John Oliver is the best civics instructor in the country, spelling out the benefits of government agencies in a way no one else does. Watch this entertaining and enlightening segment as he explains what the National Weather Service does, and why it shouldn't be influenced by for-profit principles. Via TIME Magazine:

The biggest issue, though, according to Oliver, is that the private companies want the National Weather Service to do slightly less so that their own services are more valuable. For instance, they even reportedly worked to get a bill passed that would have prevented the National Weather Service from providing daily forecasts or putting content on its website. Luckily the bill failed, Oliver says because, “What you do not want is a pay-walled system of weather where only paying customers can find out if they are about to drive into a tornado.”

Now, that nightmare scenario may be one step closer to reality and the National Weather Service may be under siege. That is because Donald Trump nominated Barry Myers, the CEO of Accuweather, a director competitor or the National Weather Service, to be the undersecretary of the National Weather Service. As TIME previously reported, “Myers argued for new limits on what weather information the National Weather Service could release, leaving companies like his own with more control over the forecast, and greater profits. His appointment awaits a vote in the Senate.”