According to this website, www.governmentisgood.com. Government is important. Here are some sections.
"Why Government is Good. This section describes how government acts as a force for good in society. One piece chronicles a day in the life of an average middle-class American and identifies the myriad and often overlooked ways that government laws and programs improve our lives. Other articles describe the forgotten achievements of government; how government serves as an instrument of “good works;” how public sector policies and institutions protect and enhance our freedoms; how a free market economy would be impossible without the elaborate legal and regulatory infrastructure provided by government; and why we need more – not less –government."
"The War on Government. This section of the site chronicles the unrelenting assault on government being waged by conservative forces in this country. Articles describe how cuts in social programs and rollbacks of regulations have harmed the health, safety, and welfare of millions of Americans; how these assaults have taken place on many fronts – in Congress, the administrative branch, and the federal courts, as well as on the state and local level; and how the right’s radical anti-government agenda is out of touch with the views and priorities of most Americans."
Schools are labour camps.
It's preaching. Same thing "religion is good for the people", because it gave us scientific method, education in middle ages, morality and culture.
(english is not my native language, sorry for grammar.)
MaikU: It's preaching. Same thing "religion is good for the people", because it gave us scientific method, education in middle ages, morality and culture.
That sounds like a not too subtle dig at Thomas Woods haha.
I don't really want to comment or read anything here.I have near zero in common with many of you.I may return periodically when there's something you need to know.
Near Mutualist/Libertarian Socialist.
Hard to refute a whole website in one post. After all, it takes the material on this whole website to do that.
But I'll make a start. Let's look at A Day In The Life. As usual, my comments in bold.
Let’s examine a typical day in the life of an average middle-class American and try to identify some of the ways that government improves that person’s life during that 24-hour period.
6:30 a.m. You are awakened by your clock radio and listen for a few minutes to the news before getting up. But you can listen to your favorite station only because the Federal Communications Commission brings organization and coherence to our vast telecommunications system. It ensures, for example, that radio stations do not overlap and that stations signals are not interfered with by the numerous other devices – cell phones, satellite television, wireless computers, etc. – whose signals crowd our nation’s airwaves. What a joke. I cannot listen to my favorite radio station, because the FCC will not grant it a license in the first place. They exist for the sole purpose of controlling what I can hear. Just as the standard Communist takeover always goes for the radio and TV stations first thing, so too the existing govt here makes sure they can control the airwaves. As for the claim that they ensure stations and cell phones do not overlap, that's like saying we need the govt to ensure that twenty professional football teams do not show up on the same day at the same field. The broadcasters all want money. They all want to ensure that their message is heard. Trust me, they will work something out.
6:30 a.m. You are awakened by your clock radio and listen for a few minutes to the news before getting up. But you can listen to your favorite station only because the Federal Communications Commission brings organization and coherence to our vast telecommunications system. It ensures, for example, that radio stations do not overlap and that stations signals are not interfered with by the numerous other devices – cell phones, satellite television, wireless computers, etc. – whose signals crowd our nation’s airwaves.
What a joke. I cannot listen to my favorite radio station, because the FCC will not grant it a license in the first place. They exist for the sole purpose of controlling what I can hear. Just as the standard Communist takeover always goes for the radio and TV stations first thing, so too the existing govt here makes sure they can control the airwaves.
As for the claim that they ensure stations and cell phones do not overlap, that's like saying we need the govt to ensure that twenty professional football teams do not show up on the same day at the same field. The broadcasters all want money. They all want to ensure that their message is heard. Trust me, they will work something out.
6:35 a.m. Like 17 million other Americans, you have asthma. But as you get out of bed you notice that you are breathing freely this morning. This is thanks in part to government clean air laws that reduce the air pollution that would otherwise greatly worsen your condition. Of all the farcical things to say. Pollution exists in the first place because the govt has decreed in their courts that you personally cannot sue a polluting company for ruining the air you breathe. Had they allowed you to sue in the first place, the air would be spanking clean. 6:38 a.m. You go into the kitchen for breakfast. You pour some water into your coffeemaker. You simply take for granted that this water is safe to drink. But in fact you count on your city water department to constantly monitor the quality of your water and to immediately take measures to correct any potential problems with this vital resource. Make me not laugh. If competition was allowed between providers of water, instead of a govt monopoly granted to only one, water companies would compete for your service, How clean do you think their water would be? Do you need govt inspection of the water used in Coca Cola, say?
6:35 a.m. Like 17 million other Americans, you have asthma. But as you get out of bed you notice that you are breathing freely this morning. This is thanks in part to government clean air laws that reduce the air pollution that would otherwise greatly worsen your condition.
Of all the farcical things to say. Pollution exists in the first place because the govt has decreed in their courts that you personally cannot sue a polluting company for ruining the air you breathe. Had they allowed you to sue in the first place, the air would be spanking clean.
6:38 a.m. You go into the kitchen for breakfast. You pour some water into your coffeemaker. You simply take for granted that this water is safe to drink. But in fact you count on your city water department to constantly monitor the quality of your water and to immediately take measures to correct any potential problems with this vital resource.
Make me not laugh. If competition was allowed between providers of water, instead of a govt monopoly granted to only one, water companies would compete for your service, How clean do you think their water would be? Do you need govt inspection of the water used in Coca Cola, say?
6:39 a.m. You flip the switch on the coffee maker. There is no short in the outlet or in the electrical line and there is no resulting fire in your house. Why? Because when your house was being built, the electrical system had to be inspected to make sure it was properly installed – a service provided by your local government. And it was installed by an electrician who was licensed by your state government to ensure his competence and your safety.
