Flight MH370 Proves the Need for Better Government

The U.S. might have prevented this mess, but surely would handle it better.

I don't mean to disparage the Malaysian people or its government, and I don't mean to make a large point. However, what we've witnessed in the past couple of weeks is an object lesson in parsing the famous Reagan quote, "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."

Some Americans -- essentially Republicans, conservatives, libertarians -- live to condemn so much of what government does. But when we need what government does best, these self-same Americans want even more of it. Disasters cry out for government services; often only government can manage the resulting chaos. I could go on -- you know what I'm talking about.

Malaysia tried but failed in so many ways, large and small, to manage the disappearance of Flight MH370. That mismanagement continues. The U.S. government, on the other hand, would have handled it well. We're good at that sort of thing because of the infrastructure of our command-and-control offered by sophisticated, experienced agencies.

When you hear Republicans wanting to cut taxes, shrink government, eliminate programs, think about what kind of country you want. I for one am willing to spend money for a competent, prepared government when I need it. I hope you are, too.