Sanford will steal stimulus money from the people - just to make a point.
From Huffington Post:
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford wants to use $700 million in federal stimulus money to pay off state debt, not increase spending on programs or services.
Sanford has long railed against federal bailouts, and on Tuesday sent lawmakers a letter saying he wants to use the money to pay off some of the state’s $20 billion in unfunded liabilities. While he doesn’t specify in the letter, the governor has used that figure when referencing what is owed the state retirement system.
It floors me. The balls on some of these people.
We have a stimulus plan here. Like it or not, it’s to be used to for the betterment of the masses RIGHT NOW - in our current crisis. What this ass proposes to do - as a political stunt - is to divert it from those who would benefit most and waste it on paying down a debt to retirement funding that is not the most pressing issue the state has and, quite honestly, can wait.
As always, the republicans choose ideology over the needs of those who voted for them. Government run programs, the bane of existence for the republicans in good times, are surprisingly needed in what are now the bad times. What this small-minded man is doing is the equivalent of pulling food from the bread lines during the Great Depression for the mere purpose of making his petty point.
And it’s not as if they’re punishing anyone but themselves. From Philip Klein at American Spectator:
Here’s the thing. Yes, in a folk hero sort of way, it would be great fun to see Republican governors refuse to accept the money. But on a practical level, I don’t see how it makes any sense. The battle is over. The forces who want to spend more taxpayer money won. If every Republican governor refused to accept the stimulus money, it’s not like Congress would go back and reduce the cost of the stimulus package by that amount. Taxpayers in South Carolina will be partially subsidizing all of the stimulus spending no matter whether they like it or not. So, they may as well get what they can out of the stimulus package, and try their best to spend the money as productively as possible.
I sincerely hope the administration, if it is within their ability to do so, forces him to use this money for its intended purpose. If not, I hope the people of the state vote him the hell out of office as soon as they can.
