Earlier in the week I noted that Michigan’s new “No-Child-Left-Behind-Everyone- Can-And-Will-Go-To-College-For-Free” program is not off to a good start. The Detroit Free Press article I linked to, I believe is where I found the following comment, which in my opinion represents that of the average man:

“Not very good test results, and yet these schools want more of our tax dollars. The taxpayers should demand better results for our money.”

Good grief. Of course, most people at least tacitly understand why we shouldn’t be giving these State agencies any more money: they’ve not proven themselves good stewards with what money they’ve taken, there is no reason to believe they’ll fare any better if we simply give them more. A spendthrift is a spendthrift is a spendthrift. A rich spendthrift just wastes more money.

What the taxpayers should demand is to have more (or preferably, all) of their tax dollars back where they belong – in their own pockets. Whether it’s the war on drugs, education, poverty, pot-holes, or code enforcement – nobody ever asks why we have to give them money to begin with.