Ronald Reagan said a government office “is the closest thing to eternal life we will ever see in this world.” Which is why the rush to grab the federal government’s so-called stimulus money is worrisome. Texas House members last week to a tentative step in reaching for the tainted dough — and straddling taxpayers with big ongoing costs.
State Rep. Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) is pushing to make sure the House can grab money regardless of strings or commitments, saying, “We don’t need to be playing politics with what needs to be done to fix our current financial problems.”
Of course, our financial problems are mild compared to the rest of the nation. And the problems there (and here) have been multiplied by government fixes, programs, taxes, spending and other ill-conceived action. The last thing the economy needs is more of Dunnam’s politics-free big-government politics that somehow always accrue to the advocates of intrusion, growing government.
Dunnam wouldn’t stand for cutting taxes. But growing government? Stay out of his politics-free way.
Not surprisingly, the fiscally irresponsible Dunnam (who cosponsored the move to hike legislator office expenditures while state agencies are being asked to reduce spending) is channeling liberal incompetency demonstrated elsewhere.
For example, the ineffective governor of Wisconsin said he was creating a new office — a new layer of bureaucracy — that would seek as much federal pork as possible. Any bets on how long this “temporary” office will be in place?
The so-called stimulus money will be fleeting, but the obligation to continue the spending will go on and on. As Reagan said, expect the new offices and expanded programs to outlive all of us…
