Not mine to give....Part 2 - Granite Grok

Not mine to give….Part 2

Over at NRO was this "heads up" for more politicians looking for a bailout: 

Gov. Paterson said yesterday the feds have to help bail out cash-starved New York to help plug the more than $9 billion budget gap facing the state.

"We are struggling for survival to close this budget deficit," Paterson said during a town-hall meeting in White Plains, his second budget-focused event in the past week.

He added: "There is going to have to be federal relief here."

If the citizens of the other 49 states fall for this, they are bigger fools than I take them for. New York’s state government is a nest of thieves. Our moronic state electorate signed on willingly and gleefully to the government’s offer to let us trade in our one-dollar bills for fives. Now that the whole stinking Ponzi scheme is collapsing, the Albany crooks are calling on folk in Oregon, Tennessee, and North Dakota to help keep it going.

Pay no attention, America. New York deserves whatever is coming to it.

I would agree – this country was based on responsibility and for those States (and their taxpayers!) that have been more prudent, more frugal, and did not spend in cadence with the phrase "let the good times roll!" should not have to be on the hook for those States that have acted like NY.  While much has been said concerning the moral hazard of socialism (yes folks, right here on the ‘Grok).

Yet, there are those that DO believe fiscal basket cases like NY and CA should be bailed out.  Mike Kitch, intrepid reporter for the Laconia Daily Sun, and I had quite the "discussion" a while ago over this.  Essentially, I had made my point that we watched every penny that was spent and that our budgets were carefully overseen and managed; we stayed within reasonable limits and did not spend either to the limit of what could be possible or over that limit.  My jaw dropped, however, to the asphalt when he looked me in the eye and stated "Yes, Gilford SHOULD be made to give of taxpayer funds to other towns less fortunate – you are all rich compared to them!".  I asked "Does that mean to towns, and states like CA, that have totally "mismanaged their budgets?" (thinking that the word mismanaged" would give him an exit, that outright stupidity should not be rewarded.

He let me know, in no uncertain terms, that I was cold-hearted and selfish for not wanting to help.  I could only shake my head, got in my car, and our conversations have dwindled to pretty much nothing ever since.

I guess he couldn’t understand that taxpayer money was not mine to give!  As a conservative, one of my core political beliefs is self-responsibility – you are responsible for the decisions you make and for the outcomes stemming from those actions.  These are not my kids that need bailing out – these are adults that have voluntarily NOT been acting fiscally responsible for quite some time.  If those elected officials HAD been responsible, they wouldn’t be in the situation(s) they are now.  Ditto for the voters in a second-order review – they voted these fools into office, thus, they bear the responsibility of their elected representatives.

Second, as an elected official, I have a duty and an obligation to spend only what is needed – and no more.  Would I be showing respect to my constituents by being so flagrant with their money in sending their money elsewhere to account for others stupidity?  I think not.

Yet, as I found out, there are indeed others (e.g., Mike Kitch) believe that it was my obligation and duty to have done so.

It truly is an unfortunate state of affairs when many wrongly conflate government with individual charity; it is FAR worse to punish citizens who have maintained good government by paying for those who have not.

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