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Monday, March 09, 2009

Money Squanderers

Brad Bumsted has an excellent op-ed on why Pennsylvania lawmakers' Bibles, gifts from the speaker, legal fees, and the like are just a few among many examples of the spendthrift mentality in Harrisburg. 

Bumsted writes, "The whole affair is just one more example of how state legislators have come to think your money is really their money."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I completely understand your complaint.

However, time is far more valuable than money. You will get a much better return on your investment of time if you persue the truely wasteful issues rather than the small ones.

Additionally, public debate is a valuable limited resource which must not be wasted on small issues. We play right into the left's hands when we lose our focus on the big issues and squabble about the small ones.

Nathan Benefield said...

Which "big issues" would those be? The Dog Law and the Smoking Ban - the two bill that legislators spent the most time on last year?

I happen to think that government spending is the big issue in Harrisburg. To say don't debate it is like saying "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain".

And as for "small items", they add up to billions of taxpayers' dollars in the state budget. Almost all of these items are enacted with little debate or thought to the cost - or are sold as "small ticket items", including Governor Rendell's energy plan and increases to government-run health care.