Every American relies on government in a variety of ways. Raise your hand if you: went to a public college or university, work for government (i.e., cops, teachers, firefighters, military, social workers, librarians, school janitors, judges, court reporters, bus drivers, etc), borrow books from a public library, work for or own stock in a defense contractor, get your electricity or water from a government-owned utility, went to, or send your kids to, public school, ride on government-run buses, subways or light-rail, take prescription medicine whose safety and effectiveness are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, use or work for the post office, went to college on the GI Bill, Pell Grant, state financial aid program, are retired and get Social Security payments, ever used food stamps, lived in public housing or had a Section 8 voucher, used a wheelchair ramp mandated by the Americans for Disability Act, get your health care from the Veterans Administration hospital, go boating or fishing in a government-run lake, have a job whose workplace is safer because of OSHA rules work for a company or nonprofit organization that has a contract with the local, county, state or federal government have a family member who depends on a government-subsidized home health care aide, pay for your medicine and medical care with Medicaid, got a tax subsidy for your mortgage interest and/or property taxes, recycle your garbage through your city’s sanitation department, took a vacation in a national or state park, own a family- or corporate-owned farm that is irrigated by a government-owned dam, played baseball or soccer or used the see-saw or swings in a public park or playground, got your polio and other vaccination shots at your public school, traveled with a government-issued passport, used an elevator inspected for safety by the local building department, eat food inspected for safety by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, went to a restaurant inspected by the local Health Department, were helped by a police officer, park ranger or firefighter, have a savings account in a bank regulated by the Federal Deposit insurance Corporation flew on an airplane inspected by the Federal Aviation Administration Congressman Ryan — Welcome to the real world of most Americans, where "big government!" is a reality, not a swear word. by Peter Dreier. Peter Dreier teaches politics at Occidental College
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 02:24:38 +0000
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