175 Our Government Services We Need*
This post is under construction. More benefits are being cited.
American Political Issues by Tech Resist (@TecSiGuy), 2016 Dem! - was independent – used to lean “right”
(Each post is well-researched, cited, reliable and accurate political commentary. Our blogs are good sources for debate. If you find anything incorrect or lacking, please let us know. Please like us and comment on Facebook or below. We continue to improve each post based on new input.)
Everyone
and every organization make mistakes. No government entity, business,
individual or group is beyond reproach. My research, however, suggests one U.S.
political party favors policies, based on lies at their core, that only benefit their oligarchs and not those
significantly below the one percent.
→ Please, use this
and my other blogs as references to prove points; they’re well cited.
(Citations may include footnotes with asterisks or superscripts, or links.)
(Green = personal/commerce related, yellow = health/safety related, blue = regulation, oversight, legal-protection related)
"Oliver Wendell Holmes once said: 'I
like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.'"
Does government serve
the common good? That’s the overriding question as to whether or not public programs
are valuable. People just don't realize how reliant
we are on government almost every moment of our lives. Gops attack government,
to cut it, to help their oligarchs control us more, but the vast majority doesn't realize the consequences.
1. Our
National
Institute of Standards and Technology keeps the official time.
2-4. Our
Federal
Communications Commission brings organization and coherence to our vast
telecommunications system. Its benefits include functioning radio, cell phones, satellite television, wireless computers, etc.
5. Clean air laws that reduce the air
pollution for those with breathing conditions.
6. Our
government brings safe, monitored water
as a resource.
7. Our government
regulates known toxins
from release into water supplies.
8.
Government inspects
installation of electrical systems to
assure their safety.
9. Food
inspection brings us sanitary food.
10. Legal constructs allow us to have “ownership” and “private property” by laws that are passed and enforced by
government.
11. A system of commercial laws
concerning contracts and a government that ensures that sales contracts are
enforced and allows us to legally purchase a home,
etc.
12. Mortgage interest tax deduction and is one of the larger benefit programs run by the
federal government to assist with home ownership.
13. Local government then takes care of transporting this sewage, treating
it, and disposing of it in an environmentally responsible
manner.
14. Our National Weather Service, a government
agency, is responsible for radar and initial weather predictions, which are
then locally varied by meteorologists. Weather
observations come from surface stations, 2,700 from ships, 115,000 from
aircraft, 18,000 for buoys, 250,000 from balloons, and 140 million from
satellites. Severe weather warnings for tornadoes,
floods and hurricanes also arrive via
NWS.
17. Local laws that require people to clean up after their pets. Stray cats and dogs can
be caught by your local Animal Control
officer.
18. Roads are government benefits.
19. Vehicle
safety testing is a government benefit.
20. Traffic laws discourage people from driving too fast or driving
drunk.
21. Driver’s
license examinations ensure are
at least minimally competent drivers who can see the road.
22. Child safety seats, the use of seat
belts and air bags result from government oversight.
23. Auto
insurance is a government requirement for vehicle registration.
24. Traffic
lights, traffic signs, lanes, etc. are provided by government.
25. Child care oversight is a
government benefit including group size, ratios
of children per staff member, teacher training, nutrition, health, safety, and space requirements.
26. Child care
tax credit is a government
benefit.
27. Federal restrictions on hours that truck
drivers can operate their vehicles without resting
makes travel safer.
28. Annual elevator inspections conducted
by your local government.
29. Occupational
Safety and Health Act works to provide safe and healthy work conditions.
30. Federal law protects you from workplace discrimination based on
race, gender, religion, national origin, or disability.
31. State laws may also require your employer to purchase worker’s
compensation insurance for job injury.
32. Our Government requires all food packaging
to have truthful and easily readable labeling with nutritional information.
33. Our Department of Agriculture has developed and enforces uniform standards for
pesticide residue on raw foods.
34. Government regulations limit the maximum amount of radiation
leakage from microwave ovens.
35. Our government guarantees your bank deposits.
(“Before
the FDIC, in the depression of the 1930s, over 5,000 banks went bust and
millions of Americans lost their savings. The main reason we had no disastrous
runs on banks (and money market funds) during the financial panic of 2008 was
that government was there to guarantee those deposits.”)
36. Our
money is a government creation, along with regulating
money supply and protecting it from counterfeiters.
39. Our
federal Family
and Medical Leave act allows several days off to take care of
loved ones.
40. Our
State Department of
Health has a program of examines and licenses therapists
to ensure their work quality.
41. Our government
mandates a 40-hour work week.
42. Laws regulate every phase of a transaction for
the sale of
goods and provide remedies for problems
that may arise.
43. The gas pump
sticker shows inspection by your city’s
Division of Weights and Measures of the pump and gasoline.
