Credit where credit is due?

SFC Michael Hasbun — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 08:49:37 -0400

I came across this this morning... It's an interesting point..

"This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like,
using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of
Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads built
by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence
because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's
inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables, thanks to the local police department.

And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right."

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Aug 14 at 2015 8:51 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 08:51:49 -0400

I have the same speech for the T-Party crowd!

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Aug 14 at 2015 8:52 AM

SCPO David Lockwood — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 08:52:57 -0400

I different point of view. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Aug 14 at 2015 8:57 AM

SSG Warren Swan — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 08:57:29 -0400

But did you use soap that was tested and approved by the FDA after use on many animals, get into your vehicle that has been crash tested many times over and inspected by a government official in a DoD uniform, do the speed limit posted by the DOT supported by the AAA, and did you mentally thank Al Gore for "giving" you the internet, while you spend time spending money that the government "loaned" you to get breakfast and lunch?

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Aug 14 at 2015 9:26 AM

Col Joseph Lenertz — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 09:26:44 -0400

LOL, that's just great. Think how much BETTER all those capabilities would be...cheaper electricity, cheaper water, faster internet, etc, if released from the confining burden of all those government regulations. Government is a burden we accept for the common good...individual liberty and the pursuit of happiness are what generates the technology, wealth, and health that allows us to enjoy our lives. Government has a role, but it is at it's best when it is limited... and ensures our security and enables our individual liberty.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 9:26 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 09:26:48 -0400

My response to that is that we survived long before the USDA, and FDA regulated food and drugs, and not much would change if they went away. We had electricity in our houses long before the Department of Energy, and nothing would be harmed if the DoE went away tomorrow. The DoE is a first rate scam, who's initial job under the Carter administration was to reduce dependence on foreign oil, but hasn't done that at all, and has instead grown into another government stranglehold sitting on the people's backs.
The water I've drank and washed in most of my life has not been provided by a municipality, but by myself or my dad.
We had quality fuels long before there was an EPA, and I have a hard time believing somebody could actually say the EPA regulates fuel quality with a straight face.
The police don't keep my house from being looted. Parents and society who instilled values from the Judeo/Christian ethic is what keeps my house from being plundered while I'm gone. Look in any big city and you'll see how effective the police are at keeping you safe.
Mind you, I acknowledge that we need government, and it does do tasks that keep our lives comfortable every day. I just strongly object to the idea that we need nearly as much government as we have.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Aug 14 at 2015 10:18 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 10:18:43 -0400

There is a difference between legitimate government functions and socialism.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 10:43 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 10:43:43 -0400

I looked at the sky this morning on my morning run, noted the red sky, and figured it would rain later.
Then I logged in to my personal laptop on the PRIVATE internet, and read this story while drinking water pumped from my well.

To say that government everywhere is bad is incorrect. What I and many others think is why is the FEDERAL government involved in many of the ventures it is. For example, up here in Minnesota, our Congressional delegation loves to bring home federal dollars to build bike and snowmobile trails. Not sure how the rest of the United States (promoting interstate commerce is an enumerated power) benefits from this - in fact it is only a select faction of Minnesotans who enjoys these trails. Meanwhile, our Interstate Highway bridge in downtown Minneapolis falls in the river. The Eisenhower Interstate Highway System (an idea borrowed from the Nazis, by the way) changed the country for the better, mostly, and was an excellent use of federal money. Now that is built, it seems that we'd prefer to spend gas tax money on anything else... like bike trails and preposterously expensive light rail systems. In Minneapolis/ St Paul, there actually used to be an extensive streetcar system that was removed and paved over because buses were deemed better and less costly - that is until somebody else was paying for it.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 12:40 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:40:07 -0400

Haha I like this post.

Response by 1LT Aaron Barr made Feb 11 at 2016 3:33 PM

1LT Aaron Barr — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:33:13 -0500

The question you should be asking is how much more did you have to spend on all these things operated by the government versus how much you would've spent had the private sector been providing them. Moreover, what makes you think that the regulations you cite make you safer? Regulations have this way of becoming the minimum standard and oftentimes, the standards to which private businesses hold themselves, due to competition, are more rigorous.