[Speed Gibson,
Wednesday December 7, 2005 at 11:12pm]
What if you had $700 million to spend?
Suppose you somehow had wound up with the forecasted State surplus of around $700 million. You strike a deal with the embarrassed bureaucrats, saying you'll give the money back but only if you get to say where it goes.
What would you do with it? As Tony Garcia and his producer observed on Sunday, you almost certainly would spend it more effectively than the Legislature will.
For one thing, we'd simply save a big chunk of it. But the Legislature will spend it all, probably with the Governor's blessing once again.
Mostly, though, trying to make a name for ourselves, we would try to do the most good for the least money. "Invest" in K-12 public education? Pointless. The results don't improve with additional funding and might even get worse. Open up a voucher/scholarhip window to help the prisoners of ISD #1, and the line will extend for blocks.
"Invest" in mass transit? Tens of millions a year for a few thousand potential riders? No, just add a lane here and there and tens of thousands of drivers will bless you.
Most of all, you'd talk to and work with the people. Not the connected ones, but the average joes and jills out there that pay the taxes.
What would you do with it? As Tony Garcia and his producer observed on Sunday, you almost certainly would spend it more effectively than the Legislature will.
For one thing, we'd simply save a big chunk of it. But the Legislature will spend it all, probably with the Governor's blessing once again.
Mostly, though, trying to make a name for ourselves, we would try to do the most good for the least money. "Invest" in K-12 public education? Pointless. The results don't improve with additional funding and might even get worse. Open up a voucher/scholarhip window to help the prisoners of ISD #1, and the line will extend for blocks.
"Invest" in mass transit? Tens of millions a year for a few thousand potential riders? No, just add a lane here and there and tens of thousands of drivers will bless you.
Most of all, you'd talk to and work with the people. Not the connected ones, but the average joes and jills out there that pay the taxes.