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July 27, 2005
Government: The newest monopoly
Big oil was the first to feel the impact with the breakup of the Standard Oil Companies headed by John D. Rockefeller. The assertion was breaking up this huge oil conglomerate controlling production, refinement and distribution of oil and gas would benefit the public by having several competing sources providing these functions that would allow for reduced cost and increased access of the product. Over time, every private industry ever developed would come under the scrutiny of the anti-trust division of the Justice Department. From railroads to autos, from telephones to utilities, from computer hardware or software to real estate sales practices, no private company function is beyond their reach. What we need to consider as a nation today is if this protection is such a tremendous benefit to the public that perhaps it should also be used to review the policies and practices of government as well. Times have changed greatly since the first Sherman Anti-trust act, and no more so than the breadth and scope of governments' involvement in our lives. Back in the 1890s, government was still very limited in its reach and effect on the people by the rule of law and the basic tenets of the Constitution. There was no income tax, property taxes were viewed with mistrust for allowing the taking of private property with just compensation, and public service was a practice not a profession. Today we are saddled with career bureaucrats who constantly demand wage scales equal to or greater than most private enterprise can afford and elected officials who conveniently allow increases to benefits far and above the long-term ability of the economic system to sustain. The state of California is only now coming to realize just how wrong the policies of the past were. Cities such as San Diego, currently more than $1.2 billion short in its retirement fund, are turning out to be the norm rather than the exception. The Orange County deficit has yet to make the headlines, but it has been noted and is being pursued cautiously. Their fear is receiving the same junk bond status of San Diego and the resulting inability to place the public in greater debt. Nevadans should not take this situation lightly for over the last decade our own state has started down the same path, and will be suffering the same fate within the next. The signs are already pronounced for those who look. Higher taxes with fewer services. More government employees at higher salaries with all the necessary "user" fees supposedly covering them. And most of all, a Legislature more interested in promoting government regulation and expansion than in promoting the general welfare of the people. Nye County has many examples to demonstrate this trend, with the current state of affairs in the Planning and Public Works functions being the most obvious. Both functions have increased employees far beyond the population growth rate and assumed duties and responsibilities and imposed regulations and fees accordingly. Under the auspices of doing the work of the Planning Commission, the bureaucracy has grown more than fourfold over the last eight years while the population has at best doubled. And worst of all, you can't ever get the same answer to the same question within two weeks time of asking. Part of the responsibility for this situation is the committee called a commission that never seems to make up its mind if they want to promote or inhibit growth and refuse to set specific written policies that apply to all equally. But what else should we expect from government by committee? The former USSR proved the harm that can do. Public Works on the other hand is almost an oxymoron as recent history demonstrates. Fifteen years ago there were only two full time gas stations in the valley and a population of about 8,000 to support them. Today we have 9 stations and 35,000 people providing gasoline and sales taxes to support the road construction coffers and yet we have main arteries falling apart without any formal plan for maintenance. At the beginning of this year, the road department declared Homestead to be the number one priority for maintenance or reconstruction. Anyone wishing to have their arterial roads designated the same might want to take a ride down Homestead so they can see just how much being number one will get you. The question needing answering is where is all the money going, and might there be a better way. Another item requiring investigation is the currently charged for but seemingly never reviewed road access permit. It seems several new residents filed their application, paid the fee, and were later informed the construction of their driveway did not comply with county standards with no guidance as to how to rectify the situation other than go to the builder. Perhaps it is time for the government to review its own policies and practices to determine if the monopoly they have created for themselves doesn't violate the public interest as well. Little writes from Pahrump. His column, "The Other Side," appears here on Wednesdays. Editor's note: While it's true the planning department has grown significantly over the past decade, the Public Works Department remains understaffed, unequipped, under funded and overworked. The number one priority given to Homestead Road has been a perennial request made by Public Works to the Nye County Board of Commissioners for at least the past seven years. |
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