Opinion: In search of a problem

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Were it not for the millions of dollars wasted and hundreds of people harmed by the debacle, one could be amused by the recent flap associated with the aborted legislative actions by the good folks at the Statehouse. One can understand, many of us believe that they “should” be doing “something.” Have we pushed these folks to seek problems which they might be able to “solve” with a legislative solution? With the passing of each and every year, hundreds of new pages are added to the Code books. And, millions of pieces of mail are sent to our homes extoling the virtues of this fine work. Unfortunately, the effort too often ends up being a solution in search of a problem.

“We’re from the Government; and, we’re here to help!” Alas, the proclamation has come to be joke outlining the abject failure of many of our leaders to meet expectations. To be fair, we have unrealistically high anticipations of these folks. As our collective national faith in religion wanes, could it be that we are substituting one deity for another? Do we pray to government to fix problems beyond the realm of even the most prominent of elected human officials? If so, what can we reasonably expect our authorities to be able to accomplish?

Safety? Protection? Security? Perhaps. Education? Infrastructure? Opportunity? Maybe. Equality? Equivalence? Equity? Could be. Even as we lose confidence in the structures and institutions upon which our society is founded (look no further than voting rates as support for this supposition), we seem to demand more and more naïve wish lists from those who represent us. Sure, they make promises – often the kind of long-tales that would make Pinocchio blush – but, we love the assurances – a lot.  Have we passed the point of self-reliance?  Maybe the government can tell us.


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Opinion: In search of a problem

0

Commentary by Terry Anker

Were it not for the millions of dollars wasted and hundreds of people harmed by the debacle, one could be amused by the recent flap associated with the aborted legislative actions by the good folks at the Statehouse. One can understand, many of us believe that they “should” be doing “something.” Have we pushed these folks to seek problems which they might be able to “solve” with a legislative solution? With the passing of each and every year, hundreds of new pages are added to the Code books. And, millions of pieces of mail are sent to our homes extoling the virtues of this fine work. Unfortunately, the effort too often ends up being a solution in search of a problem.

“We’re from the Government; and, we’re here to help!” Alas, the proclamation has come to be joke outlining the abject failure of many of our leaders to meet expectations. To be fair, we have unrealistically high anticipations of these folks. As our collective national faith in religion wanes, could it be that we are substituting one deity for another? Do we pray to government to fix problems beyond the realm of even the most prominent of elected human officials? If so, what can we reasonably expect our authorities to be able to accomplish?

Safety? Protection? Security? Perhaps. Education? Infrastructure? Opportunity? Maybe. Equality? Equivalence? Equity? Could be. Even as we lose confidence in the structures and institutions upon which our society is founded (look no further than voting rates as support for this supposition), we seem to demand more and more naïve wish lists from those who represent us. Sure, they make promises – often the kind of long-tales that would make Pinocchio blush – but, we love the assurances – a lot.  Have we passed the point of self-reliance?  Maybe the government can tell us.


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