Some states that eat in the federal
trough, like Wyoming and Arizona, are having a tough time in this hateful
government shutdown that has closed national parks.
National parks are operated with
federal dollars, but they generate tourist revenue that largely goes into state
coffers.
Now, a piece on DailyKos.com
underlined the obvious: Wyoming and Arizona are "red states"…their
voters went for Romney in the 2012 elections that gave a re-election mandate to
President Obama.
And both Wyoming and Arizona are
among the 32 states that receive more federal benefits per capita than they pay
in federal taxes and fees.
Now, some states are using their own money to re-open national parks
until Congress gets its act together.
But—Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead groused about the park shutdown in his
state, but his spokesman said: “Wyoming cannot bail out the federal government
and we cannot use state money to do the work of the federal government.”
Apparently Mead is OK with the federal government (that is, you and me and all
of us) bailing out the good folks in Arizona every day, every week, year after year….
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer wants to restore her state's tourist revenues
from the Grand Canyon, but she refused to pony up the $112,000 A DAY that the federal government spends to keep Grand
Canyon National Park open. She authorized a partial re-opening, using $93,000
Arizona dollars daily, and her spokesman explained, “The daily cost difference
is enormous, especially without assurances that Arizona will be reimbursed."
Would YOU like a little reimbursement for the piece of YOUR federal income tax
that helps keep the Grand Canyon open to the public?
I want Gov. Brewer to step up to the mike and announce that she's going
to send some of that Grand Canyon tourist revenue to Washington to help pay for
water supply management in Arizona, or something like that….
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