We have the same problem in Cook County as we do in Washington—too much spending on the wrong things and not enough on the right things.
County government officials seem to have two major priorities:
1) Where to build a community center that will cost millions; that no one wants; is not needed; and has a high probability of requiring ongoing supportive operating funds.
2) How to spend enough money to build a government owned and operated “resort caliber golf course” in a remote area of Minnesota with a short operating season.
Regardless of whether you believe government should be in the golfing business or not, it should trouble you that the “leaders” of this effort have nonchalantly requested a mere $3.3 million for phase I of this scheme to spend $7 million in the next few years. Then they had the gall to casually ask for another small, “nothing new,” “bridge-loan” of $225,000 to help maintain their “self-supportive” status.
In the meantime, our school system is in such dire financial shape the school board is seriously considering the elimination of the superintendent position, arguably the most important leadership role in the school. This makes no sense to me.
I know these things are funded from different buckets, but these are still tax dollars. While money is still money, only some problems are real problems. Something is seriously wrong when our leadership has no issue talking about spending millions of dollars on nonessential projects, while they are unable to find a few thousand dollars for basic infrastructure spending like education.
Who, in their right state of mind, would prioritize these questionable projects over educating our youth? On a much smaller scale, this is as foolish as Washington’s decision to prioritize the spending of trillions of dollars to nation-build in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan over investing in our own infrastructure here at home.
Jim Mohr
Hovland, MN
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