Politicians are like those of us who sit on the couch thinking how we need to get in shape. They see a pilot program work, like we see P90X and think, “We need to do that. That will solve our road (or other) problem.” Then they hear from politicians in other states or from experts in a committee hearing about the great results from the program, just like we get glowing testimonials from our friends who do P90X. So they commit to the program. It’s even better if there’s some grant money to help get it started – that’s as good as the three low payments of $59.95 for the DVD set.
But then the politicians can’t figure out how to measure the program and we get distracted by chocolate cake and soon we’re back where we started. The politicians with a road (or other) problem and us with our extra pounds. But now the politicians have another million-dollar program to fund each year with tax dollars and we have less space on our shelves to add to our collection of David Spade DVDs.
That’s when we go out and buy the boot camp DVD and the politicians decide to create a new pot of money, like a Mobility Fund, because this will definitely be the one that works, David Spade take the hindmost.
At some point you eventually ditch most of your collection of Jane Fonda aerobics VHS tapes, bowflexes, shake weights, and yoga mats, realizing you’re not going to use them and you really enjoy Just Shoot Me for some reason.
That’s where the state is with this year’s budget, the politicians just haven’t realized it yet.
