Why Are Taxpayers Paying for Wine Tasting?

WSJ ^ | 15 June 2011 | JIM DEMINT

[NautiNurse]

Focus: The Economic Development Administration, U.S. Commerce Dept.

...the Senate is currently seeking to increase EDA funding to $500 million a year from $300 million. Worse, this bill passed out of a Senate authorization committee with unanimous, bipartisan support.

[snip]

In April, the bureau reported that it gave a $2 million grant to build a "culinary amphitheater," wine tasting room, and gift shop at the Port of Benton and the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Richland, Wash. The same month, it gave $1.5 million to promote tourism in the Northern Mariana Islands. In January, it spent $1 million on an "innovation conference center" in Arkansas to promote "cultural enrichment."

[Haiku Guy]

Great idea! Then we can send hundreds of millions $$$$$ more to Pakistan and wine tasting pavillons.

Better still to just not spend the money at all. It's not like we didn't have to borrow every dollar we spend, anyway.

Complaining that somebody else got their free money from the government before you got your free money from the government perpetuates the problem.

[NautiNurse]

I'm not waiting for free money from the government. You might get a better reception if you didn't insinuate such poppycock.

BTW-Haiku Guy-have you ever lived through a major natural disaster? Have you ever volunteered to assist with the wounded or cleanup following a disaster? Streets impassable, no phone service, no electricity, no potable water, no garbage pickup. In other words, the infrastructure of the community is destroyed.

You haven't been around here long enough to know much at all about me. Let's get back on topic now--government waste.

[Haiku Guy]

As far as digging out goes, been there, done that.

Of course, I meant “you” in a general sense. I id not mean to imply that you, personally, were waiting around in line for a government check.

I was just saying that waiting around for the government to help after a disaster is the wrong move, and that the government uses such circumstances to increase the culture of dependency.