I been thinkin'...

about money:

*I saw the other day that John Thain, ex CEO of Merrill Lynch, had spent $1.22 million on remodeling his office. He had some fine tastes in furniture, too:

Area Rug $87,784
Mahogany Pedestal Table $25,713
19th Century Credenza $68,179
Pendant Light Furniture $19,751
4 Pairs of Curtains $28,091
Pair of Guest Chairs $87,784
George IV Chair $18,468
6 Wall Sconces $2,741
Parchment Waste Can $1,405
Roman Shade Fabric $10,967
Roman Shades $7,315
Coffee Table $5,852
Commode on Legs $35,115
I don't know if Mr. Thain has found another job yet, but given his penchant for expensive furniture, he might want to get in touch with the Wayne County EDC when they start looking for another president again.

*In the 1965 James Bond movie, "Thunderball", the evil organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E. seized two atomic bombs and threatened to detonate them unless they were paid $100 million. Luckily, 007 was able to thwart the plan, and squeeze in a little romance to boot. James is getting on in years, so he might not be as much help nowadays, but the good news is, if S.P.E.C.T.R.E. was to try it again, we could pay the ransom 8250 times just with the new stimulus package. Probably wouldn't make much of a movie, though.

*When the RCA Dome was demolished, taxpayers still owed $70 million on it, or just about as much as it cost to build in the first place. Its replacement, the Lucas Oil Stadium, is on track to lose about $20 million a year. If it lasts as long as the RCA Dome lasted, and added to the initial cost of the new stadium, we could very possibly owe $1 billion on it when we tear it down. See what you can do when you really try.

Guilty as charged...

In a recent Courier Times article, my honorable Republican opponent for this fall's District 54 race, Tom Saunders,
states that "Rex wants you to do away with a lot of government, but I'm not sure that's what the public wants." He's right about me wanting to do away with a lot of government.

Here in Wayne County, the Economic Development Commission is getting ready to take $50,000.00 from the taxpayers and spend it on a feasibility study to see if we need another industrial park next to our industrial park. Last year the EDC took money from workers that were making $7.50 per hour and gave it to a company that grossed $2 billion the year before. The year before that taxpayers paid to build a road through a county commissioner's business development property. In Indianapolis, the government took $625 million from the taxpayers to build a stadium for a multi-millionaire NFL team owner. They also took $3.5 million to demolish the old stadium that the taxpayers still owed $70 million on.

You can't build a shelter for your family without asking for the government's permission. Your barber can't cut your hair unless the government gives it's permission. It's nearly impossible to find three things that the government doesn't tax or regulate.

So yes, I have to plead guilty. I do want to do away with a lot of government. I want to do away with a lot of government agencies that exist simply to transfer wealth from one person to another. I want to do away with a lot of government agencies that exist only to protect us from ourselves, even if it is for our own good.

I certainly don't want to prevent people from investing in businesses or stadiums if they so desire, and if a person wants to find someone to oversee his or her personal affairs, I don't want to stand in their way. But those of us who prefer to make our own financial and personal decisions should be able to do so with a lot less government interference than we have currently.

As far as to Tom's opinion of what the public wants, I'll have to admit that in past elections, people haven't been voting to do away with a lot of government. But then again, they haven't really had the opportunity to vote that way. They could either vote for the Democrats version of a lot of government, or they could vote for the Republican version of a lot of government. Or they could not vote at all.

And I'll grant you that there are a lot of people out there that like a lot of government. Somebody once said that a government that robs Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul. I'm pretty sure those people won't vote for me.

But there are also a lot of people out there that are tired of being robbed and managed, and whether they have been voting for something they didn't want, or not voting at all, I plan to give them a chance to vote for what they do want. Less government.

That's what Libertarians do.