Meditations on the ‘Nanny State’

By Scott R. Cooper, Crook County Judge
This column was written but not published.

Government can't be all things to all people

With the close of the legislative session last week, Oregon Senate minority leader Ted Ferrioli complained in the Oregonian that our state is fast becoming the “nanny state.”
Sen. Ferrioli’s specific complaint was in reference to legislation banning smoking in bars, bingo halls and bowling alleys. He also didn’t like bills requiring schools to limit the distribution of junk food, requiring deposits on water bottles and protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination. “Oregonians don’t need senators to make their life choices for them,” said Ferrioli. “Welcome to Nanny Land.”
Whether this sort of legislation is positive for Oregon or not is a matter of individual judgment. But in one regard I agree with Sen. Ferrioli. The public expectation for what government should provide is becoming increasingly unrealistic, given budgets, authorities and Oregon’s tradition of individual rights and independence.

And its not just Oregon. It’s the rest of the country as well.

Just about once a week there is a story that runs on CNN about the victims of Hurricane Katrina and what, in the opinion of Anderson Cooper, is not being done for these people by the government.

I don’t want to sound hard-hearted, but where did the idea come from that the government is supposed to make your life completely whole again when natural disaster strikes? A little help to get you through the immediate crisis seems to be the sort of thing a generous and compassionate government ought to do, but does our government really owe you a new home, new furniture, a replacement vehicle and a new job and all you have to do to get it is fill out stack of papers? It seems to me that the founding fathers would be appalled at what we have become.

I wonder what our citizens today would ask for if they were catapulted back 150 years in time: would they want calvary troops to accompany their wagon trains across the desert to ward off Indian attacks? Would they expect paved roads across the Rockies to make the roads easier for their wagons to traverse? How about government-maintained sign posts along the way directing them away from ill-advised shortcuts through the Utah desert. CNN would have you believe that paying taxes “entitles” citizens to such amenities. Ted Ferrioli would shake his baby rattle.

Locally, we are seeing much the same thing of late.

I continue to be amazed daily at the types of phone calls the county receives from people seeking the assistance of local government to resolve all sorts of problems. A recent newspaper article quoting a sheriff in Arizona referred to the new role of law enforcement as “babysitting.” That’s what it feels like.

Some of the more ridiculous things I’ve been confronted with since I took office 7 years ago include these gems:

One lady called and wanted to know where she should file the paperwork to have the county pay the undertaker for the cost of burying her father. (This is not a service which your taxes pay for.)

One gentleman called and wanted to know if the county would purchase him a new set of dentures. (The county doesn’t buy dentures.)

An elderly gentleman called and asked if the county could force his neighbor to move a pile of dirt out of her back yard. The dirt, he said, was disturbing the view from his patio door.

One lady wrote and asked if the county would consider adopting a “no shooting” ordinance countywide. (We won’t. This is not Multnomah County.)

Several people have called and asked if the county would bring them gravel for their private driveway or send a county blade (No, because pretty soon everyone would want a load of taxpayer-funded gravel for his or her driveway or ask for county staff to come compete with local contractors.)

If people weren’t so serious about these requests, they would be funny. But they are serious, and their expecations bear pricetags and therefore, their requests are anything but funny.