Gather round the campfire, kids. I shall endeavor to weave a tale of woe, whilst teaching a lesson just as the bards of old.
‘Twas only a few revolutions of the Earth ago, only several passings of the sun have come and gone, but I can still remember the experience as if it were yesterday, instead of the day before. No, I will never forget my 20 minutes caught in that place somewhere between Heaven and hell. Those 20 minutes, minutes I’ll never get back, were lost in bureaucratic limbo. I called the Michigan Treasury about my property taxes (always a good time), answering a correspondence from them.
While I waited for a real live, cheery government person to speak at me, I was bombarded with state-run infomercials — propaganda, if you will. Now, I really don’t mind the state playing something to help folks while-away the minutes while they wait. And, I don’t mind the prerecorded sounds informing folks of the various programs the state maintains. Sure beats the hell out of hearing AC/DC as performed by the ElevatorMuzicator.
There is nothing wrong with hearing, ‘Are you having a problem paying your mortgage . . ?? then learning the state has a program for assistance.
There is nothing wrong hearing, ‘Are you having a problem paying your heating bill . . ?? then hearing the state has a program for assistance.
What I have a problem with is hearing these programs are not the state’s program, rather they are Governor Jennifer Granholm’s program. They are hers. They are Jennifer Granholm’s programs because that’s what the prerecorded messages say. What happened to the state legislature, didn’t they have anything to do with any program the state runs? What about the bureaucrats that run this program, don’t they have more to do with the program than the gov? What happened to all the folks who pay taxes to make the programs happen, don’t we have any ownership claims?
The prerecorded messages should say something like, ‘Thanks to your tax-paying Michigan neighbors, the state can help you (fill in the need).?
Why is it with government that thems who foot the bill never get the glory (or at least a heartfelt thank you)?
I often ponder (at least right now that I am thinking of it) why elected heads of government ? no matter the size of said government ? feel they have the right to put their name on stuff. Is it only because nobody calls them on it? I mean, gee whiz, calling state programs Jennifer Granholm’s programs is taxpayer funded propaganda and advertising, isn’t it?
I know politicos the world over take credit wherever they can grab it from. I still don’t like it. It grates the hell out of me when I drive down to Royal Oak and see a Detroit mayor’s name on the Detroit Zoo water tower. I don’t care who the mayor is ? it is not his or her water tower, nor is it their zoo. The people of the city of Detroit and the folks paying the tab throughout the S.E. Michigan region own it.
If Kwame Kilpatrick owns a car, let him paint his name on it ? however take it off of the water tower. If Jennifer Granholm owns a business, her sign out front can proclaim to the world, ‘Jenny’s Biz.? But, she is an elected official, a part-time steward of state stuff, so she needs to direct her minions to strike her name from state programs. She can keep her name on the door to her office and on her personal stationery.
Back to the purgatory I was suspended in whilst waiting to confirm, that yes, I owed an extra hundy to the state. These programs are not Jennifer Granholm’s ? they are Michigan’s programs.
Well, that’s it. I feel better. I still have woe about forking over the hundred, but I feel better, having vented.
The lesson . . . oh, yeah . . . I did say something about learning. How’s this: So kiddies, the moral of the story is never call a government office with your cell phone, it’ll cost you a bundle and you probably won’t like what you hear.