Makes your blood boil.
And they wonder why working class Americans who pay taxes hold their legislators in such utter contempt.
I had a lengthy post ( which I sometimes repost) where I wanted to see where the “stimulus” funds in my state were going back in 2010 because they had set up websites for “transparency”, though I am certain they thought that either nobody would access them (I did) or that data would be so obfuscated and the interface so unwieldy that people would give up (I didn’t)
In my investigation, I found that millions of dollars were being taken from the stimulus “funds” and used by states and localities to pay for gold-plated teacher’s union healthcare. And this was just in ONE community, and one of the wealthiest ones in the state at that.
I can’t see one of those “American Reinvestment and Recovery” signs without having my blood pressure spike and spitting on the ground. Still makes me angry.
Taking money from taxpayers and throwing it into these open state coffers guarantees that kind of thing will happen.
Legislators? Highwaymen? Both call out “Stand and deliver!” and use force to accomplish the deed. I see no difference between them other than we elect the former.