44. Public
employees make sure that you get what you pay for, test and inspect commercial meters and scales,
and laws to correct checkout scanner errors.
45. The Department of Attorney General
has been responsible for finding and prosecuting cases of price manipulation
and price
fixing by oil companies and distributors.
46. Government planning
departments approve particulars of developments, like green
space and tree-lined streets.
47. Zoning laws
allows neighborhoods to restrict commercial, retail or manufacturing concerns
from infringing on them.
48. Sidewalks
are provided or required for pedestrian safety.
49. Public parks
preserve nature, allow sports, recreation and peaceful existence and yield
sales points for homes.
50. Local
government inspects all restaurants
to protect customers from food poisoning.
51. Our federal no-call registry is a
government service to give us privacy from incessant intrusion.
52. Our internet
actually began with government programs that created ARPANET and later NSFNET.
53. Our government
funded research that led to web browsers like
Internet Explorer and search engines like Google.
55. By law, roosters aren’t in your city neighborhood to allow
you to set your wakeup time.
58. Our government tries criminals.
59. Our government imprisons criminals.
62. Our government thwarts terrorist
attacks.
63. Our government eradicates deadly diseases.
64. Our government delivers early
childhood education.
65. Our government delivers K-12 education.
66. Our government delivers college education.
67. Our government delivers advanced college degrees.
68. Our government delivers grant funding for
university research.
69. Our government keeps our currency
(money) stable.
Next group**
70. Our
government builds and maintains expressways
and highways.
71. Our
government builds and maintains bridges, dams, levees, seawalls, dikes, flood walls,
etc. for water
control.
72. Our government oversees the cleanup
of oil spills.
73. Our government oversees the cleanup
of toxic waste.
Next group***
76. Our government sends out Social
Security checks.
77. Our government ensures aircraft
safety.
78. Our government feeds the hungry.
79. Our government puts out
fires.
80. Our government regulates businesses to protect
our economy. (“Before government took on this
responsibility, severe depressions were a routine and recurring problem in this
country – occurring in 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893, 1907 and 1929.”)
81. Our
government through vaccination programs has reduced by 95% our
risks of contracting potentially debilitating diseases like hepatitis B, measles, mumps,
tetanus, rubella, and diphtheria.
82. Our government provided the G.I. bill to
dramatically raise the educational level and
hence the productivity of our workforce.
84. Unpolluted
water for fishing and swimming.
85. Mass transit
(trains, airports, subways, etc.) were built with government subsidies.
87. Our government stops new threats to our food system, such as mad-cow
disease.
88. Our government identifies almost
3,000 products
that are unfit for consumption
and ensures their withdrawal from the marketplace.
89. “Federal funds pay for 80% of the basic science
research in this country, through laboratory facilities in
universities and in government agencies such as the National
Institutes for Health.”
90. “In
just one area – biomedical
science – basic research has provided the foundation to develop new diagnostic technologies, such as nuclear
magnetic resonance machines, and new treatments
for cancer, diabetes, and many
other diseases.”
91. Our
government has improved
“…nearly half of the most important medical treatments
in the field of cardiovascular-pulmonary
medicine have their origins in basic research attempting to unravel the
mysteries of the lungs, heart, and muscles – work done by scientists not
working in this specific disease area.”
92. Our
government has provided
national parks,
state parks, wildlife refuges, state and nationals
forests, etc.
for recreation and preservation of our ecological resources and
habitats for organisms that live there.
93. Our
government has provided
rural electrification.
94. Our
government has provided
AmeriCorps to help organizations in our country and develop work skills.
95. Our
government has provided
the Peace Corps to help
with international
relations and develop work skills.
96. Our
government has provided
the National
Crime Information Center.
98. Our
government has lessened the percent of elderly
in poverty.
99. Our
government has improved
pre-natal
care.
100. Our
government has lessened housing discrimination.
101. Our
government has improved
life
expectancy.
102. Our
government has improved
the number of people covered by health
insurance.
103. Our
government had improved
the number of people owning
houses.
104. Our
government had improved
the equality
of opportunity.
105. Our
government had improved
voting rights.
106. Our
government had improved
per
capita income.
107. Our
government had improved
worker
productivity.
108. Our
government had increased
the number scientists
and engineers.
109. Our
government had increased
public and private spending
on the arts.
110. Our
government has improved
infant
mortality.
111. Our
government had improved
graduation from high school and college.
112. Our
government has allowed
the degree
of freedom guaranteed by law.
113. Our
government has improved
the technical quality of health
care.
114. Our
government has improved
the availability of child care.
117. Our government delivers special education.
127. Our
government provides corporate/business
subsidies.
128. Our
government provides many
benefits to service veterans.
130. Our
government provides elected county officials.
131. Our
government provides elected state senators.
132. Our
government provides elected state representatives.
133. Our
government provides elected U.S. senators.
134. Our
government provides elected U.S.
representatives.
