Thank Goodness We Have The Federal Government To Take Care Of Us

The Bundy-BLM dispute has opened up a whole can of worms regarding who should own and/or manage public land in western states. I don't intend to get into that in-depth, but I did run across a quote that pretty well sums up the federal government's attitude towards its subjects citizens.

Most of you have probably seen this map by now. It shows the percentage of federal land in each state.

Seems a bit one-sided to me. However, rather than have an open and honest discussion about the hows and whys of the situation, we are subjected to more arrogance on the part of our federal overlords.

A conservative state lawmaker and a liberal former director of the Bureau of Land Management argued the merits of a debate that’s sweeping the West — whether states should take control of federal lands and would they manage them better.

Former BLM Director Pat Shea challenged state Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, to a formal debate at the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics, and the lawmaker said he would accept such a challenge.

Wednesday’s conversation identified the deep philosophical disagreement that would underpin any such debate. Ivory argues the federal government used to own much of the land in states like Florida, Illinois and Nebraska and has since turned it over to private owners or the state. He believes it’s time for Western states to demand equal treatment in this matter and if Congress won’t comply, it may be time to launch a major court case. He said the land would be better managed and the profits from mining would help fund the state’s education system.

Shea was dismissive of such an idea.

Of course he was. What do us poor ignorant common folk know about such things? How can mere states do anything as well as the all-mighty federal government?

Here's the money quote:

"I don’t think states are capable of the complexity of managing these lands..."

Yassa, massa, we sho 'nuff needs you to take care of us...