More Essential Government Spending

In the state of Minnesota where freeway bridges collapse into the Mississippi River, but we manage to find billions to built new gleaming palaces for professional and college sports teams, another essential government expenditure has been found. The state legislature it its latest pork laden bonding bill has included $400,000 to build a new Chatfield sheet music library.

Chatfield is a small town of less than 2,500, located about 20 miles south of Rochester.

According to the Rochester Post Bulletin the Minnesota legislature bonding committee:

...traveled all over the state, visiting every community that had a project to propose. When the committee visited Fillmore County last October, local library supporters weren't looking to build new. Their goal was more modest: to remodel the warehouse that stores what many consider the largest trove of traditional band sheet music.

But the committee, chaired by DFL Rep. Alice Hausman of St. Paul, was floored by what it saw and wanted to do more. Instead of remodeling, Hausman suggested constructing a new building for storing the music.

"We weren't even looking for that. We were sort of afraid to ask for that much," said Teresa Cerling, library manager.

"The bonding committee was just overwhelmed. This was one of the top jewels they found on their bonding tour," Tschumper said.

Tschumper would be DFL (that is what Democrats are called in Minnesota) Representative Ken Tschumper of La Crescent, who sponsored the lending library bill. The bonding bill in Minnesota is an example of pork at its worst, projects are dolled out to win support for other projects and to shore up the reelection bids of members.

I have nothing against sheet music libraries, but if this is an essential project for government, exactly what isn't?