(Via Hot Air Headlines) Treating the symptoms, and not the disease.
Stimulus money plugs budget gaps while little goes to road construction in New York state
New York state has used most of its economic stimulus funding so far to plug holes in its budget and has spent very little on new highway construction, according to a federal watchdog.
New York has used $6.2 billion to close gaps in the state budget. The federal government intended for states to use the money to stabilize their budgets and it was especially important to New York since the state took a historic revenue hit from the collapse of Wall Street.
But the extra state money will soon run out, leaving behind the same state government machine that spends billions more than it takes in. Gov. David Paterson’s staff said it was working on an exit strategy to be revealed at the end of the year, when the next budget proposal is introduced to the Legislature. The state counties association, school districts and members of Congress have warned the state it needs to plan for the federal stimulus money to dry up.
I had a tedious metaphor all set and ready to go, but it’s not really necessary: the answer to New York’s problem is actually not complicated.
- Stop spending money that you don’t have.
- If you want something that you can’t have because you don’t have the money, get more money.
- You cannot turn a luxury into a necessity by wanting it sufficiently enough.
Yes, I’m amazed that I have to write out all of this. I’m also mordantly certain that it won’t make much difference – or any difference at all – that I did.
Moe Lane