By Scott Tibbs, May 19, 2010
The sign to the right sits near the intersection of Rockport Road and Tapp Road, conveniently placed where traffic backs up at the stop sign to remind people that Barack Obama's "economic stimulus" package was used to pay for the "improvements" to the area.
I do not believe that the federal government should be funding local infrastructure, but that is not my main concern. My main concern is the sign itself.
Why does this need to be here? How much taxpayer money was used to erect this sign, which provides absolutely no benefit to anyone in Monroe County?
Let's call a spade a spade. This is nothing more than a taxpayer funded political yard sign. The only purpose this serves is to provide a political advertisement for Barack Obama's agenda. It's more that a little ironic that as city government is more than happy to threaten an apartment complex with a completely disproportionate $95,000 fine for a couple balloons, tax dollars are used to erect a permanent sign to campaign for Obama.
We can have a legitimate discussion about the merits of the "economic stimulus" package and the appropriate use of federal tax dollars for local infrastructure. We can have a legitimate discussion about the public policy merits of the Tapp Road "improvements" and whether federal fund should be used for them.
What is completely unreasonable us the use of monies forcibly confiscated from taxpayers at the point of a gun to finance what is basically a permanent political yard sign. There is no legitimate argument for this sign. None.
We have an unsustainable budget deficit that is threatening the future of this nation. During these times of economic strain and crushing government debt, using tax dollars for a political yard sign is inexcusable.
