Go Ahead, Call Me Cowboy

I read this article in The American Enterprise last month. Now it is available as an "Extra" on WSJ's free OpinionJournal site.

The authors investigate (on a suggestion by Canadians) two towns, similar in size but different in politics as one is in Alaska and one in British Columbia.

First we called up the respective town authorities. Hyder, the American town, turned out to have no town authorities--and, technically, no town. The Hyderites chose not to incorporate as a municipality, creating instead a community association--a private nonprofit corporation. Stewart, the Canadian town, is a real municipality with a traditional government.

When we phoned Stewart, the government agent refused to answer any questions until they were submitted in writing. The Hyder community association representative said, sure, she'd tell us anything we wanted to know, right now, on the phone. But to make it a fair comparison, we faxed written questions to both parties, and got written answers back.

The Canadian government official, evidently aspiring to create a faceless bureaucracy in this 700-person outpost, signed the response as "Government Agent"--capital letters but no name or sex--and explained that Stewart had a "Municipal Government incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia," with a mayor and a city council of six members. As to Stewart's nearby neighbors, Government Agent from Canada said diplomatically, "I'm not sure how Hyder is governed," but expressed polite disapproval of its apparent libertarian streak.

This is a fascinating -- and pretty even-handed -- look at the effect government has on its citizens. And it is a fun read.

Posted by jk at July 19, 2004 02:54 PM