Letter: Government wastes a lot of money on pork

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2007 | 7:09 a.m.

Brian Greenspun's Feb. 11 Where I Stand column is so far off the mark it deserves a rebuttal. Since when does raising taxes solve anything? It's how the money is spent, not how much is collected, as anybody familiar with "pork" knows.

The government already has all the money it needs and more. What's needed is the proper allocation of funds. Government waste is nothing new. For example: A $10,000 award from the Nevada government for students who obtain slightly more than a B average. I've not heard of a more ridiculous misallocation of our tax money!

Throwing money at students and schools does not generate learning. Studying generates learning. It's called "work." How many millions of this misallocated money could be used, instead, to fix up our streets and highways if we just, say, taught kids the truth, that learning is its own reward for the hard work invested? And that's just for starters.

Even St. Pelosi seems to understand the concept, with the speaker of the House saying, "The day of the blank check for the president for the war is over. We're going to support our troops in harm's way, but we want to know how this money is being spent ..." Who knew?

It's little known by big-tax, big-government types, but the average person who budgets a household knows all about allocation. You don't go out and buy a Ferrari if there is not food in the cupboard.

Linda DeLaMare, Pahrump