This post is under construction. More benefits are being cited.
142. Our
government preserves historic
sites.
143. Our
government provides the
G.I. Bill to provide education, loans, savings and unemployment benefits.
144. Our
government provides zoos.
145. Our
government provides our
pentagon military establishment.
150. Our
government provides emergency
services, like calling 911.
158. Our
government provides WIC to provide nutritional support,
education and healthcare for women, infants and children in need.
162. Our
government provides the
State Children’s Health Insurance
Program for
children in medical need who would otherwise fall between the cracks.
169. Our
government provides a census every
10 years to determine area needs.
170. Our
government provides a Customs
and Border Protection Service.
171. Our
government provides a Department
of Energy, overseeing nuclear energy, nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, energy production, energy conservation, etc.
172. Our
government provides a Department
of Education,
to support special education, disabilities,
etc.
173. Our
government provides a Secret
Service to protect
government officials, our money processes, etc.
174. Our
government provides a Department
of Justice to enforce our laws.
175. Our
government provides civilization,
to serve the people and protect their rights and
freedoms. This is completely possible because of government, taxes, and
socialism.
"Oliver Wendell Holmes once said: 'I
like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.'"
*These are all adapted from: http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=17
“We have
been continually told that government is inefficient, ineffective, corrupt,
oppressive, overly expensive, and bad for business. The core message has been
clear: government doesn’t help us, it hurts us; it doesn’t solve problems, it is the problem. This claim that
“government is bad” has been a central political theme in virtually every
Republican election campaign during the last three decades. Americans have always been somewhat
suspicious of government, but this tendency has been greatly exacerbated and
exaggerated by a steady diet of anti-government rhetoric coming from the political right.” http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=1&p=3
“… societal goals that
most Americans agreed upon – such as a growing economy, high quality health
care at a reasonable cost, personal freedom, reduction of poverty, a high per
capital income, clean air, equal opportunity in hiring, lower crime rates,
retirement security, and so on. He eventually identified seventy five of these
goals which he divided into five categories: prosperity, quality of life,
opportunity, personal security, and values.” http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=7&p=3
“Can you be compassionate if you
consistently undermine the use some of the main tools of compassion in our
society – social programs and regulatory rules?” http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=11&p=2
“Markets versus Governments as Moral Instruments
But if we are going to say that government is an
important instrument for moral action, shouldn't we also say that the market is
too? … Economists firmly believe that markets do work in the public interest,
but they see that as an indirect effect of people acting in their own private
interest. In unregulated markets, people are often encouraged to act selfishly
to maximize their own well-being – by paying the lowest price, charging the
highest price, getting the biggest salaries, or putting their rivals out of
business. People are not obligated to take into account moral considerations,
such as what is best for society or what is the right thing to do.
Limiting Government Limits our Ability to Do the Right Thing
If modern democratic government and its programs are
often a reflection of our best selves – our most decent selves – then
right-wing attempts to drastically cut taxes and shrink the public sector can
only serve to diminish our ability to act as responsible moral beings. The more
we Americans accept the conservative vision of government as "bad,"
and the more we go along with their attempts to weaken this institution, the
more we weaken our ability to make the world a better place.”
“What
the Right Really Hates: Successful Programs – The myth of inefficient and ineffective government has
contributed to tax cuts and caps, which in turn actually make government less
able to do its job, which simply reinforces the idea that government is inept
and inefficient.
The more conservatives
have been able to cut taxes and programs, the more debilitated the public
sector has become, and the more disillusioned the public has become about
government performance. This is then seized on by government bashers to justify
further cuts in taxes and government. It is a negative feedback loop that works
to the advantage of those who want to hobble government. Interestingly, just
the opposite seems to be the case in other advanced democracies, especially
many of those in Europe.” http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=7&p=4
“Taxes are the lifeblood
of government and so if government is basically good, then so are taxes.”**
Other sources:
Why We Need More, Not Less, Government http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=8
Introduction:
Why We Need to Stand Up for Government http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=6
Doing Good through Government http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=11
I was still
an independent voter (until 2016), but now lean heavily left. In the past, I
voted for Ford, Reagan (2nd term), G.H.W. Bush, Dole and even
McCain. The only one of those votes I’m now proud of was for Ford.
After the Koch brothers sponsored the tea party
to exert excessive influence over the Republican (Gop) party, I’ve been
debating politics on Facebook and with family members, along with doing an
incredible amount of research. This might seem incredibly one-sided, but every
Gop position I’ve researched is based on at least one lie from what I can
determine. I’m quite willing to debate this phenomenon.
Gops
attack government to make it less effective to excuse more cuts. This way their
oligarchs can control more through unrestrained capitalism. https://www.bridgemi.com/special-report/michigan-more-150-communities-are-financially-distressed
Please see my other blog/s: http://ampolissues.blogspot.com/
