Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Water and National Healthcare
Municipalities have been putting pipes in the ground as far back as the late 1800’s in this country. Some pipes carry water to your house or business, while others take away your waste (a much better system than the chamber pots that were prevalent before then). An abundant water supply coming in to your house helps you keep your clothes, linens, and dishes clean. Waste going out of your house to the local wastewater treatment facility keeps down disease. Sounds good, but…
Municipalities have overpromised, and drought stricken states in the southeast of the U.S. are facing the consequences. This amounts, essentially, to a breach of contract (in my layman’s opinion).
When municipalities require that new houses and businesses in the municipal water district must connect with the water and sewer system, they are, in essence, saying that they commit to supplying the water and sewer services the owners will require. Instead of living up to that commitment through proper planning, they are threatening to implement 50% surcharges and accusing us of being water hogs (flushing too much, taking too many showers, keeping our clothes too clean and our grass too green, etc.). In other words, it’s all our fault. [See Florida’s government issued “guidelines” on water usage, stating that all “wasteful and unnecessary water use is prohibited.” Of course, they don’t specify what is “wasteful and unnecessary.”]
Some municipalities that have called for residents to reduce water usage are now facing a shortfall in the revenue they would have been getting from that water usage. Duh!
When government gets into the “business” of providing a service that should be handled by the private sector, they always stumble. Usually, this is due to entrenched bureaucracy, virtually guaranteed life employment for government workers, and systems that just can’t trim down and turn around as quickly as a private company can. Of course, companies, unless forced to do so by government regulations and/or pressure from special interest groups such as have been attacking the energy sector, usually don’t encourage their customers to use less of their product.
Well, you may be asking, what does this have to do with national healthcare (a.k.a. socialized medicine)?
It has to do with the government making promises, commitments, contracts, or whatever you want to call it, saying that they can do the job better (than the private sector). They’ve done it with government schools (and keep sucking up tax dollars as the bloated education system demands more while grades fall in reading and other subjects compared to other countries). They’ve done it with roads, where funds raised through bonds never seem to be there or to be sufficient to cover keeping existing roads in good repair. They’ve done it with parks and recreation, which are lagging behind in maintenance due to the staggering cost. Again and again, government is taking on things that should be handled by the private sector and stumbling miserably.
Now, they want to take on providing healthcare. The very idea makes me queasy!
Time for us all to realize that too much is shifting to the public sector, to the detriment of us all. Time for municipalities to get out of the water and sewer business and most definitely never get into the healthcare business. Then, we can have clean, safe water, free flowing sewers, and doctors who can make medical decisions without checking with their government watchdog. (If you want to read a fascinating, well-researched and well-written, romantic drama that shows exactly how this would work, read Noble Vision by Gen LaGreca, available from Winged Victory Press and Amazon.com.)
Excuse me while I go take some of that pink stuff (some of that self-medicating like what is being advocated in Britain). Urp!
Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill
A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good after all.
Municipalities have overpromised, and drought stricken states in the southeast of the U.S. are facing the consequences. This amounts, essentially, to a breach of contract (in my layman’s opinion).
When municipalities require that new houses and businesses in the municipal water district must connect with the water and sewer system, they are, in essence, saying that they commit to supplying the water and sewer services the owners will require. Instead of living up to that commitment through proper planning, they are threatening to implement 50% surcharges and accusing us of being water hogs (flushing too much, taking too many showers, keeping our clothes too clean and our grass too green, etc.). In other words, it’s all our fault. [See Florida’s government issued “guidelines” on water usage, stating that all “wasteful and unnecessary water use is prohibited.” Of course, they don’t specify what is “wasteful and unnecessary.”]
Some municipalities that have called for residents to reduce water usage are now facing a shortfall in the revenue they would have been getting from that water usage. Duh!
When government gets into the “business” of providing a service that should be handled by the private sector, they always stumble. Usually, this is due to entrenched bureaucracy, virtually guaranteed life employment for government workers, and systems that just can’t trim down and turn around as quickly as a private company can. Of course, companies, unless forced to do so by government regulations and/or pressure from special interest groups such as have been attacking the energy sector, usually don’t encourage their customers to use less of their product.
Well, you may be asking, what does this have to do with national healthcare (a.k.a. socialized medicine)?
It has to do with the government making promises, commitments, contracts, or whatever you want to call it, saying that they can do the job better (than the private sector). They’ve done it with government schools (and keep sucking up tax dollars as the bloated education system demands more while grades fall in reading and other subjects compared to other countries). They’ve done it with roads, where funds raised through bonds never seem to be there or to be sufficient to cover keeping existing roads in good repair. They’ve done it with parks and recreation, which are lagging behind in maintenance due to the staggering cost. Again and again, government is taking on things that should be handled by the private sector and stumbling miserably.
Now, they want to take on providing healthcare. The very idea makes me queasy!
Time for us all to realize that too much is shifting to the public sector, to the detriment of us all. Time for municipalities to get out of the water and sewer business and most definitely never get into the healthcare business. Then, we can have clean, safe water, free flowing sewers, and doctors who can make medical decisions without checking with their government watchdog. (If you want to read a fascinating, well-researched and well-written, romantic drama that shows exactly how this would work, read Noble Vision by Gen LaGreca, available from Winged Victory Press and Amazon.com.)
Excuse me while I go take some of that pink stuff (some of that self-medicating like what is being advocated in Britain). Urp!
Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill
A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good after all.
