What is Public Policy?

Government and political busy bodies decide what is public policy, and often what they decide doesn't have much of anything to do with the public. Quite often, it involves private matters, private individuals, and private property.

The challenge we face is simply knowing what "public" means. Like any other term, we can twist it, misunderstand it, and reinterpret it in many ways. It's no wonder that many of us have no idea what is good public policy - we don't understand the difference between public and private.

One way to look at the issue of "what is public policy" is to examine instances where it's clear we're confused as to what is and is not a public matter. At least in this way, we can determine when others are "stepping in it" for the rest of us.

I'm hoping that this discussion shows how the words we use (and misuse) are an important influence on how we think about our private lives and the lives of others that we see as being part of the public. For it is our thoughts that determine what is public policy, what remains as public policy, and what new stuff should be considered under the umbrella of public policy.

Most importantly, anytime we use the word public, we're inviting government to intercede on our behalf because it's a rightful place for government to be. It's the private matters where we would like government to butt out.

What is Public Policy? - not these examples

Let's look at several examples of public policy that really isn't.

• A Detroit area television station presented an example of a government ad campaign focused on getting men to go to the doctor. After the ad ran, the commentator explained that the culture of "macho men" dictates that we tough it out and therefore we're reluctant to see a doctor. He commented that disease and premature death in men is "a real public health issue."

  No it's not!

  It's a private matter for the man and his family. Once you make it a public issue of any sort, you're inviting government "solutions," and any good Libertarian knows that government is nearly always the source of problems and rarely the solution.

• Many cities, counties and states are banning smoking in public places. That means banning smoking where the public goes. Well, not really. The public goes to public parks, but smoking isn't banned there because they are open air places. It's largely indoor places where smoking is banned - bars, restaurants, grocery stores, banks, and hotels.

  The problem is that nearly everywhere smoking is banned is a place that is owned and operated by a private party for other private parties that are there based on consent. If it really were a public smoking ban, then we would limit it to government buildings, facitilities, land and events.

  What is public policy? It's law, and unfortunately, smoking in private establishments, with consent of the owner/manager has become enveloped in the idea of being good "public" policy.

  Let's call smoking bans what they really are, a government regulation that applies to private property that is open to the public for business. In Cheyenne, the smoking ban applies to private clubs where membership is limited by a selection and approval process.

  What is public policy? It certainly isn't something that applies to a private club - a place that isn't ever open to the public, let alone considered to be a public place. By it's very charter, a private club is just that - private!

• Our public schools are just another example of the misuse of the term "public." Are they owned by the public, like a publicly held corporation? No, they're paid for by the public, but controlled by the government. The government even passes laws that require children to attend school, and tax the property of you and your neighbors to pay for schools that children are required to attend (even if you have no children).

  What is public policy in this regard? It's establishment of government schools disguised as a "public school system."

  Are these "public" schools open to the public like a sidewalk? No, just try walking across the school grounds or using the ball field during school hours. Can you carry a deadly weapon for self defense (or defense of your child) on school property? No, but a government employee like a police officer can. In fact, most states that allowed concealed carry of deadly weapons (for legal purposes) specifically exclude such means of self defense in school buildings and on school grounds. Are these special rules for public places? No, they're special rules for government controlled spaces like our government schools.

  So, our "public" schools really aren't public at all. They're government schools operated by government employees, using government approved teaching materials, and controlled by government officials.

• There are any number of "public health" laws that center on what kind of food you can purchase and consume. One high visibility example is milk. Many states prohibit the distribution, sale and posession of raw milk - a wholesome food just like raw beef, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables and shellfish. The laws and rules are passed to protect the public, but the ultimate effect is to limit personal choice (a private matter), control people (including parents of children), interfere with free enterprise (including those who would like to enter the marketplace to offer a competing product), and provide employment within the government sector.

  There is no law prohibiting me from buying a bucket of dirt or a can of worms from my neighbor and consuming the dirt and worms in their raw form. There is no law prohibiting me from purchasing tobacco products and consuming them either. (I know individuals who eat cigars and swallow "chew" and snuff.) And, I can purchase raw meat and consume that as well. It's all perfectly legal and the risks associated with each of these activites is well known.

  Nevertheless, there is a "public" health issue associated with the personal (and therefore private) choice to follow a raw food diet that includes raw milk - a wholesome product as opposed to pasteurized milk that is essentially a dead product, devoid of many of the nutrients that support a healthy start for many a newborn. Clearly, public health officials have wandered off into the private lives of many citizens who wish to have traditional foods as opposed to eating the government approved processed foods that so many of us are quite literally sick over.

  What is public policy? Well, it shouldn't be anything that inhibits me making a decision about my health, or the health of my family, especially when that decision doesn't have anything to do with the "public" out there. Private decisions should be just that, and government needs to butt out.

  For all of those government do-gooders out there, please take your advice and counsel back to your own friends and family. Perhaps they'll listen to you, for they are the only ones who should. Leave the rest of us alone to make our own private decisions.

Wrapping it Up

The next time you hear someone discuss what is public policy (and therefore applicable to you), keep in mind just how "public" it really is. Many of the places that we think are public are really government controlled lands and facitilities. Many of the activities that are controlled for public good are private matters on private property, and therefore no business of the government (you and your neighbors), unless it can be shown to generally harm others that have no control over or decision in the matter.

Remember, when you or others are deciding what is public policy, it isn't just a clever phrase, it's a way of saying that you're going to make a law that others must follow. Let's remember that most matters between individuals are private in nature and it needs to stay that way. The more we refer to things as "public," the more we invite government to get involved and manage our lives.

I consider myself to be a much better life manager than the overwhelming majority of citizens who have been elected to political office. Therefore, I don't need them minding my personal affairs, protecting me from myself, or interfering with what ought to be a free marketplace.

And, I don't trust them when they tell me what matters are really public policy, simply because the more that we fool ourselves into thinking something is public, the more power and control we hand off to others in government. We don't to hand over anything more to those in government. They're taking as much as they can grab with peak efficiency without us suggesting that they expand their scope or depth of meddling. What we need to do is continue to remind them what is public policy, and what ought to be matters of private policy created by individuals and private organizations.

Done with What is Public Policy, take me back to Stupid Laws