(Cross Posted at The Line is Here)

Poor Mr. Otto. You see, Steve is a columnist for a local rag and opines daily on everything. It's what they pay him for. I get the pleasure of reading Steve from time to time since some gracious soul leaves the paper in the last stall every morning. The increased stress from reading the news helps, I guess.

Anyway, today Steve whines in his article called Our Safety Net Slipping Into a Nightmare

There is an assumption when we sit down in a restaurant the place has been inspected and someone looked in the kitchen to see how everything was done.

We believe we can go into a grocery store and buy anything with confidence because food inspectors have preceded us somewhere up and down the food chain so we aren't buying anything contaminated with pesticides or unhealthy livestock.

We like to think the cars we purchase for $30,000 or $40,000 are built with safety as a prime consideration and they won't blow up while we're tooling down the interstate.

We want to believe that when we send our children to public school they will at least be in a safe environment for eight hours.

Americans grew up believing they had the finest in medical services, from their personal physician to the highly skilled services of our great hospitals.

For our elderly, there are a host of services all designed to protect the frail and those with no other support so they at least live comfortable and secure lives.

At least that was the idea, even if the reality was never quite there.

...

What I don't hear is much discussion or debate about any of this at any level, including the presidential campaign. Public safety goes well beyond sending contaminated toys back to China.

We need to talk more about every infrastructure, not just crumbling roads and bridges, but the safety net that was once a part of the American dream but is slipping into a nightmare.

You see, to people like Steve, life should be safe. It should be secure. You shouldn't have to put any effort into assuring you and your family are protected against much since that job should belong to faceless bureaucrats who only have your best interests at heart. Only the government can provide the essential safety net that keeps us from having to deal with our own failures in life.

I'm sorry Steve, but the American dream has nothing to do with a safety net. The American dream is that you are free to make your life as you see fit which includes the risk of utter failure. To provide for this imaginary "net", you have to take from those who are successful in order to pay for those who aren't. By robbing people of their hard work, you damage the American dream, not promote it.

I've been accused, quite nastily, of not supporting the downtrodden. People assume that because I do not feel it is part of the government's responsibility that somehow I don't feel anyone should help. This could not be further from the truth.

I keep my charity work private. It's not a shiny jewel in a crown to be worn in a parade so I can feel better about how pious I am. But I honestly believe that the measure of our society is how well we voluntarily take care of each other. Forced charity is not charity. And when over 40% of my pay goes into taxes, I have less ability to help others the way I see fit.

There's more to Steve's whine-fest than charity. Steve also believes that it is the government's responsibility to inspect every last business from food producers to zipper manufactures to ensure every last American can zip up their fly without injury after eating a taco at the local Mexican restaurant.

I am not saying there shouldn't be safety inspections, I'm saying that they should be carried out by private inspection companies whose very existence depends on them doing a good job rather than a bureaucratic jumble who's budgets can be cut at the suggestion of some lobbyists.

Let me illustrate a point with a personal anecdote. When my wife and I decided to add 400 square feet onto our house, we had to "ask" permission from the county. The county sent over a, and I use this term VERY lightly, "inspector" to ensure that the addition met the proper building codes.

The man showed up and asked to see the addition. He then walked around to the fence, looked at where the construction was going on, signed his little piece of paper and left. Not once did he even physically touch the site where he was "responsible" for inspecting.

You see, when the porch collapses from improper construction, that man will suffer no penalty. The state receives no bill for the repairs. And yet, the Otto's of the world think that by relying on the government that everything would be peachy keen.

When I buy a house, I pay someone to inspect it from top to bottom. The contract I sign holds them partially responsible for specific items if they miss it (not many, but again that's part of the contract I agreed to). I feel better knowing that Inspection Company X absolutely depends on getting it right to continue their business rather than some government lackey who could care less if the house burns down due to faulty wiring.

The worst part of this rant is the bottom. The "safety net", the very one Otto states was never a reality, is "failing". Relying on the government to provide for safety in every last thing has not produced the desired results. So what should we do about it?

Ask politicians to do more of what they've done wrong all along.