I agree with both Igall & mciai2000 -
Ignition "tumblers" can become worn and sensitive over time. As opposed to a single key being used in the switch at all times, a lot of keys, fobs and doo-dads hanging from the ignition switch over time can induce a lot of wear to the switch, creating faults and failures. Obviously, assuring that the column is unlocked is necessary, too.
While yes, without the power steering pump working, a power-steered vehicle's wheel is hard to turn, it shouldn't make too much difference in a dynamic, or forward-moving steering change. With power steering, you're relying on the pump's power to alleviate the additional load that a modern car's more severe or "qucker" steering ratio provides.
Those of us who learned to drive a "stick" and/or had a manual transmissions on older or smaller import cars know that ANY forward motion, no matter how slight, reduced steering effort by something along a factor of 10x.
I cringe when I see newbie drivers crank their wheels without any forward motion these days. While the pump makes it possible for you to do so, all that happens is that that you're now forcing that wear and load on the front end components instead of your shoulders and biceps.
