Some
congressman
once
said
something
like… “A
billion
here, a
billion
there
and
pretty
soon
you’re
talking
real
money”.
I’m
convinced
that’s
the way
they see
it.
Several
years
ago I
found a
glitch
in the
system
here in
our
state
that was
allowing
20-30
million
a year
to go
uncollected.
I took
my
discovery
to the
attention
of the
state
agency
and was
promptly
told…
“You
know in
the over
all
scheme
of
things….20-30
million
a year
just
isn’t
worth
that
much to
us.”
My
question
is
this…if
20-30
million
a year
isn’t
much,
then why
do they
worry so
much
about
the
piddling
amounts
I owe
them
from
time to
time?
Why not
just let
me alone
and
forget
anything
I might
owe?
I think
it is
the
consensus
of just
about
everyone
that I
know
that if
the
government
would
stop
wasting
so much
money we
(us
taxpayers)
would
have to
pay less
to keep
the
government
afloat.
I could
always
use a
few more
bucks in
my
pocket
each
month,
how
about
you?
So,
here’s
another
wonderful
way to
spend
and
waste
more
taxpayer
dollars.
This
month
the
government
is going
to hold
another
terror
drill in
three
parts of
the
country.
The
scenario
is that
three
fictional
‘dirty’
bombs
will be
exploded
and will
shut
down
vital
transportation
arteries.
No
problem
so far,
right?
I mean
we all
need to
plan for
the bad
things
that
could
happen.
Then we
need to
take
action
to
prevent
the
kinds of
foul-ups
that
occur as
a result
of these
exercises.
Isn’t
that the
reason
we do
them in
the
first
place?
Kind of
a test…
you did
in
school….you
remember,
you
studied
and took
a
practice
test to
see how
well you
would
perform
when the
real
thing
came
along.
Well,
try this
on for
size.
These
terror
drills
cost
somewhere
in the
neighborhood
of
twenty
five
million
each
year and
have
since
the year
2000.
I’m ok
with
that.
Makes a
lot of
sense to
me.
Better
to be
safe
than
sorry.
But
wait,
there’s
more.
You
would
think
that
before
they
start
this
year’s
exercise,
they
would
have a
review
of last
years
exercise
so they
could
correct
any
mistakes…
right?
Well, as
I’ve
said
before,
logic
and
government
thinking
is
somewhat
of an
oxymoron.
You see,
they
don’t
have the
report
for the
exercise
they did
last
year; in
2006…in
fact
they
don’t
have the
report
for the
exercise
they did
in 2005.
I
suppose
it
doesn’t
really
matter
since
25-30
million
a year
really
isn’t
much
money in
the
overall
scheme
of
things,
is it?
I mean
why
should I
be
worried
about
something
like
this, is
this any
of my
business?
I think
so. I
think
anyone
will
agree
that the
US
government
is not,
I repeat
is not,
a
profitable
business
enterprise.
They
don’t
make a
profit,
they
just
spend
money.
We make
the
money
and give
it to
them.
Not
willingly,
but we
do it
anyway,
because
that’s
how it
works.
It only
stands
to
reason
that
they
should
try and
be
decent
stewards
of what
we send
over
each and
every
year.
But then
again,
that
takes
logic
and it
seems
the
folks
inside
of the
beltway
are not
always
the most
logical
are
they?
I just
wonder
who if
anyone,
ever
looks at
any of
these
programs
like the
one I
just
described
and
asked
the
powers
that be,
why is
this
allowed
to
happen?
If
someone
came out
with
that
kind of
a
platform
and was
running
for
president,
I
guarantee
you one
thing…
They
would
get my
vote.
