Posted: 08/07/08 19:34
by Dave Mindeman
There is something a little disturbing about how the House Republican caucus is always attacking the health and human services budget. They seem to think that it is the only part of the Minnesota budget that incurs any waste.
Now, Marty Seifert and company, are disturbed by EBT (human services card) transactions being used in Hawaii for $2,890. If you go to the story on MPR and then click on the Minnesota map on the left side, it will give you a US map with the amount of EBT purchases in each state. Quite naturally, the amounts lessen the farther away from Minnesota you go.
But it would seem that Marty Seifert is very concerned that some people might be taking "vacations" in Hawaii -- although the average purchase of $22.93 per transaction wouldn't seem to get very far.
The Legislative Auditor is going to see if it is worth looking into and rightly so; but I often wonder why human service money (welfare in GOP vernacular) being spent in virtually any manner seems to get the hackles up for everybody.
Obviously, even though Minnesota citizens are involved here, they do have family in other states. Are they supposed to be boxed in at the border?
In addition, the first thing to ask is how are on-line purchases tracked? Wouldn't they appear as out of state transactions, too? The assumption from the Republican House caucus always takes a sinister track.
If only they were as watchful on corporate malfeasance.....
Regarding the following comment in the original blog:
“Republican caucus is always attacking the health and human services budget. They seem to think that it is the only part of the Minnesota budget that incurs any waste.”
Point of clarification: I think that waste occurs in every element of the Minnesota budget. Our government is far to large - it is neither suitable nor is it effective.
It is evident that the word government should have the following ‘verb form’ definition in all dictionaries: "Expanding to absorb all revenues".
The state of Minnesota costs mega-bucks while appearing to some folks to be "government on the cheap". How can this paradox be reconciled? Easy - it has been designed and is constantly tinkered with by low-rent rank amateur socialists.
I have to admit, as a group we elect them. Thus I must reckon we get the government we deserve - at least in the aggregate. But make no mistake, waste isn't centered and contained in the Health and Human Services portion of Minnesota’s State government, it permeates the entire apparatus of our State government.