I found this on Facebook, and can’t find a source to attribute it to. Still, it’s is good.
This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power utility regulated by the US Department of Energy (DOE). I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the federal communications commission (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 (NASA) and maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) . I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the US Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation (DOT), possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and of a quantity regulated and certified by the State Bureau of Weights and Measures, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service (USPS) and drop the kids off at the public school .
After work I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to a house which has not burned down in my absence because of 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.
I then 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.
This is kind of a straw man attack here. Notice how all of the regulatory groups tend to prevent certain products from coming to market, but they don’t control your business. Also, how many of these organizations while providing a very helpful service are rather poorly run. Case in point: the Postal Service. Sure we get our mail, but not with the speed or reliability of UPS or FedEx. Also UPS and FedEx have been in the black while the USPS has been in the red. They’re currently pursuing cutting out Saturday mail to get some hope of being near breaking even. Or take GMC, which the government did take over and it continued to run into the ground. Ford on the other hand has been making a serious profit despite being in a similar financial circumstance.
Despite having all of these government groups and regulations, they are nothing like Venezuela, which has has recently gone in a very recent socialist direction thanks to Chavez. The FCC may regulate what can and can’t go on the air, but in Venezuela they government actually decides the programming.
Does this mean you favor socialism?
Nah. I think it’s just a good reminder that our lives are richer and society is better because of the many services and regulations that our government provides. While our government isn’t perfect and is certainly wasteful, it provides a lot of things we take for granted. (Usually until you move somewhere else or experience another country’s government and culture)
I’m just saying we should up the gratitude a notch and tone down the whining a bit. We have it pretty good, and I don’t think our whole country is going to go to pot because one law was passed by Congress (finally).
To Adam, I would counter that the USPS provides equal or better service than UPS or FedEx. You have to pay extra for Saturday delivery with those companies, and most simply don’t serve rural areas.
Certainly, the competition has been more innovative than the USPS – which has forced the USPS to improve to keep up (tracking numbers, best example), but I can’t say that the compeition are more reliable. I’ve never had a problem with the USPS. In fact they tend to be more patient and persistent than other carriers.
socialism socialism socialism socialism…………..is anyone else tired of hearing the incessant droning about this from the left/right. Ug move if you dont like it. or run for office.