I'm a federal employee. A public servant. I work for the American people. And I'm proud to serve them.
Like the men and women in our armed forces who are also federal employees, I work to protect the well-being of the American people every day. I work for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment. We help ensure the air you breathe and the water you drink is safe. We make sure you aren't exposed to dangerous chemicals and pesticides that can make you sick or kill you. We work hard to ensure your health is in no way threatened when you swim or fish in our nation's lakes, rivers and streams.
Because of our efforts, you can sleep soundly at night knowing that invisible threats to you and your family - many of which you may never have known existed - are no longer lurking around you. You no longer have to worry about inhaling dangerous lead with every breath you take because we compelled the oil companies in 1973 to stop using lead as an additive in gasoline. You can sleep easier knowing that the EPA banned the use of asbestos in many products in 1989, reducing the chances of you inhaling asbestos fibers and developing potentially fatal lung disease.
We stand watch vigilantly every day to protect you against unseen threats. The dedicated public servants at the EPA, however, are only a small part of the larger army of people throughout the federal government who are motivated by a desire to make a positive difference in the lives of the American people; to provide them with benefits they want, and in many cases, have come to expect.
All too often people take for granted the services provided by dedicated public servants. It is so easy during hard economic times to point a finger at government workers and blame them for our hardships, claim tax dollars are being wasted, and demand cuts in federal spending, without stopping to think about all the things we want and need that these workers provide to us every day through their hard work.
When you board an airplane to take a trip, do you take comfort in the knowledge that air traffic controllers will ensure that your plane won't collide with another plane and you’ll reach your destination safely? Is it reassuring to know that the aircraft is maintained to strict standards to avoid catastrophic mechanical failures while you're in mid-air?
These services are provided by federal employees at the Federal Aviation Administration. Are they services you want? Would you prefer to forego them to avoid paying for them with your hard-earned tax dollars?
That's for you to decide.
Does this vigilance cost something? Of course it does - in the same way food and clothing and shelter have a price. It's your choice if you want this protection. It's your choice whether you're willing to pay, or forego, all the protections and services you receive from federal agencies.
Pretend for a second that the EPA didn't exist. Imagine you woke up one morning to discover your water was unsafe to drink because a factory in your neighborhood was dumping toxic waste into your water supplies. If you were at a town meeting confronting the owners and managers of the factory, would you hesitate to demand they stop their actions? What would you do if they refused? What recourse would you have? Would you have the resources to fight the protracted court battle while the wealthy factory owners stood their ground? If the factory owners said it would ruin their business and they'd have to fire employees - people you might know - to find a way to comply, would you back off of your demands?
If another company could hire people from your town to produce gadgets that would stop the pollution coming from the factory, would you hesitate to let them do it? Would you hesitate to demand that the cost be incurred by the factory owners if they said someone would have to pay for the gadgets? That’s for you decide.
The EPA deals with problems like this every day to protect you, your family, and your communities. The EPA fights the court battles for you when factories refuse to stop polluting drinking water supplies and the waters our fish live in. The Cuyahoga River in Ohio Ohio residents living along the Cuyahoga River
When the EPA takes these actions on your behalf, are jobs in the polluting industries put in jeopardy? Perhaps. Are jobs created in other industries developing the technologies to clean up the pollution? Perhaps. By keeping you healthy by providing these safeguards, is the EPA helping ensure you won't miss work (and perhaps lose your job) because you've gotten sick from the pollution? Probably.
It's all about choices. Choices you have to make and then demand your political representatives enact. It's your right to choose whether you want your precious tax dollars used to support federal workers trying to protect you, your family, and your communities from risks you can’t avoid yourselves (such as the threats posed on an entire fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico when the BP oil spill occurred). Alternatively, you can choose to have those funds diverted to other federal programs that compensate wealthy individuals for losses they could have anticipated and avoided (such as multimillion homes that are built in “harm’s way” in coastal areas and then destroyed by hurricanes).
Hundreds of choices like these exist. I only ask that as you make these choices, you think about all the benefits you've already received and will continue to receive from our hard work in the federal government. The amount of poisonous mercury that is being released into the environment and that can harm children and pregnant women has been significantly reduced. Homeowners are now aware that radioactive radon - the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers – may be present in their homes, and understand there are practical steps they can take to eliminate the health risks it poses. Dangerous manmade chemicals (chloroflurocarbons) that were damaging the Earth’s protective ozone layer, threatening to bathe people in harmful UV radiation, have now been eliminated. Federally-mandated safety devices like seat belts and air bags that save thousands of lives every year are now installed in all new cars. Communities all around the country now have advance warning of approaching hurricanes and tornadoes so people can seek safe shelter. And people have the comfort of knowing that when disaster strikes and homes in their communities are destroyed by floods, hurricanes, tornados, or earthquakes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be there to provide temporary shelter and help them rebuild.
Are these the benefits you want to give up? Do you really believe the dedicated public servants who labor away every day to ensure you receive these benefits are the source of our nation's economic ills?
Please. Support your public servants. We are here to serve you.
Well presented Joel. I am curious if there is a website that gives links to studies that have been done on the costs and benefits of various government programs (in dollar terms) incorporating in the kinds of "downstream" benefits you have described. Such a source would at least allow for an intelligent debate to begin.
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