University of Virginia Library

Worthier Goals

The national government should
instead be engaged in projects to
raise the standard and spirit of
living, those of a scale only it can
accomplish, such as educational aid
or the much-maligned space program.
These are goals worthy of
government; telling someone what
he may or may not watch on
television is not.

Unfortunately though, we are in
the midst of a crusade - or rather,
many crusades - for what is called
consumer protection. So many
self-proclaimed friends of the people
are rushing hither and you to
watch out for the common man
that they are quite literally stumbling
over each other. With proposals
to have government protect us all
from unwanted credit cards, nonstandardized
package sizes, and
apparently our neglecting to buckle
our own car seat belts, they vi for
the loudest shouts of praise from a
thankful citizenry.