GOVERNMENT

There are several definitions for “government” in Webster. The first definition in Merriam Webster is “authoritative direction or control”. According to the same source, the first known use of this word was in 14^th century. Any government before this time was in the form of imperial kingdom, self-ruling and dictatorship. Therefore, a government in the new form is an evolution from dictatorship. When we break down the definition into authoritative and direction or control and examine each component, we may be able to establish how such authority with the power of direction or controls is formed. In a democracy, people vote their representatives into the government body. Since these elected officials represent their constituents, the mentioned power is in the hands of people. In another words, people grant such authority to their representatives to direct government offices and establish legislatures on their behalf. Each member of the government is representing a group of people who voted that member in. People elect their representatives based on their needs. Since every person has a different need, basic needs shared by everyone should be met through legislature and other governmental tools. In another words, the government should ensure meeting the minimum needs of every person within the boundaries of that government. Consequently, we should examine what those needs are which are shared by all people. Obviously, it includes the basic needs of every person who lives as member of a society, active, inactive, able to work, disabled, old, young, and in any race or religion or ethnicity.

Nutrition is the most basic need to survive. It should be noted that any kind of nutrition is food, but any food is not necessarily nutrition. With the recent economical condition and increasing unemployment nationwide, retail of cheap and unhealthy food material is booming. Wal-Mart, One-Dollar-Store, fast food restaurants, they all appeal to people with limited income. A bag of chips and a soda for a dollar each can fill a hungry person; however, the outcome is future health hazards and certain obesity. The same is true with processed food; the latest discovery in food processing is gluing meat pieces together! According to the statistics by Center for Disease Control (CDC) there are 72 million obese in the US in 2011 (http://ngmen.net/obesity-in-america-statistics-2011/). People should be protected against any component that is hazardous to their health. It is the first and foremost responsibility of the government to see that its citizens receive adequate nutrition. There is an award winning documentary titled “Food, Inc.” that shows the darker side of food industry in the US.

About 50,000 years ago, the biggest challenges of early man were food and shelter. Perhaps due to difference between the body frames of male and female, division of labor was established for men to hunt and for women to farm (find seeds). The second challenge was to find a shelter where they could be safe from an attack by animals, and escape harsh climates. Caves were a ready shelter, however they had to be found near a food source. Early man could find a cave or hollow trunk of a tree or a natural tunnel beneath dunes and hills. These shelters are not available to those living in towns and cities. For those who cannot afford housing, a shelter is found under bridges or awning of buildings. According to National Coalition for Homeless (http://nationalhomeless.org/):  The homeless population is estimated to be 42 percent African-American, 39 percent white, 13 percent Hispanic, 4 percent Native American and 2 percent Asian, although it varies widely depending on the part of the country. An average of 26 percent of homeless people are considered mentally ill, while 13 percent of homeless individuals were physically disabled (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2008). Nineteen percent of single homeless people are victims of domestic violence while 13 percent are veterans and 2 percent are HIV positive. Nineteen percent of homeless people are employed (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2008). According to the same report, 3.5 million are homeless in the US every year. The second task of a government is to provide shelters for all. Every homeless in the street, for any reason, is an indicative of the government not providing its citizens’ basic needs. According to statistics gathered by Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org):

• By the year 2030, an additional 3 billion people, about 40 percent of the world’s population, will need access to housing. This translates into a demand for 96,150 new affordable units every day and 4,000 every hour. (UN-HABITAT: 2005)
• One out of every three city dwellers – nearly a billion people – lives in a slum and that number is expected to double in the next 25 years. (Slum indicators include: lack of water, lack of sanitation, overcrowding, non-durable structures and insecure tenure.) (UN-HABITAT: 2006)
• As much as 70 percent of the urban housing stock in sub-Saharan Africa, 50 percent in South Asia, and 25 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean is of poor quality and not in compliance with local regulations. (Kissick, et al: 2006)

 

A universal health-care system where everyone can receive free medical services is the responsibility of a government. Average mortality rates determine how governments care for sick and disabled. Infant mortality rate is a safe index of general health in a country. One way to measure a healthy society is by statistical information about infant mortality rate. According to 2009 UN report, US infant mortality rate is very low comparing to other developed countries. According to this report, US is ranked number 33 after almost all Western nations, New Caledonia, Cypress, and Brunei. One reason is lack of a universal health care, preventing many from buying insurance, due to their income levels. The U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) reported that a record 50.7 million residents (which includes 9.9 million non-citizens) or 16.7% of the population were uninsured in 2009. More money per person is spent on health care in the USA than in any other nation in the world, and a greater percentage of total income in the nation is spent on health care in the USA than in any United Nations member state except for East Timor. Although not all people are insured, the USA has the third highest public health-care expenditure per-capita, because of the high cost of medical care in the country. The interesting thing is that when health-care specialists such as doctors and nurses were interviewed, majority of them preferred to go back to a time when people visited their doctors and paid for the services themselves. It is therefore obvious that insurance companies and administrators (intermediaries in general) are responsible for the vast majority of the cost. Insurance is a part of our monthly bills nowadays, whether it is for our properties such as houses and boats and cars, our health, our life, and our future burial expenses. As Richard Wolf once stated, insurance is something that you pay for every month and you hope not to ever use it! He also said that every government body has an insurance commissioner to make people think that it is important to have insurance! A healthy population is an indicative of a healthy society. A country with a high rate of obesity, heart attack, cancer, and viral deceases is not caring for its citizens. Because of the rising rate of insurance, it becomes out of reach of more people every year.

The next responsibility of a government is to ensure education for all. Every person should have a chance to educate oneself, regardless of family income. In the US, public schools are losing more and more funding every year. On the other hand, private schools, named charter schools, are introduced to replace public schools. Privatizing is a trend to reduce social benefits to minimum, privatizing social welfare and enriching a few. Charter schools serve the same purpose, by taking away a responsibility of the government in educating its citizens. Higher education has never been free in the US and attending them cost more every single year. “Nation Master” has gathered education statistics for 132 countries (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/08/education-spending-class-sizes-school-funding-teachers-statistics). Accordingly, education spending as a percentage of GDP is 18.7% in Cuba, followed by 11% in Vanuatu. US ranked number 37 by spending 5.7% of its GDP for education.

Considering that US is believed to be the wealthiest nation in the world for half a century, it is astonishing how low it ranks among other nations in providing basic needs for its population. On the other hand, military expenditures have risen from about $300 billion in 2001 to about $700 billion in 2011. In comparison to the rest of the world, US shares 43% of total world military spending, versus Russia 3.6%, France 3.6%, UK 3.7% and China 7.3%. It can be summarized that the largest industry in the US determines its political road map, creating wars in Middle East and north Africa. This, coupled with the collapse of financial market and high unemployment rate and rising prices of basic necessities, will make US government more unpopular in the world, while serving the one percent population of rich and powerful. Nonetheless, disparity between the rich and the poor and creating endless wars have been the mere determining factor of the downfall of every great empire historically.