Jim Kraft, Minot
One of my pet peeves is the statement by select politicians that the government can't do anything right. The news during this last month reminded us of examples that address the issue.
Were it not for the government-built Lake Sakakawea, there probably wouldn't be enough water in the Missouri River to accommodate the oil drilling and personal water needs in western N.D.
Much of U.S. business overseas is protected by the U.S. military. Our minesweepers are currently in the Straight of Hormuz.
Barge traffic on the Mississippi would probably not exist if the Army Corps did not dredge the river.
Recreation on the shores of rivers and lakes would be on a fee basis only were it not for government provided access and facilities. Our forefathers had the insight to make most major lakeshores, riverbanks and water, public property for recreation.
Our city sanitation, water and street workers are some of the hardest working people I have seen. Our sanitation workers hustle behind the truck at 90-plus degrees.
Most government wages are modest. There are no salaries in the government to match the upper 2 percent in the private sector.
Government work can and most often is low cost when compared to the private sector because profit is not part of the bill.
Our government provided us a freedom to worship and many other precious freedoms.
Those who are anti-government must believe the private sector does everything right. To those I ask:
Why can't I buy only the TV channels I watch at a reasonable price, without being bundled into a whole lot of trash that I never watch?
Why do some TV ads begin at such a higher volume that they are completely annoying?
Why is it only the government that would correct the two problems I listed with TV?
Why are the greedy practices of big oil, big banking and big medicine so devastating they threaten our entire economy and well being? Why does it take the government to correct the mess they make?
Why will only the government do something about the scams we now see so often?
New government regulation doesn't typically come from a working class lobby. It comes from the same class of people that say the government can't do anything right. I never want to see more government than we need. There are empire builders in the government. They should be rooted out and removed whenever discovered. Ours would be a nightmarish world without a solid government. It would be somewhat like we see today with the big oil, medicine and banking industries.