Calling the government useless only works if you take for granted all the many ways public employees make modern life possible. Officials doing their jobs are the reason we have fresh water and roads to drive on.
Debbie Chachra, writing for The Atlantic, pointed out this invisible work last week:
When I look at my phone to decide if I need an umbrella, the little blue dot that says where I am is thanks to the network of Global Positioning System satellites operated by the United States Air Force, and the weather is the result of a $5.1 billion federal investment in forecasting, for an estimated $31.5 billion dollars of benefit in saving lives, properties, and crops (and letting me know I should wear a raincoat).
She goes on to say that tech companies should do more to point this sort of thing out, a sentiment I agree with.
If I were to make a suggestion for how technology could be used to improve our democracy, I would want to make these systems more visible, understandable, and valued by the general public.
I’d like to add that journalists could also do more to point out this sort of work. Traditionally local journalism is more focused on infrastructure than national, and I’m wondering if this is part of why trust in government is so low right now.
Rants about national politics gets more clicks than articles outlining local infrastructure projects, so that’s all we see. Of course more people are unhappy about government: so far as they can tell nothing ever gets done. Even if, down the road, officials they’ve never heard of are working to make sure they have access to clean water.
Maybe giving those officials more attention will calm things down. But we’ve got to find a way to make that interesting, without resorting to anger.
Justin,
This is such a good point. I agree that many (including myself) take these hidden support systems for granted. Enjoyed your article.
Thanks,
Beach