Saving for a Dry Day

I've had it with rain.

Now I don't know about the rest of you, but here in the Northeast we've been breaking records left and right on rainfall (search). The wettest June ever. The wettest spring ever. It’s made me think the drought was a distant memory. But apparently not enough of a memory to have one New Jersey town not too far from me still keeping water restrictions in effect.

At first, I thought it was silly: Reservoirs around me are over-flowing. But I heard a town councilman say something clever, like, "We're just saving for a 'dry' day." And I began to think that councilman's got it right. Many could learn from him and his town. Many, like cities and states and yes, Uncle Sam himself.

When times were flush, they spent like money was no object.

No bridge was too big. No highway project too expensive. No library too massive. No boondoggle to boondogglish.

They had it, they spent it, and now, they've lost it. As if waking up from a drunken stupor, they're sobering up to the real world. Where bridges can be too big. Highways can be too expensive. And libraries too massive.

What they can't cut, they tax. The people they told would never have to worry about the bill, are now paying the bill, through the nose.

Democrats did it. Republicans did it. And now, we're all paying for it.

We live in cities and states and a country that wasted the good times and don't know how to deal with the bad times.

Good times don't last. Paying for them does.

Government is like the beast that feeds on more money when times are good and demands only more when times are bad.

It's why financial planners say save for a rainy day. It's why a certain town in New Jersey is planning for a dry day.

Good for that town, planning for that time there'll be less water. Pity all the other towns and states that never thought of the time, there'd be less money.

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