Government people appear to be behaving today because everything is closed. The blog isn’t closed, so I will share the latest parody from the Carolina Journal. You see, once upon a time, some politicians decided to write a bill to allow crowdsourcing to replace pecuniary transfers from the hardworking taxpayers to industrial giants. In our land of not-so-much make-believe, there’s a really cute picture of Governor Pat that captures well my attitude about economic development incentives (Cliquez ici et allez sur la page 28.).
A spokesman for Gov. Pat McCrory said crowdfunding was not an acceptable substitute for traditional incentives because such private initiatives would not allow his administration to take credit for any new jobs created by the crowdfunding campaigns.
“Job announcements are a large part of what a governor does. Crowdfunding would obscure any ties to our initiatives,” he said.
So the story goes. Back to the real world, I am happy to see intelligent people agreeing with me that cronyism is bad for the economy. It serves lobbying interests in the here and now with no regard beyond their immediate requests. It proclaims a wealth never ending that never comes, and in so doing suggests voters suffer from magical thinking and prefer a government that gives them money to one that strives to preserve justice.
P.S. OK. You’re not supposed to explain jokes, and so you’re definitely not to explain why they aren’t funny, but I will. The worst kind of joke – besides a dirty joke or one that discriminates against persons on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, age, or disability – is a labeled joke. Unfortunately, government is so funky these days, the jokes are less outrageous than the reports.
By the way, one of my favorites is:
A priest, a rabbi, an atheist, a blonde, a Pollock, an Irishman, and a fish all walk into a bar, and the bartender says, “What is this, some kind of a joke?”
