Protecting Citizens in Crises: The True Role of Government

The beauty of autumn was fully on display last weekend in St. Louis as we enjoyed clear blue skies, crisp air, and colorful leaves floating through the breeze. I spent Saturday traveling throughout St. Louis County meeting with local leaders and constituents. While I was stopped at a traffic light, a fire truck and ambulance zoomed past with sirens blaring. As they sped by, I saw the US flag fluttering off the back of the fire truck. I felt a surge of pride in the reassurance that our local government was carrying out its most fundamental responsibility, protecting citizens during emergencies.

I commend all of our state’s first responders, including firefighters, police, and emergency medical personnel, for their hard work and commitment to keeping our communities safe. They tirelessly devote themselves to preventing crises whenever possible and consistently put themselves in harm’s way to rescue individuals from dangerous situations.

A quick and efficient response in the face of crisis ought to be the foremost goal of our state and local governments. Extraneous and wasteful initiatives should have no place in our government budgets, but the programs that we do fund must provide meaningful and efficient services to citizens in need. Rather than a multitude of poorly executed efforts, I would like to see a streamlined government that functions well. During the upcoming budget cycle, I hope more departments present this type of vision for their programs by proving that their operations are necessary, efficient, and beneficial to Missourians.