Symptom of the Disease
Local budgets depend on state and federal grants for larger and larger portions of their funding. State budgets depend on federal hand-outs even more so. Soon, those grants become unfunded mandates. The finger is pointed at the federal government for leaving states and communities high-and-dry as politicians demand even more money to replace lost funding.
This – for lack of a better term – is our disease. Our politicians in Washington are rated on how much money they can steal from the residents of other states to be redistributed back home. This continues while most of you don’t even know the names of representatives on your town’s finance committee.
The following posts are from our Symptom of the Disease category, and these symptoms (posts) can easily referred back to our country's disease.
This is what it has come to. The state of California is sending dignitaries from the state’s legislature to the east coast “early and often” to demand taxpayers give more money to the Golden State. Government sponsored theft it is I tell you!
I’m not certain if Republicans have ever taken this approach when trying to ram through hot-topic legislation and I really don’t care. Democrats will soon bypass normal conference procedures to pass health care legislation since normal procedures are too damn hard.
Another great featured video from the Cato Institute. Dan Mitchell uses an analogy I’ve used myself when discussing the United States deficit and debt, comparing it to a family getting a mortgage for a home. Mitchell is even using my “symptom of the disease” theme. I’m honored Dan … 😉
Another symptom of the disease. The Montana Reinvestment Act – funded directly by federal stimulus dollars – has provided almost $50,000 towards a project in Bozeman, Mont. to install new tennis courts in a city park.
So much for compromise and working in good faith. Our country may be lost … lost to innovation, prosperity, economic growth and good will. Your federal government has so much power and cash they can simply steal from the people and use cash to buy off the votes of other Congress-critters.
Many Democrats are concerned about the language in the $1.2 trillion health care presented by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that allows for a loophole – there’s that word again – to indirectly fund abortion.
All politics, are no longer local. With the coming of the information age, broadband internet and online credit card processing, we’ve entered into the blood sport of manipulating United States House and Senate races in far-away states and districts of which we have never been, nor will likely visit in the future. Is this a…
With the Sound Off Sister providing legal commentary on the General Welfare clause, I thought I’d toss in my opinion since the subject is closely tied to my Symptom of the Disease series. With no doubt, the interpretation of the Spending Clause is the root of many problems we have right now. Let’s take a…
In a twist that will tick-off taxpayers, the federal government’s plan to provide tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles has turned into a boon for golf cart manufactures. The IRS allows the full credit – $4,200 to $5,500 – to be applied to electric golf carts as long as they are road-worthy. Some buyers…
Charmaine Yoest has an interesting post about the Capps Amendment designed to set up accounting mechanisms to ensure tax dollars do not directly fund abortions. An accounting mechanism? The problem is that direct funding may be blocked, but there is no way to ensure indirect funding is not used for abortions. This is another example…