Thursday, January 27, 2011

Targets of Opportunity: Government by Spoiled Children

The only thing that keeps this report from degenerating into a schadenfreude-fest is the thought of those less fortunate individuals who will be screwed, as a result of the greed and short-sightedness of a few powerful sphincters.  Well maybe more than a few; after all there was a general election.

So, Long Island's wealthy Nassau County (the location of Scott Fitzgerald's fictional town of West Egg, which was home to the The Great Gatsby) elected a tea party clone as county manager.  The clone rode a wave of tax-payer angst into office, and promised relief.  Only trouble is, he didn't figure out how he was in fact going to manage the county budget.

Result?  Spiraling towards bankruptcy, the county's finances have been taken over by the State of New York.  Go read about it in the NYTimes.  At least there are a few grown-ups left in this country.

But what does this augur for the nation at large?  Nothing but ill, I fear, since there is no convenient political entity to play the role of the fiscally stern Papa, when the errant child is the size of the US of A.

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