SamSaid!

BIG GOVERNMENT

     California is a big state, whether measured by population, geography, revenues, expenses, automobiles, or fruits and nuts. It goes without saying that its bureaucracy likewise is huge  –  those thousands and thousands of public servants who control and spend our tax dollars. Earlier this week I spotted a newspaper article that boggled my mind.

     The State of California owns 70,000 vehicles  — cars. trucks and other vehicles. Anything that moves on wheels. There is a state agency, the State and Consumer Services Agency, whose job it is to keep track of these vehicles. Everything from purchase, to use, maintenance and inventory. The idea sounds OK, but then as I was reading on, I was astounded to learn that the Agency cannot account for 30,000 vehicles  — 43% of the total. Can you imagine buying 70,000 vehicles and not knowing where 30,000 of them are??

     Assume for a moment that the average purchase price of a vehicle is $30,000  — a fairly modest price nowadays. That means that in recent years, California has spent over $2 BILLION dollars for vehicles and no one in the State Government knows where  half of them are. The newspapers and politicos are generous in using terms like “loose administration” and ”poor records” to explain where almost a billion dollars of tax dollars went. Who is driving 30,000 State vehicles for which there are no records? Can you visualize Microsoft, Chevron or H-P buying 70,000 cars with stockholder money and then losing 30,000 of them?? Think heads would roll?

     This is the year when lots a corporate giants in the private sector are paying a stiff price  – lots of jail time  –  for misuing and misappropriating other people's money. And of course, the left wingers gleefully trot out the old slogans like greedy capitalists, dishonest industrial leaders, fat cats, corporate crooks etc., etc. And in some cases those terms might be appropriate. But tax dollars are different. Nobody owns them  — they are sitting there waiting to be spent, and why bother with records. Thirty thousand cars disappear, but it is nobody's fault, and we should just chalk it up to poor records (or none at all).

     The solution, of course, is to make some rules changes (likely sperficial) and sweep the whole affair under the rug. Above all, just don't get excited over 30,000 missing cars.After all, it's only tax money (about a $Billion), and the big objective is to make sure it won't happen again. Sure.

     Big government  –  and the only guy who seems interested in changing things is the Guv  — Arnold.