The local Flint government and larger Michigan government failed its citizens. It successfully poisoned the tap water for people living in the city of Flint. Most of the water was brown or yellow and contained high amounts of a lead, a known neurotoxin. The Michigan government knew this information and simply did nothing. Picked up by the national media over the past month, the water crisis in Flint has finally been addressed by Michigan governor Rick Snyder, but the damage has already been done.

Government's purpose, first and foremost, is to serve its people. Instead of serving its people, the state government decided to cut costs and save money.

In 2011, after the car industry failed in Michigan, Flint saw a dramatic reduction in jobs and income. As a result, the Michigan government created "Emergency Managers," people who aimed to cut costs.

Flint's emergency manager, Michael Brown referring to cutting costs in 2011 said, "I think what we have to do is look at the expense side first...There could be services we no longer provide in the city." Whether Brown was referring to the water supply is unclear, but shorty after this interview, in 2014, the Flint government changed its water supply source from Detroit's (a source based in Lake Huron) to the Flint River. Obviously, the government did not adequately test this water properly and Flint citizens began receiving dirty colored water from their taps. A state of emergency was declared in January by Michigan governor Rick Snyder and the water has been rerouted to the Detroit source.

Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental human right and the Flint/Michigan government failed to provide this basic right to its citizens. If Flint were a city in a foreign country, like Nigeria, Indonesia or El Salvador, the headline would read, "State and City Government Poison Citizens with Lead-Infested Water."

The crisis in Flint comes at a critical point in American politics and government. For the first time in eight years, a new president will occupy the White House and a new Congress will take its seats in the nations capitol. In many ways, the federal government of the United States has failed its citizens.

Threats of government shutdowns and a defunct legislative branch have prevented bills from becoming laws. Bills aimed at reforming gun control, notably bills that would prevent people on the FBI's no-fly list from obtaining guns as well as a bill designed to expand background checks to transactions made at gun shows and over the internet. Climate change still looms large as a threat not only to various parts of the United States, but also to the world at large. Will our federal lawmakers be held accountable?

Hopefully, the next couple months will bring clean water to the people of Flint, along with better state and officials eager to serve their citizens' health, needs and livelihoods. Perhaps the Flint crisis will bring service and accountability to the center of the 2016 presidential campaign.