A very brief article in yesterday’s morning paper brought some thoughts about the future of Indy tax dollars. (Not this blog. The real ones.)
The article had to do with security cameras being installed all over the downtown area. Might be a good idea. We really don’t know and wouldn’t comment on the possible benefits. There is no reference to what such a system costs to operate. The cameras themselves are a little pricey at $3,000 to $5,000 each.
But, we are informed that they are "federally funded." So what the heck, we’ll take a couple of dozens - in assorted colors!
However, the monetary reference did provoke a question. On the extremely unlikely possibility that Washington politicians might really take a serious look at financial realities instead of their own political fortunes, we wonder about future financial relationships between Capitol Hill and the City-County Building.
Does anyone downtown have authentic information about either on-going or projected programs which depend to any degree on the continued "generosity" of our congressional clowns? If unexpected fiscal sanity should break out in Washington, which local governmental activities would be affected? How much is Indianapolis dependent upon federal revenues? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have an inventory of these sorts of considerations?
We would further suggest that, if such a bolt out of the blue strikes, a seemingly little used word locally would become very, very important. That word is "priority."
Between federal loans and grants and TIF slush funds, tax dollars have been tossed around pretty loosely here for decades. We might, for instance, even wish we had used those six million transportation dollars for IndyGo instead of turning Georgia Street into Boondoggle Boulevard.
In the end, it all depends on us. Will we continue to elect politicians on the basis of who can bring home the most federal bacon, operating under the delusion that we can come out ahead in the "out/in" equation, and that the "in" part is a gift from someone else?
Or will we tell Washington to back off, get out of those areas in which it does not belong, and keep our funds here to be used as we see fit without lining so many unnecessary pockets? Could this be the time?
We know. That’s a dream. But the alternative is the ultimate nightmare!
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