Thank a Government Worker Today

Ironically, this rash cost-cutting may be the reason we finally appreciate our government services.

Photo credit: iStock

By Scott Scovel

Your electric company will likely provide flawless service today. Almost everyone will take it for granted. We will turn on our lights, watch our TVs, and take cold food out of our refrigerators. Almost no one will think about the many employees, from engineers to technicians to office workers, who make our lives so much better thanks to predictable electricity.

The same lack of appreciation applies to most government services and workers. With the current focus on government efficiency, we sometimes lose sight of how these services improve our lives in many ways. And we may forget that changes to these services should be made in a thoughtful manner.

Last week, I flew back into the U.S. after an overseas vacation. I didn’t think about the air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who enabled my plane to land safely. I didn’t realize that a meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) had created a specialized aviation forecast that the pilot used to minimize turbulence. I was unaware that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were protecting…