Most people are aware the road to hell is paved with good intentions; and so it is with most government roads; the policies, programs and regulations governments approve. Most government roads have noble intentions but they too produce unintended consequences?
For example, when the US Department of Interior’s decided to ban the harvesting of Sea Lions there was a reported explosion of Great White Shark bites along both coasts four years later. Banning the killing of sea lions led to an abundance of the Great White Sharks’ favorite food – thus the shark population grew exponentially.
Many states thought gambling – casino’s and river boats – would be their answer to generating more revenues. States worked with their Native American tribes and drafted detailed river boat gaming rules to allow state gambling. If one were to plot corollary data alongside the inception of casinos and river boats one would notice several things. Three years after gaming begins one would see a sharp increase in domestic violence incidents (stemming from financial problems) where often one spouse is hauled off to jail, the other is sent to the hospital and the children are placed in foster care. Law enforcement deals with an influx of unsavory visitors coming to gamble and County jails in close proximity to casinos and riverboats see an increase in their jail populations. Court systems now handle more cases – offenses such as OUI’s, bouncing bad checks, disorderly conduct, robbery etc., human services provides more counseling services and there is an increase in applications for economic assistance – all of which impose a financial burden on local governments.
The best local government example I can share concerns two new families who moved to a small town. The fathers, both highly respected engineers, were transferred in to the local manufacturing plant. Both men, upstanding citizens, were disappointed that there was no local hockey rink in the city for their children to enjoy so they approached city officials to ask about a hockey rink.
To make a long story short, the men offered to donate the resources – hoses and water – to flood a ‘small’ section of a quaint little city park near their homes. The water would freeze over and create a hockey rink for children in the community to enjoy. Naturally with ‘no city costs’ involved the city council approved their request. The Parks & Recreation director identified an area in the park the two men could flood and to everyone’s amazement hockey took off. Kids who never played the sport fell in love with hockey.
During the winter, the hockey rink was full of kids after school smacking pucks across the ice. Some parents thought teams should be established. Kids signed up and several parents volunteered to coach. Practice sessions were published and four teams were established.
The following year it was suggested a wall or guard rail be constructed around the rink as the rink had no real defined borders and the edges of the ice circle were often unpredictable. Local parents agreed to donate their time and materials to build the rink wall. The popularity of hockey really grew as the rink took on an official look. Soon the local teams were invited to travel to other communities to compete and other teams were invited to the little town to play.
As hockey flourished, residents near the little park started to call local police. They complained about noise and litter in the neighborhood. As the hockey league grew more kids suffered injuries and required the services of the community’s ambulances and EMTs. Traffic congestion, around the quaint little park, surged on game nights and became a headache law enforcement who now dispatched officers to direct traffic on game nights. Non-profit organizations came forward to sell refreshments such as hot chocolate, coffee, hot dogs, popcorn and candy during game nights so a concession stand was built, portable lavatories were brought in and garbage cans were placed throughout the little park.
Four years later the two original hockey fathers’ were transferred out of town. Concerned the might lose hockey parents voiced their concerns to the city fathers who heard their cries. The city increased its budget by $234,000 – to fund the needed city services = police coverage – trash management – grounds maintenance; to build a permanent rink wall and of course to hire a part-time sports coordinator for the city.
