" Thank you, Dave, for a common sense view. This arrogance you talk about isn't just in Washington and Springfield. It exists at every level of government/government agency.

For example, take a look at the Mattoon City budget for 2009-2010. Depending on the department, you'll see "Salaries and Wages" increasing 8% to 20%, this year compared to last year! Add on the other employment costs, and it gets even worse!

If the City of Mattoon were a private entity, there would be no red ink in the operating budget. Somehow, that projected $800,000 loss would have been gone before the ink dried. Either that, or the management team would have been fired. "

" Don't worry Tom, they will probably make it up by selling off more assets and land. I would imagine they have some extra lawn mowers not in use. "

" FYI:

A Lesser-Known Tale of Badgers and Suckers. To begin with, some of the most well-known state symbols allude to lesser-known meanings and histories. I grew up in Wisconsin and only recently learned that the Badger State title originally refers not to Bucky, nor to the savage beast itself, but to lead miners in the 1820s and 30s. These miners moved from prospect to prospect in southwestern Wisconsin, traveling light and often, with little money for luxury. When winter came and conditions worsened, those miners too far from home to migrate would dig themselves sheltering caves in the hills like badgers. These temporary dwellings could be abandoned if a prospect proved fruitless, without much regret; and if the lead pickings were good, the lucky miner could fluff up his badger hole or upgrade to a more traditional Euro-American residence. For this practice Wisconsin miners were dubbed badgers a jibe that was soon appropriated as a proud, statewide nickname. Bucky didnt come along until 1949; the furry, quadruped badger, notoriously vicious when cornered, wasnt declared Wisconsins state animal until 1957.
Other miners migrated south for the winter to the far end of Illinois, much like the regions sucker fish; which earned them the nickname of Suckers, and their state of Illinois its unenviable nickname, The Sucker State.

I guess the term still applies ;) "

" You know, Harry, something that has always bugged me about government (fund) accounting is the total disregard of the difference between the Balance Sheet and the Statement of Revenue and Expense.

In private concerns, if whatever comes in exceeds whatever goes out, the difference accumulates on the Balance Sheet as Retained Earnings - and all is well with the stockholders.

In public concerns, if whatever comes in exceeds whatever goes out, panic ensues and outrageous spending becomes a mandate - and all is NOT well with the taxpayers! "

" Dig deep America. Times are tough and we need the money so we can continue to pay ourselves 2 or 3 (or more) times the wages the average person makes and so that we can continue to fund research into important issues such as which brand of ketchup is really the thickest and what type of jokes really make people laugh. We also need to be able to pay millions of dollars for projects to improve private property and give contracts to companies based on how much they contributed to getting us into office. "

" Oh for the days of Senator William Proxmire and his "Golden Fleece Awards"! He would be hard pressed to keep up with all those who would be "worthy" of one of them! "

" Amen there, Billie! "

" Sad but true, Jim1969. "