Georgia County Government - December 2008 - (Page 7)

CountyMatters Are We Looking for Instant Government? W By Jerry Griffin Executive Director It’s time citizens got better acquainted with the comprehensive number of ways in which government does work – including its many capabilities, obvious or not – as well as its limitations. atching television and listening to the news and talk shows, I am at once amazed and confused concerning the attitude of people toward government. It seems that if everything is going smoothly, government and the taxes required to run it are the “enemies” of the nation, and should be eliminated or reduced in size and power. We even commit to electing people who want to dismantle government because they see it as a waste. Conversely, when something out of the ordinary happens, almost immediately the government is at fault because it did not respond as swiftly as possible to solve whatever is bothering us. Furthermore, if we suffer damages, government is expected to pay for our losses as well as those to any public infrastructure. It must be assumed that people made rational decisions with regard to where they want to live. Often, people like to live on or near water and if that water is one of the oceans off the East or West coasts of the U.S., or the Gulf of Mexico, one must anticipate that at sometimes, their personal property could be impacted by a tropical storm or a related flood event. How can it be such a surprise that this happens? There are numerous sites on the Internet where you can see the locations where hurricanes for the past 200 years have made landfall, so when it happens, it isn’t such a shock. Yet, even with the devastation witnessed on the Texas coast in September, it somehow was perceived to be government’s fault that people couldn’t return to the area immediately after the storm – even in the absence of water or power, or for that matter homes. Those people who refused the mandatory evacuation order, which left little doubt that if you remained, you were likely to die, complained loudly that government didn’t rescue them in a timely manner– and that the federal government had not been “properly prepared” for the disaster. Actually, the federal government seems to have done a remarkable job of being prepared this time. The state and local governments, too, outlined very specifically what could be expected – including a decisive timeline showing when residents could expect certain things to happen. Still, because roads were not cleared of debris and various utilities restored, it is government’s fault. The episodes related to the storm in Texas merely represent one example of the public’s lack of understanding of what government really is. Government is not some abstract entity existing in a big building somewhere. In this nation, government is the entity that exists in order to meet the needs of society at large. Those authorized to make the decisions are elected by a majority of the people who are eligible, and choose, to vote. From the President of the United States to the district county commissioner to the mayor of a town of 250 people, voters select those individuals who they believe will make the best decisions for their own well-being. The officials in those communities destroyed in the hurricane are not living in MATTERS continued on page 8 DECEMBER 2008 www.accg.org 7 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - December 2008

Georgia County Government - December 2008 Contents President's Message County Matters 2009 Legislative Forecast: ACCG's Platform for the Coming Legislative Session ACCG Policy Staff 2008 Legislative Awards Honor Georgia Lawmakers Cell Towers and Local Governments Oglethorpe Power Plans Biomass Electric Facilities Georgia's Grand Old Courthouses: Dawson County Extension News: Biofuels Development Research Corner: Implementing a Record Retention Policy County Parade Index of Advertisers/Advertiser.com

Georgia County Government - December 2008

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