The Austin American-Statesman reports that its investigation has found hundreds of “substandard dams upstream of populated areas in Texas [that] violate state law intended to guard against dam breaching, or failure in catastrophic floods.”
First this is an example of why passing laws and even having regulatory bodies to watch out for certain things is at best only a partial solution and yet, many Americans turn to government every time something goes wrong or an injustice perceived. We hear constantly “we’ve got to do something” and as Dr. Suzanna Hupp pointed out on my show last week in relation to murders with firearms, you can do something and make yourself feel better but that doesn’t mean that what you did actually will have any positive effect.
Back to dams that might fail that the Statesman says are in violation of state law. Is it evil corporations putting people in harm’s way by greedily not spending the money needed to keep dams in compliance with the law?
Well yes, in a way. Local cities are corporations of a type but they are the government corporations beloved by the Left to which they turn to for solutions to all problems.
The Statesman story says that of those dams out of compliance, which put people in danger, six are owned by the City of Austin. The story points out that Texas has 7,229 dams, more than any other state and I would bet that most that are significant enough to pose a public risk are owned by a government entity.
So go ahead and “do something” each time you feel overwhelmed with emotion but just remember, once you’ve indulgently salved yourself, that often all you do is add costs for all and achieve little to fix anything.
“Do something” but don’t expect good results
First this is an example of why passing laws and even having regulatory bodies to watch out for certain things is at best only a partial solution and yet, many Americans turn to government every time something goes wrong or an injustice perceived. We hear constantly “we’ve got to do something” and as Dr. Suzanna Hupp pointed out on my show last week in relation to murders with firearms, you can do something and make yourself feel better but that doesn’t mean that what you did actually will have any positive effect.
Back to dams that might fail that the Statesman says are in violation of state law. Is it evil corporations putting people in harm’s way by greedily not spending the money needed to keep dams in compliance with the law?
Well yes, in a way. Local cities are corporations of a type but they are the government corporations beloved by the Left to which they turn to for solutions to all problems.
The Statesman story says that of those dams out of compliance, which put people in danger, six are owned by the City of Austin. The story points out that Texas has 7,229 dams, more than any other state and I would bet that most that are significant enough to pose a public risk are owned by a government entity.
So go ahead and “do something” each time you feel overwhelmed with emotion but just remember, once you’ve indulgently salved yourself, that often all you do is add costs for all and achieve little to fix anything.