Nanny State Public Service Announcements
We are one of the most governed nations on earth. Federal, provincial, regional and municipal governments spend millions every year on Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that offend the average person’s intelligence. This winter, governments offered such “nanny state” advice as:
· “When shoveling snow, push, don’t lift”
· “Exposed skin will freeze in seconds at -20C.”
· “High mountain pass; use snow tires in winter.”
On March 20th, at 5:14 am spring arrived in Canada. Called the March equinox in order to remove the Northern Hemisphere bias about spring, the event marks the arrival of a whole new crop of expensive PSAs:
· “This is how you wash your hands…”
· “Don’t dive head first into unknown waters!”
· “Avoid climbing high voltage electricity transmission towers!”
Mack understands the idea behind such PSAs – to save lives, reduce illness and injuries. But really, wouldn’t it more effective to focus scarce public dollars on school health programs rather than a national hand-washing campaign in a first world country?
Learn about effective public service advice and announcements.
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