A Message to Mayor Bill Blunk and the Residents of Treece, Kansas: How America Will Fail Without Accountability and Responsibility

A Town or Two America Needs to Learn From

Dear Bill Blunk and the Residents of Treece, Kansas, I'm sorry for your plight. If you haven't heard (click here for the New York Times story), Treece, Kansas is seeking a federal government bailout similar to the one received by their neighboring town, Picher, Oklahoma. Both towns used to be prosperous mining towns, whose spoils were used for World War I and World War II weaponry. As one can imagine, the towns are now full of waste.

I believe it is fitting that American towns are now actively seeking federal government bailouts. After all, it is what the American people have been taught to expect. No one in America - all the children included - is being taught accountability and/or responsibility. It pisses me off. I am of the increasingly popular opinion that the United States of America is on the decline. And, it is our own fault.

Initially, I intended to ask Mayor Bill Blunk and the residents of Treece, Kansas why they've been sticking around their town for so long if it was so bad. But, the answer lies just one mile across the state line in Picher, Oklahoma, where residents were bought out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to a Washington Post article, "In 2005, the state [Oklahoma] offered a limited buyout to families in the Picher area with the most vulnerable children, those younger than 6." Most accepted the offer. More importantly, other residents of Picher and nearby residents of Treece, Kansas saw an opportunity.

The 2005 government buyout in Picher, Oklahoma was merely phase 1 of a multi-phase buyout. Phase 2 occurred in 2007. Meanwhile, the residents of Treece, Kansas watched as their neighboring community - and social center - was bailed out by the government. In turn, an expectation was created by the EPA for the residents of Treece, Kansas and their mayor Bill Blunk. I see it as a microcosm of all the Government Bailouts that have recently occurred in the United States. While profit is privatized, risk is being socialized and the American people are learning a lesson that might not be healthy, realistic or sustainable. Nevertheless, the trend continues.