Federal Fiscal Folly Bursts Sunnyside’s Bubble

It seems that the community center that Sunnyside decided it had to have, is contributing to the pain of trying to balance the budget.  See this article from the Yakima Herald.  It seems that just a few years ago, Sunnyside made a deal with the Federal Devil, accepting “free” money to help build the fancy $1.9 million community center.  Most of the building funds came from good ole Uncle Sam, which can’t seem to balance its own budget.  But unlike Uncle Sam, Sunnyside can’t use inflation to get out of this problem.

The problem is that Sunnyside must pay to operate and maintain this facility.  Just like when the Federal Reserve kept pushing money to banks, helping to cause the housing bubble, small towns like Sunnyside that were tempted to take Federal money must now deal with the consequences.  Turns out our grandparents were right when they told us that “There ain’t no free lunch.”  Our local political leadership seized upon this grant money to enhance our quality of life.  Now we are being taxed at ever higher rates because the city can’t balance its budget.

There is no constitutional basis for the federal government to be involved in projects like this.  If Sunnyside could not afford to pay cash for this facility, it simply can’t afford it.  One popular activity at the center is ballroom dancing.  The organizers admit that local church facilities are available to host this, presumably without burdening the taxpayers of the city.  However, they prefer to take money from those of us who are working hard to provide for our families, to subsidize their own leisure activities.

To paraphrase one former President: The government that governs best, governs least.  I am not opposed to ballroom dancing in Sunnyside.  It is wonderful to hear that local churches and other groups are willing to offer up facilities to help support this activity.  This is what our founding fathers intended.  Friends and neighbors working with each other for the betterment of communities.  Please don’t tax me, but rather ask me, to support your activities.