This landed in the bushes this morning. I suppose newspapers all over the country had similar articles today about the local impact of the stimulus package.
He: "Look, honey. They're finally going to fix Route 25 with the stimulus money."
She: "That's nice of them, dear."
He: "And they'll be doing two million worth of patching."
She: "Heaven knows we need that."
Smiles all around.
But don't think too deeply about the entire concept or you'll begin to ask some serious questions.
Like...
...Aren't roads the very essence of core services government is SUPPOSED to provide?
...Haven't we had road commissioners and taxation, for... oh a hundred years or so, charged with the responsibility of providing safe roads?
...We're paying 50.8 cents a gallon for motor fuel tax in Illinois, 18.4 cents of it federal. Isn't THAT for roads and bridges?
...And we know congress has been stuffing these projects into unrelated bills whenever they can. They are bargaining chips that secure votes. Isn't this stimulus bill doing the same thing on a national scale? "If we fill it with a bunch of local projects, the bill will be easier to swallow."
So, yes, they have just sold us the things we already own.
And in the process proved that they can't perform the core services of government.
AND WE'RE ALL SMILES BECAUSE THEY ARE FINALLY GOING TO PATCH OUR STREETS!
I guess we deserve this kind of government.
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