It seems that the only way government officials know how to solve a problem is to throw money at it. A recent press release from the office of Governor David Ige epitomizes everything that is wrong with government. While I applaud the intent of improving relations with fishermen, but that is the limit of any praise I have to offer. It should not take money, another government program, or more bureaucracy just to improve relations with fishermen.
Here in Hawaii – that’s what a box of manapua is for.
The governor seems proud that he is throwing money at a problem. That in and of itself is not newsworthy, government officials are very good at throwing money around. History demonstrates that spending money rarely translates into results. What would be newsworthy is if relations finally did improve with fishermen as a result of judicious spending.
In other news, the Hawaii House of Representatives is proud that they allocated $15-million to alleviate overcrowding at Campbell High School. They spent nearly half an hour during their daily floor session grandstanding (in the words of Matt LoPresti) in congratulatory speeches, self-aggrandizement and pats-on-the-back. The money allocated is half of the amount required for a new building on the overcrowded campus.
Half-a-building is still no building. No building does nothing to solve overcrowding. And Matt LoPresti is proud of it!
That’s like going to Leonard’s and asking for half a malasada because you are counting calories. It does not exist. When it comes to purchasing, malasadas and buildings have one thing in common — its all or nothing.
Liberal Democrats are proud that they throw money at problems. They hope that the public will look past all of the spending failures of the Legislature in recent memory. The Hawaii Health Connector was a black hole on the order of $100-million. Aloha Stadium is a sink for millions of dollars annually while legislators do nothing toward a more permanent solution. Even the Department of Transportation is still sitting on a $600-million backlog of federal funds.
Proof positive that money is not the problem – its the people.
Conservatives are always quick to paint Democrats with a broad brush. But now many of them are taking notice that there is a huge difference between the moderate (“blue dog”) Democrats that took the time to scrutinize every dollar, and the liberal Democrats who dig out of work at the same time as the rest of the civil servants.
Liberal Democrats do not know the meaning of a conservative budget. Any head-of-household knows the minimum threshold is spending less money than you are taking in. Sylvia Luke’s budget spends more money than they are taking in, but it is still branded as conservative. Spending less money than another liberal Democrat does not make for a conservative budget.
While leaders in the legislative and executive branches point at problematic civil servants low on the totem pole, leadership always starts at the top. The incompetence is at the top. It starts with the governor, and it starts with the tax-and-spend attitude of liberal Democrats at the helm of the House and Senate money committees. When you are supposed to lead by example, it is no wonder that there are so many problems at the bottom.