Among more of the lessons I learned (or had reinforced) these last 12 months:
The belief that government should be run like a business is a silly one. Ridiculous even.
Time and again we’ve witnessed various industries and businesses that, left to their own administration or oversight, put the needs of their owners and officers above everyone else’s.
That’s not to be unexpected. Certainly anyone who invests their own time, energy and resources into providing a service should be able to recoup their costs—and more—given the risks they incur. But let there be no mistake that their number one priority is themselves. The business owner’s goal is to make a living. Her objective, like everyone else’s, is to provide for herself and her family. On her own terms as her own boss.
It’s an admirable endeavor to go into business for one’s self.
But too often we have seen the desire for success or survival cause harm to the community’s they serve.
From gross polluters ignoring environmental regulations and dumping toxins into bays or vacant lots to bars and restaurants openly defying, sometimes audaciously, public health orders to curtail or close operations during a pandemic, we’ve witnessed the desire to look out for number one jeopardize the health and safety of everyone else.
Of course, government and a suffocating bureaucracy are not the exclusive answer to serving the people. Too often excessive regulations, obscure policies, and outdated ordinances prevent the timely and effective solutions needed to resolve day-to-day inconveniences or the hazardous crisis at hand. For the sake of public service, government all to often completely sacrifices innovation and agility.
The solution, as is most often the case is somewhere in the middle.
A good example of this is the coordination between municipalities and the restaurant industry in allowing limited outdoor dining as a means of conducting business during a time of great turmoil.
Many in the industry will say it is not the perfect solution. Perhaps not. But given the need for public safety, even now as vaccines roll out, it is an acceptable compromise that puts the well being of all over the needs of the few.
