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Why should my tax dollars be used to
help incumbents keep their seats?

 

I attended a local debate last night that included my state Representative district.

 

While I happen to like my state Rep in general, she said something last night that turned my stomach.

 

During her opening statement, she made a point of discussing the fact that she brought a $500 legislative grant to the district for a girls softball team.

 

My problem with this statement is the fact that legislative grants come from a taxpayer funded slush fund that is appropriated by the General Assembly and disbursed to deserving local groups by legislative leadership via local elected representatives and senators.  Historically, legislators who are out of favor with leadership receive no grants.

 

The political value of these grants is obvious and wrong, and the legislators who land these grants have no compunction against milking these grants for their full political value.

 

In these troubled economic times, I am 100% certain that the several million dollars expended annually via the legislative grant program can be put to more productive use.

 

If legislative leadership wants to provide a boost to a candidate's campaign, let them provide that funding from their own campaign accounts and leave taxpayer funds out of it.