We're Not Their ATM Machine

"There is no ribbon-cutting ceremony for taking out the trash, fixing a broken railing, or filling a pothole," Tom Coburn (R-OK) commented, regarding the unglamorous nature of running the country.  He was speaking specifically about the National Park Service but using it as a microcosm of what is wrong with our government and the inability of Congress to do necessary work.

That's the problem, Congress focuses on the exciting, the sexy, and the splashy.  The activities that garner press coverage, constituent accolades, and campaign contributions, instead of concentrating on what gets the job done.

Recently I had a banter with some friends over a local school bond up for vote.  They were for it and I was against it.  They argued with me, "if you could just see the state of the schools, the leaky gym when it rains, you'd know how important this bond is!"

My argument back?  The state needs to put repairs into its budget to handle these issues with current dollars, not keep coming back to us taxpayers like we're their private ATM machine.  If we have to learn to live within our household budgets, then the politicians need to do the same with the people's money.  

We need to hold our politicians to higher standards than they even realize they can attain.  They need to start looking at taking out the trash, fixing broken railings, and filling potholes as not only necessary work, but their most important work.  If we keep placating them with ribbon cuttings for special-interest museum openings, then we're just letting them skate.  We need to show up with posters asking why the high school still has a leaky gym, or why the National Park Service pays $52,000 per year for a condemned but historical building they can't afford to fix yet alone maintain.  

We need to question our representatives on their motives and we need to remind them that their job is to caretake.  They need to spend more time opening up work orders to make repairs than opening a new historical site we can't afford.