The electrical system was inspected, meaning the price of your home was needlessly made higher because inspectors had to be paid. The electrician charges you more than he should, because people are prevented from entering the field due to the needless licensing requirement.
Private enterprise and competition will ensure that houses are plenty safe. Would you buy a house form a company that Comsumer Reports tells you builds deathtraps? Would you hire an electrician who did not get [voluntary] certification from some relaible consumer group? Maybe you would. And that should be your choice.
6:45 a.m. You sit down to breakfast with your family. You are having eggs – a food that brings with it the possibility of salmonella poisoning, a serious food-borne illness affecting tens of thousands of Americans every year. But the chance of you getting sick from these eggs has now been greatly reduced by a recently passed series of strict federal rules that apply to egg producers.
So Walmart just doesnt care about its reputation. Left to its own devices, it would buy eggs from just anybody, and let the customers die like fleas. The strict federal rules are just another way of preventing new egg producers from entering the business.
All Federal rules are always for that purpose alone. I mean, the same people that are sending our children to die year after year in pointless wars are suddenly on our side? What?
7:00 a.m. You go into your newly renovated bathroom – one of a number of amenities that you enjoy in your house. But the fact that you can even own your own house is something made possible by government. Think about this: “ownership” and “private property” are not things that exist in nature. These are legal constructs: things created by laws that are passed and enforced by government. You couldn’t even buy your home without a system of commercial laws concerning contracts and a government that ensures that sales contracts are enforced. So the fact that you live in your own home is, in part, a benefit of government and the rule of law.
So ownership and private proerty did not exist amongst the American Indians, who had no govt? What a total lie. You don't need a system of commercial laws and a govt that ensures sales contracts are enforced. In fact, the govt does a horrible job in both these areas, making corrupt laws and corrupt and inefficient courts.
As proof of this, look at international trade. There are no laws written by someone forcing the USA and China, say, to do business a certain way. There is no court that can enforce sales contracts made between the Chinese and American govts. And yet, some way some how, it gets done.
7:01 a.m. Government also helps you own your house in more than the legal sense. On a more practical level, the federal government actually gives you money every year to help pay for your house. It’s called a mortgage interest tax deduction
Huh? A tax deduction is the same as giving me money? That's like a thief giving me a present of not stealing as much as he could have.
and it is one of the larger benefit programs run by the federal government – amounting to over $60 billion dollars a year. You can also deduct any real estate taxes you pay. These largely overlooked subsidy programs
Again, not taking more taxes is a subsidy?
have enabled millions of people to buy their first home or to move up to a larger home than they could afford otherwise.
7:02 a.m. Back in the bathroom. You use the toilet and flush it. Your local government then takes care of transporting this waste, treating it, and disposing of it in an environmentally responsible manner – all without a second thought by you.
But I do give plenty of thought to the inflated sewer bills I have to pay. Why does the govt insist on their doing this job, and not letting private companies offer their services? Why did it grant itself a monopoly? The simple answer; because they can.
There is a logical flaw running through this whole article. Just because the govt provides a service, it doesn't mean that they should be providing it, or that the private sector cannot provide it a thousand times better.
When the Mafia decides to take over, say, the gambling casinos, and then writes sings of praise to itself about the greta service it performs providing casinos, are we to believe that they provide the most honest casinos possible?
7:20 a.m. As you are getting dressed, a glance outside the window shows some ominous clouds. You check the weather on your TV. All these weather forecasts are made possible by information gathered and analyzed by the National Weather Service, a government agency. Everyday, on your behalf, it takes in 190,000 weather observations from surface stations, 2,700 from ships, 115,000 from aircraft, 18,000 for buoys, 250,000 from balloons, and 140 million from satellites – all just to help you plan what to wear and make sure you don’t get stuck in a snow storm. And oh yes, this agency may save your life with its hurricane and tornado warnings.
Errm, did they ask me if I want to pay for 190,000 weather stations, 2,700 ships, 115,000 aircraft, 18,000 buoys, 250,000 balloons, and 140 million satellites? No they did not. It was taken from me by threat of force. Also, was the money they took from me and all taxpayers by force the same as what it would cost for a private company to provide these services? No it was not. it was way way too much.
7:30 a.m. Before you leave home, you take your pills to control your high blood pressure. But how do you know that this medicine is safe or effective? Without the testing required by the Food and Drug Administration, you wouldn’t.
Oh, yes I would. Consumer Reports, or some other private organization, would publish results on their website for a small fee, a fraction of what the FDA gobbles up of my tax money.
The whole purpose of the FDA is to protect the big pill companies from competition, their rules and regulations making it difficult to impossible to start my own small pill business.
OK, you get the idea I hope.
My humble blog
It's easy to refute an argument if you first misrepresent it. William Keizer
Loved your reply Smiling Dave. Thanks for taking the time to write one as long as this out. The writing style they employ makes it seem like they are trying to talk to children. Sad part is I'm sure many people read it and become enamored by the magics of government.
Thank you, freeradicals.
I love positive feedback.
My head hurts after reading that site.
This bit was especially painful:
But anti-government conservatives seem to think this coercion is a bad thing. It is not.
coercion is good for the public good, remember? :p
My Blog: http://www.anarchico.net/
Production is 'anarchistic' - Ludwig von Mises
Coercion is always good for those who don't agree with you, don't you know?