Repeat after me: Federal money is no gift.

Once again: Federal money is no gift.

Virtually every dollar arriving from “Washington” to state and local governments in North Carolina has either been collected in taxes from North Carolinians or borrowed with principal and interest to be paid by taxes from North Carolinians.

It is not “Washingon’s money.” It is your money – or your debt obligation. So if you hear about a proposed state or local project to be funded with federal dollars, ask yourself if you would be willing to give up some good or service you benefit from today in order to fund.

Consider the example of the nearly half a billion dollars the Obama administration is dangling in front of North Carolina for slight improvements to existing passenger rail service from Charlotte through the Piedmont to Raleigh.

Even the supporters of the idea admit that it would shave only a few minutes off the average travel time between the two cities. Would North Carolina taxpayers really want their government to spend $461 million for such a paltry payoff, while failing to address higher priorities? Not bloody likely

Read the rest in John Hood's Daily Journal: Taxpayers To Get Railroaded
http://www.carolinajournal.com/jhdailyjournal/display_jhdailyjournal.html?id=7602