$24,000 hammer: Government proves again it cannot be trusted to shepherd anyone's future

Yes, you read it right.

A state government that is $3 billion in debt is punishing a county that chose not to spend like a drunken sailor just to make sure it continued to receive the same share of its own money.

Wayne County is losing 911 dollars because officials were saving money for future improvements to the system and not bleeding their fund dry each year.

Kind of makes you want to shake someone, doesn't it?

And lest you think this only happens in Raleigh, rest assured, the federal government has a use it or lose it policy, too. That is how you get $24,000 hammers and toilet seats.

The problem with trusting government bureaucrats with any part of your life or your family's future is that they are government bureaucrats, used to spend- all-you-can budgets and blowing through money they do not see as their own.

Although there are some exceptions, in general, the larger the bureaucracy, the more likely there will be people wasting time, money and energy as well as making sure that their jobs will continue in perpetuity.

And, by the way, the money they are wasting is your money.

The reason so many people are calling for wholesale reform of government employment and spending at all levels is just this sort of stupidity and lack of foresight.

When you hear such a ridiculous pronouncement from a government official, it makes you wonder what else they are messing up and how much more of your money you could be saving or spending yourself.

Seems like the last place we should be considering placing more responsibility and control.

It is something to think about, anyway.

Published in Editorials on March 16, 2011 10:56 AM