Problem solved

I had an idle thought yesterday morning…Oh! Oh! I probably should have left it alone, but it grew into something more than just a few stray synapses firing in my brain. So here it is…

Let’s get rid of state governments. What do we need them for? What is different about the needs of John in Iowa and the needs of Fred in Maine? Nothing substantial. (Besides, if you don’t look out the window, all the states look alike!) In fact we could rid ourselves of county government as well. We could make cities responsible for all local concerns and that is as it should be. The federal government would handle all of the housekeeping chores for us. I can hear you already…”big government is too big already!” but consider that by ridding ourselves of states and counties, we rid ourselves of 2 levels of government that are usually duplicating the efforts of the federal government anyway. Take the salaries and costs of the state legislature and apply it to health care or highway construction. Problem solved!

This idle thought came to me because I was thinking about the proposed pedestrian bridge widening on the Capitol Bridge in Sacramento. No, it doesn’t affect me at all, but it does demonstrate how government costs us more and more with each layer of it. The proposal to widen the pedestrian walkway was originally estimated to cost the taxpayers about 3 million dollars. Then the plan was reviewed and then reviewed again and again as one agency after another decided they had some interest in the project. The so called “final” estimate is now 9 million dollars. Want to bet it doesn't go to 18 million before the first pedestrian sets foot on it?