Defending the state and public services

Joe wakes up at seven in the morning on the East Coast. There are several time zones in the US, all designated and designed by authorities. The government determines daylight saving and standard time. Joe takes a shower with water that reaches his house thanks to a public system, which, even though outsourced in some cities, was built by the state. Dams, piping systems, and water maintenance are all thanks to public investments.

He brushes his teeth with a toothpaste that needed federal approval to be verified and sold. Joe sits down at the table to enjoy his breakfast: cereal and milk. The box has a list of nutrients with a symbol from the federal health authority. Milk and almost all foods cannot be sold without this approval, and for that, there are dozens of offices and technicians. There are also state inspection seals on the packaging. Without these, Joe could be contaminated by bacteria or catch any disease.

At eight-thirty, Joe takes a bus—public transportation—to the campus. If he drives, seat belts and airbags will be inspected by state authorities. Bridges and roads are mostly built by municipal, county, and federal governments. Many companies with bus fleets only exist because they receive federal subsidies. At nine, Joe arrives at the university. About 70% of his tuition is covered by federal education credit. About 90% of the campuses at most universities were built, maintained, and expanded with public funds. In the US, over 60% of students use public resources to pay for private university tuition.

At two in the afternoon, Joe goes to the public library to study. The entire collection was purchased with public funds, and when not, it was donated by companies using tax incentive laws. All computers are financed with public money. Every city has public municipal libraries. The state also built the network. The Internet was the result of public investments, as were the GPS and other components of his iPhone. He eats a hamburger at five, with meat approved by health inspectors.

Joe got a part-time job on campus. The minimum wage is set by federal, state, and municipal authorities. Wow, what a government that controls everything, right? Good. Without this control, Joe could be exploited. Finally, Joe gets home. His entire street was paved with public funds. It’s night, but he can get there because of public lighting. He also feels safe because he sees a police car passing by. There is policing because there are public resources for it. Car, police station, jail. There is a court and justice system, fines, and imprisonment for those who do not follow the law. The law is made by those elected in a public process. The state bureaucracy ensures he eats, drinks, travels, studies, and moves around safely. An immense effort of public resources from various spheres.

At night, Joe watches TV, which is regulated by a government agency. He watches the community channel on the mandatory private cable service and watches the weather forecast made by government meteorological agencies. After all this, who has the nerve to tell me that I came to a paradise of private initiative, where the state is minimal, and the government is reduced?

I didn't even list dozens of other services and goods I consume that are somehow controlled: beverages, cigarettes, marijuana, medicines, mineral water, and even Starbucks coffee. I also didn’t mention that municipalities like Los Angeles and New York—like most major cities—are governed by center-left political forces that have expanded most services with public housing, daycare centers, health access programs, full support for pregnancy, combating chronic diseases, etc. Furthermore, I could also mention the entire military apparatus—the largest on the planet—composed of thousands of servers, with installations, nuclear plants, hangars, planes, ships, and laboratories, all maintained with public resources, like NASA and 116 other agencies. All the success in the American private sector is the result of a collective effort of decades of public investment in infrastructure, which helped everyone to undertake.

Defending the state and public services and expanding them to everyone is a duty of all democracies. There is no healthy economy without a present state and a population attended to in all its needs.

I found this text on the internet with no author listed. I made some adaptations and structural changes, but it's mostly the same. I believe it's important to share this perspective in these times of neoliberalism and the reduction of the state's role.

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