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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Begging Others to Pay Your Bills

Apparently somebody on the Rapid City council understands the proper role of government.

As Rapid City prepares to spend nearly $200,000 just to pay for the design of a new Canyon Lake spillway, disagreements have arisen about how to pay for the project.

As reported by the Rapid City Journal, some in city hall are ready to go begging the federal government for handouts.

Alderman Sam Kooiker said more information is needed about how the final project will be paid for. Kooiker said the city so far has asked the federal government for money, something he doesn't believe goes far enough. He said it is the city's responsibility to look for funds within the city.

"For us to go hat in hand to the federal government and say while we haven't made an attempt to look for any funding at all on our level, we'd like you to do all of this for us -- that's one of the reasons federal spending has gotten where it's at," Kooiker said.

He's absolutely right. We've developed a very, very bad habit in the last 50 years to run to the federal government every time we need something. The federal government has not only become Big Brother, but Sugar Daddy and even our government-god.

Instead of praying to God as we might have in the past or trying to fix a problem ourselves, our first reaction has devolved into running to the government-god for benevolent gifts.

While Kooiker gets it, others on the city council apparently don't.
Alderman Lloyd LaCroix said the consultant's work will provide more information that the city needs to apply for more federal and state funding. He disagreed with Kooiker's philosophy about federal funds.

"We taxpayers pay federal, state and city taxes, so why shouldn't our community get some of that back? I think it should be one of our first choices to look at," he said.

Because, Mr. LaCroix, we pay city taxes for city matters. We pay state taxes for state matters. Our federal taxes should be for matters that affect our nation as a whole--and nothing more.

Those federal taxes were paid by people all over the United States to pay for national needs and national interests, not to pay for a spillway in Rapid City.

To turn the tables, what responsibility is it of Rapid City citizens to pay for a bike path, a spillway or a trolley in Booneville, Mississippi? Do you want to pay for Booneville's trolleys? Should you?

As Thomas Jefferson said, "Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated." For those who need a translation, this means government officials can't just say, "Gee, that'd be a great idea" and do it. If it isn't specifically authorized by the Constitution, it's no allowed, unconstitutional and illegal.

Our form of government is one of enumerated powers, meaning that if the action isn't specifically authorized by the U.S. Constitution, our federal government has no power to do it.

What this means to local government is that the federal government has no interest, no place, no responsibility, and no authorization to meet the financial needs of local government.

Not for trollies at federal expense, and not for city spillways.

Kooiker is 100% right: we have a $3 trillion budget and outrageous taxes because too few government officials are willing to obey the law and operate within the scope of their authority.

Too few people are willing to say "No!" to unreasonable and illegal demands for taxpayer money.

Posted by Bob Ellis at 12:45 PM

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