[NEohioPAL] Keep Government out of the Arts

[Jonathan Giblin]

I somewhat regret getting involved in this thread; nobody ever gets their mind changed in these exchanges. Nevertheless, I'll take one more stab at this before letting it go.
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Government isn't perfect. It leaves a lot to be desired. Yes, the FDA has at times dragged their feet approving important drugs. Yes, they failed to catch the recent peanut butter contamination before the fact. But I think most reasonable people would feel that's a problem that calls for a more effective FDA, not the abolishment of the agency. 
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The existence of a private company that allows salmonella contamination in its peanut products belies the argument that no private company would allow their product to poison people because it would be detrimental to its own interests. That's precisely why we need government to set and enforce certain standards to protect public health and safety.
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The fact that government isn't always as effective as it should be is a poor argument for abolishing the critical functions of government. And I think most people would not wish to live in a country where government only wages war and keeps the peace.
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That said, reasonable people can disagree about what government should and shouldn't do. I don't want to live in a country that mandates rose bushes in every yard any more than Ms. Stable does. But only government can do certain things. Clean water, for example, isn't just a product quality issue. If we want to preserve the ability to drink tap water anywhere in the nation without wondering about its purity, only ongoing government support for sewers, sewage treatment, and environmental regulation and enforcement can accomplish that. 
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I think America's national consensus has been that private markets are essential, and so is government. It's not an either/or. If we are to be a modern nation in a modern world, we need both government and private markets to function well. We can debate whether we want government to support the arts, but the debate is over for most of us regarding more fundamental government functions. On that, I would hope most of us can agree.
 
 


      
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