I have been away from the world of politics for a couple of weeks.  We had an extended Thanksgiving vacation in Maui that included children, grandchildren and in-laws.  It was a very good trip except for the part where a large tiger shark attacked a member of the family.  The shark sunk his teeth into the left leg of Tom Kennedy, my daughter Courtney’s father-in-law.

Tom, my other daughter Holly, and I were snorkeling at one of my favorite uncrowded reefs.  We had paddled there on our stand-up-surfboards and anchored the boards while we snorkeled.  Though we had intended to stay close together, Tom was separated from Holly and I when he was attacked.

Tom is a calm and rational man and remained so even after he had looked the shark right in the eye as the beast held his leg in its large mouth.  Tom said he had two goals at that moment:  1. To swim to his board (a considerable distance) without being eaten, and 2. To warn Holly and I to get out of the water.  He accomplished both goals.

Tom is recovering well and, though his leg was cut quite badly, we expect no permanent disability from the attack.

I have two observations about the aftermath of the attack.  First is the overwhelming interest that the world has in shark attacks.  This was a serious injury, but not so different from more common injuries like dog attacks or even bicycle accidents.  But this shark story spread far and fast …across America and into Europe.   The appetite for shark stories is huge.

When we are young, the idea of a monster that can eat you captures our imagination.  It is a powerfully terrifying idea and I don’t think we really ever grow out of it.  Stories of shark attacks and grizzly bear attacks are in this special category which lights up a deeply emotional part of our brains.

The other observation came soon after the ambulance took Tom to the hospital.  By this time, there were large numbers of ‘officials’ at the point where we brought Tom to shore.  Some had come to help and some had come out of personal interest.  There were many policemen, firemen and lifeguards who had come to see what was happening.  A few of the firemen actually helped get Tom up the rocky shoreline to await the ambulance, but mostly they were just standing around.

They watched me gather up our big surfboards and snorkel gear.  They watched me clean each piece and carry it, with some difficulty, up the rocks.  Not one of a dozen or so ‘public servants’ offered to help.  They just watched me do what needed to be done.

The beaches were closed for a mile in each direction.  Helicopters flew over instructing people to stay out of the water.  Many officials were doing official things for two days.  People were called in to ride around on jet skis trying to see a shark.   The next day was quite windy and there was no visibility into the water, but that did not stop the helicopters and jet skiers from giving the appearance of doing something useful.  Later the second day they opened all the beaches on the apparent assumption that sharks were no longer around.

So I guess there are people who believe that a helicopter flying over a windswept ocean can confirm that a big chunk of ocean has no sharks.  These are probably the same people who think that frisking grandmothers in airports makes us safer  …or that Washington bureaucrats telling local schools how to educate children is vital  … or that Feds telling farmers how to milk cows is an important government function.

But to me, the fact that the government helicopter pilot did not see a shark has no meaning at all.  The pilot, the TSA frisker, the federal educator, the busybody rules and regulation makers all think they are doing important work.  I disagree.  The growing hordes of bureaucrats are a monster that can eat us.

Did you know that 544,000 government jobs have been added since July?  73% of the jobs created in the last 5 months are in government.  Unemployment is now 3.8% for government workers.  On the private side of the ledger, the side that pays for everything, the November employment report showed that another 350,000 people dropped from the labor force. They are no longer even trying to help pull the wagon.  They are jumping into the wagon along with the 544,000.

And don’t be fooled by the Obama-media reporting these changes positively as a drop in unemployment.  Giving up on looking for work is quite a different thing from finding a job.

Government workers make much more money than similarly skilled people in the private sector.  They retire earlier with better retirement.  It is nearly impossible to fire them for poor job performance.  Many states are on the verge of bankruptcy from the exploding cost of bureaucrats.  Bloomberg has some shocking statistics here.

There are large parts of the government that are useless; even destructive.   And it is immoral to fund the bloated bureaucracy by borrowing money from our grandchildren.  There are entire agencies that you would not miss if they disappeared tomorrow.

Be afraid.  This monster can devour us and our grandchildren.  It’s a long way back to our board.

********************************

Two recent news stories reinforce the point about the useless overgrowth of government.  Mark Steyn reports on the tragic comedy of FEMA’s response to Hurricane Sandy in “The Department of Leaflets”.   If you are a hurricane victim and you need forms and leaflets and more forms to get more leaflets, then they have you covered.  And they are passing out useful advice, like the fact that placing things higher than the water level helps keep them dry.

Kevin Williamson reports that there is really nothing too trivial for the bureaucracy to micro-manage.  See his “Against the Eggnog Gestapo”.