The Grand Rapids Press is promoting a power-grab by the state of Michigan. Reforming townships deserves debate, it says. That’s some debate, if it’s going to use the term “reform” to describe a transfer of township functions to the state. It should really be thought of as disempowering people in exchange for governmental corruption.

The Press says, speaking of those who would object to this hostile takeover, “Fear of lost of control and access are understandable…” I agree that it’s understandable, but the Press either doesn’t understand it, or it does and it doesn’t want to help its readers understand. Or maybe it has forgotten about such concepts as government by the people.

It goes on to say, “… but the need to shrink government should be just as important.” I don’t know who they are trying to fool, but taking government out of the hands of the people and centralizing it in a more powerful entity has never yet in the history of the universe been a way to shrink government.

Think of it this way. Should we remove all the smaller retail outlets in the country except for Wal-Mart, and let that company take over their functions? It would certainly reduce the duplication and redundancy. Is that going to make the retail industry more efficient for us consumers? I think we know the answer.

So if monopolies are bad in the private sector, where individual persons can still vote with their pocketbooks, what makes them so wonderful in the public sector, where people cannot exercise that type of control?

Added title, 23-Jul-2007