{"id":18334,"date":"2010-06-07T13:16:42","date_gmt":"2010-06-07T19:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=18334"},"modified":"2010-06-07T13:16:43","modified_gmt":"2010-06-07T19:16:43","slug":"does-size-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/06\/does-size-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Does size matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Brown Pelicans captured at Grand Isle, La. on Thursday wait to be cleaned of Gulf spill crude oil. (Photo courtesy of the International Bird Rescue Research Center)<\/p><\/div>\n

The question of whether government is too big or small is irrelevant. The question is whether government does its job.<\/h4>\n

Like most Americans<\/a>, I\u2019ve been captivated by the oil spewing<\/a> out of the Earth and into the Gulf of Mexico. The cost of this disaster \u2013 in human health and life, to Louisiana\u2019s economy, and to the local and global ecosystems \u2013 remains unknown. The one thing all experts agree on is that it\u2019s going to be big and bad for everyone.<\/p>\n

The spill happens in the context of TEA party<\/a> rallies, a fragile economic recovery, an expanding national debt, border security concerns, midterm elections, an expanded health care system and two wars \u2013 all of which have highlighted two distinct and competing visions of the role of business and federal government in the United States. One side argues that government engagement with the private sector should be severely limited. The other side argues that only through government partnerships can we ensure that there is a safe and fair playing field.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve consistently associated myself with the latter vision \u2013 and still do. There are services that governmental agencies<\/a>, in cooperation with the private sector, can provide that individuals cannot. I can\u2019t build all the roads I take to work or the grocery store or the park. I can\u2019t build and sustain fire stations or hospitals all by myself. I can\u2019t inspect all the meat and produce that ends up on my dinner table. I can\u2019t regulate the oil companies to ensure that the oil and gas that I use in my car is produced safely and with minimum externalized costs.<\/p>\n

This oil spill has shown the flaws within both worldviews; neither government nor industry has effectively protected its citizens or its customers. This was true of the financial crisis, and it\u2019s true now of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.<\/p>\n

Who is best positioned?<\/h3>\n

So, where does that leave us now? Just because government and industry have both failed us in these two situations doesn\u2019t mean that it must always be so. If we are being fair, we can also point to many successes on the part of both institutions. But the question remains: Who is best positioned to make sure that every precaution is taken to avoid these disasters?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Consider this:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Government is not for profit. As it should, industry streamlines its processes constantly to decrease cost and increase revenue. This drive for constantly improved efficiency can lead to risk-taking (in other contexts we call this being entrepreneurial). Government, on the other hand, is charged with protecting the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of its citizens. Simply put, government\u2019s mission more closely aligns with the job that needs doing.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public accountability. By definition, our government is accountable to its constituents. We have the opportunity (even if few choose to take advantage of it) to change our elected leaders based on our opinion of their performance. In the private sector, the public has little recourse.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Redundancy. Many folks bemoan the redundancies they perceive in government, but this is one of the attributes that recommends it as a regulatory body. For example, I am on a Do\u00f1a Ana search and rescue team, which often is called upon to extract an injured person from a mountainside. To ensure safety, every knot is double-checked by two or more people to make sure that it\u2019s done correctly. Is this fast? No. Is it safe? Yes.<\/p>\n

An irrelevant question<\/h3>\n

To me, it is clear that government is a far better ally in protecting public interests. The question of whether government is too big or too small is irrelevant. The question is whether it does its job. In too many cases it hasn\u2019t done its job. That needs to change because it\u2019s the institution that can best provide the essential services, infrastructure and oversight that allow us to live well.<\/p>\n

We face complicated problems as a city, state, nation and world. I hope this blog can serve as a forum for reasonable discussion of our options.<\/p>\n

See you next time.<\/p>\n

Nick Voges is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net\u2019s <\/em>Zeitgeist<\/em><\/a>. E-mail him at <\/em>nick@nmpolitics.net<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Gulf oil spill comes in the context of a series of events that have highlighted two distinct and competing visions of the role of business and federal government in the United States. But to me, the question of whether government is too big or too small is irrelevant. The question is whether it does its job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1046,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1196,180],"tags":[119,147,107,116],"class_list":["post-18334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs","category-zeitgeist","tag-energy-policy","tag-environment","tag-roundhouse","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1046"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}