Our Safety Net Slipping Into A Nightmare

By STEVE OTTO The Tampa Tribune

Published: Apr 16, 2008

There was a lot of anger out at Tampa International Airport last week. It was little different from anger spread out across the country as hundreds of airline flights were canceled and hundreds of thousands of lives were interrupted.

That was only the immediate effect. For the most part, it was temporary frustration and changed schedules for passengers and millions of dollars in costs to already struggling airlines.

But there was something else going on, something that goes beyond long lines and missed connections.

Americans are used to a safety net. We expect to get on complex, sophisticated aircraft in one city and - even if reduced from a hot meal to a bag of potato chips along the way - to come down in one piece somewhere else.

It's the same way we expect to live our lives.

There is an assumption when we sit down in a restaurant the place has been inspected and someone looked in the kitchen to see how everything was done.

We believe we can go into a grocery store and buy anything with confidence because food inspectors have preceded us somewhere up and down the food chain so we aren't buying anything contaminated with pesticides or unhealthy livestock.

We like to think the cars we purchase for $30,000 or $40,000 are built with safety as a prime consideration and they won't blow up while we're tooling down the interstate.

We want to believe that when we send our children to public school they will at least be in a safe environment for eight hours.

Americans grew up believing they had the finest in medical services, from their personal physician to the highly skilled services of our great hospitals.

For our elderly, there are a host of services all designed to protect the frail and those with no other support so they at least live comfortable and secure lives.

At least that was the idea, even if the reality was never quite there.

Slipping Away

Now, things seem to be falling apart. Much of it is attributable to a faltering economy and politicians who are quick to cut services to the most vulnerable and those with no political clout. Take a look at what was happening in Tallahassee last week.

But it seems to go beyond even that. The problems with the airline industry this year turned out to be because of a too-cozy relationship between the airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration, those same people who are supposed to be ensuring the wings don't fall off the planes.

You Are What You Eat

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the numbers of food poisoning incidents are not declining. The CDC says more than 76 million people get sick, more than 300,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 Americans die each year of food-borne illnesses. How many stories did you read this year about filthy meat plants or poor inspection systems in this country?

What I don't hear is much discussion or debate about any of this at any level, including the presidential campaign. Public safety goes well beyond sending contaminated toys back to China.

We need to talk more about every infrastructure, not just crumbling roads and bridges, but the safety net that was once a part of the American dream but is slipping into a nightmare.

Keyword: Otto Graphs, to read and comment on Steve Otto's blog.