towns' management is a big, difficult enterprise. If you don't understand and appreciate that fact, well, then, your opinions are based on absolutely nothing.
Of course, there's another much more fundamental problem and that's that some of us, when we think about these things, think about WE. WE are a country. WE share a Constitution that WE (sort of) agree is the basis our how our country is supposed to work. But, some of us actually don't think in terms of WE or US; some of us only think about I and ME, or a much smaller WE that only includes people who think exactly like us. Some of us aren't able to see the importance of looking out for the mass of the population out there with all it's diversity. It's an US vs THEM way of seeing the world and it can only lead to conflict.
At any rate, almost all Americans live in a world where they have access to all these publicly funded things, in contrast to people living in little villages in say, Afghanistan, Africa, China, India, the rain forests where some people live in tiny structures, without running water, without sewage control, without garbage pickup, without sidewalks, paved roads, street lights, schools, etc.
So, complain away, just keep a little perspective. And, educate yourself and be more active in your governance. Did you know there are towns where you can actually fund a specific pothole?
You can mouth off here but I do monitor comments.
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