Interesting Conversation on 'Government Intrusion' and the Productivity of Government Workers

Punch the Bag, anonymous contributor to the enjoyable, In the Agora, has provoked an interesting conversation-by-comments today.

Frankly, I think his original post was off-base both on two counts: (1) The allegation of pervasive government intrusion in people's lives; (2) The trumpeting of the oft-repeated and unfair characterization of all government workers as being less than productive.

One of the temptations with which we're afflicted when composing posts for blogs is to paint with too broad a stroke. It's easy to do.

There are many things about blogs that are exciting. For their creators, the lack of editors or accountability to some larger structure and the ability to comment on anything quickly is certainly an asset. For readers, blogs provide quick access to information and opinions.

But these attributes can be negatives, too.

My concern is that there is such a premium put on being glib when it comes to composing blogs, that sometimes the very best of blogs (and ITA is one of the best) can be hurtful and inaccurate.