Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Basic Government

It is hard to believe that anyone who works in government does not know that capital funds (pork barrel) that are handed out by the legislature can only be used for bricks and mortar.  Mostly.  During the Richardson administration the legislators lined up willy nilly for handouts for their districts and pet projects.  Some were worthy, some were not. It was all very unplanned and undirected and once the money was appropriated the legislators for the most part just moved on with out keeping an eye on the spending.  Given the sheer amount of largess handed out it would have been nice if some extra eyeballs were watching.  Now, as in the example of the Hispanic Cultural Center Fresco project, every one points fingers at a past administration as being at fault for misappropriation.  Maybe, but so were the legislators and recipients who certainly should realize how these funds should be spent.  It is shameful they way so many pass the buck.

Many of these projects, once again, were unworthy.  I have said for years the amount of money spent on some of this stuff was totally wasted.  There doesn't seem to be any central planning on how to use such monies and how to control the doling out of cash.  The legislature should set some real parameters on how much can be spent and how any request might be scored for its viability.  A legislator's ego and seniority should not be a sole factor in getting money appropriated for a project.

P.S.  Has anyone noticed the Tuesday comics in the Journal are no longer in color.  Shouldn't they reduce our subscription price for less quality?  Oh, they only demand that of government.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Then don't dole out the money willy-nilly. You seem to think central planning will somehow hold the recipients accountable. Good luck. New Mexico is full of central planners who have squandered countless dollars over the years. Of course the reason so many dollars are dished out by politicians is so they can get re-elected (i.e. buy votes). You know that Jim.