How Will You React to
Big Government Cries for 'Public Safety?'

by Carla Howell

Carla Howell is President of the Center For Small Government and heads the 2008 Massachusetts ballot initiative to END the Income Tax.

This year we'll offer voters of Massachusetts a chance to END the state income tax. The usual chorus of cries for "public safety" will rise to a crescendo as the year rolls on.

What is public safety? Common sense says it's anything that makes people safe.

How do you and others in your community ensure public safety - in the private sector?

You drive safely. You teach your children to look before crossing a road. You avoid drunk driving. You shovel and salt your snow-covered driveway. You throw away spoiled food. You wear safety helmets, pads, and other protective gear. You help fund a defibrillator for your sports club. You check your home's smoke detectors. You volunteer as a part-time firefighter.

How do businesses and other private sector organizations ensure safety? They post signs where there may be a danger. They buy ergonomic chairs and desks. They filter and sanitize industrial waste. They install HVAC systems to keep the air clean and sprinkler systems to prevent fires. They maintain their properties.

These are some of the things we do - for ourselves and for others - that make our homes, businesses, recreation centers, churches, civic organizations, and shopping centers safe.

Hardly a second goes by when someone in your town isn't acting in some way to advance or ensure public safety.

What do state and local governments do that relate to public safety?

They plow and salt roads. They staff police to patrol neighborhoods and respond to calls. They investigate crimes. They try criminal suspects. They imprison people who are deemed dangerous.

Politicians like to call these activities "public safety." They like to pretend that they - and they alone - are the guardians of public safety.

But that's an insult to taxpayers and voters. People from all walks of life provide public safety every minute of every day.

Politicians use the term "public safety" to scare off anyone who dares suggest that government spending for safety-related activities is bloated or wasteful. If you do, they will accuse you of attacking or compromising "public safety." This makes it easy for them to spend too much on safety-related functions.

But the biggest reason they use the words "public safety" is to divert attention away from the rest of their government budget - the bulk of which has nothing to do with "public safety."

As long as there's SOME spending in a government budget they can label "public safety," they will use it to avoid scrutinizing the rest of the budget.

In Massachusetts - and in many other states - so-called "public safety" activities account for less than 5% of any state or local government budget. Sometimes less than 2%.

Even the most timid of budget cutters admit that any government budget can be cut 5% or 10% -- just by removing the obvious waste. The money spent on that waste could fund "public safety" two or three times over.

Public safety is NEVER threatened by thrifty or streamlined government budgets. Yet every time there's talk of a government budget, politicians claim that they will be forced to sacrifice "public safety"- unless they can keep every dime of their bloated budgets - or push them higher.

"The sky is falling," said the famed Chicken Little.

"Public safety will be threatened," cry the politicians.

Honest politicians don't use the term, "public safety." Rather they talk about specific government expenditures: police cars, prison staffing and road salt. They open up their government books and show exactly how much they're spending on these items. Every dollar of it. They cite impartial studies (i.e., NOT ones funded by the International Association of Fire Fighters) to determine how much government spending is reasonable for these line items. They seek only enough taxpayer funds to cover them - no more and no less.

Honest politicians recognize that their co-workers and predecessors have been hiding behind the words "public safety" for a long time - and using them to overspend. They admit that many police departments, prison systems, and road maintenance crews are over-funded and long overdue for downsizing.

Honest politicians never talk about "public safety" when spending levels for schools, health insurance subsidies, road construction, welfare programs, and corporate grants are on the table. They never threaten to cut safety-related services or scare people into thinking they'll be unsafe.

Certain popular government services - such as police protection and firefighter services - can be threatened ONLY if politicians blackmail voters and threaten to throw out the baby -- and keep the bath water.

Many voters know they're being blackmailed - and think it's in their best interest to succumb. "Yes, I know there's fat and pork barrel spending throughout the budget that politicians could cut instead. But they have the power, and they'll take away the things we need. So I better vote for the budget override (or for the school bond, or against the tax cut)."

But anyone who's dealt with blackmailers knows that threats that work once will work again. And again. And again. They never give up the habit because it's highly profitable. The threats never quit.

The same is true of politicians. They use "public safety" threats every election. Big Government mainstream news outlets run scare stories about "public safety" before, during, and after every election cycle. Over, and over, and over again. Threats work.

That's how politicians grew federal, state, and local government budgets into the monstrosities that they are today. Government takes more than half of every dollar you earn. Yet they need only a tiny fraction of it to pay for police, firefighters, and road maintenance.

Those who succumb become part of the problem. Voters who buy the threats and give politicians all the money they want pay for it in high taxes - that keep getting higher. They force every other taxpayer to pay high taxes too.

What will you do next time a politician - or a news story - threatens you with the phony words "public safety?"

Here's a suggestion: Tell everyone you know who lives in Massachusetts that "public safety" threats are just a dodge. Ask them to vote "Yes" on November 4th to END the state income tax.

It's the right thing to do. For you, your family, your co-workers, your neighbors, and your community. For the people who help keep you and your family safe every day.

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Want to rollback Big Government in Masschusetts directly - right now? Want to help END the Massachusetts state income tax - and inspire copycat tax cut initiatives all over the United States? With your help, small government is possible! Please click here now to END the Income Tax.