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| 11/27/2009 8:16:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Don't state lawmakers have better things to do with their time?
From the same guys who brought you the extra tax on your utility bills to pay for Wisconsin district attorneys, comes another example of how wisely they use their time and your money.
After the shell game played with the state's budget earlier this year, now Milwaukee Democratic Rep. Leon Young is proposing that the state name Harley-Davidson as the official state motorcycle.
Wow, obviously he doesn't have enough things to do so he wants to spend time in legislative committees and on the floor of both Wisconsin houses in the Legislature to have this ridiculous proposal debated and given final approval.
As if lawmakers haven't wasted enough time in past legislative sessions voting on other useless state symbols.
You probably know already that Wisconsin has an official state flag and an official state bird, the robin; but do you know all the other things that lawmakers have made "official" in the state.
In addition to the two I have mentioned, there are the state animal, the badger; the state wildlife animal, the whitetail deer; the state fruit, the cranberry; the state symbol of peace, the mourning dove; the state tree, the sugar maple; the state flower, the wood violet; and the state fish, the muskellunge.
As to why we need an official state animal and then an official wildlife animal is beyond me. Maybe the badger is just not wild enough to be the state's wildlife animal?
But, we're not through yet. Here's some more.
The official state soil for Wisconsin is Antigo silt loam, the state insect is the honey bee, the state rock is red granite and the state mineral is galena.
The last two beg to ask the same question as with the state wildlife animal and the state animal. Why do we need both?
Next, there's the official state dog, the American water spaniel; the state grain, corn; the official state domesticated animal, the dairy cow; the official state beverage, milk; and the official state dance is the polka.
I think I have listed 19 different items that have been granted "official" status by state lawmakers.
Earlier this year Harley-Davidson announced they were shutting down one plant in Wisconsin after even earlier in the year they announced they are going to open another plant, but not in Wisconsin.
Who's to say the "official state motorcycle" leadership couldn't decide to move some of its current Wisconsin plants to other states or even countries?
I think that Wisconsin taxpayers should be officially "upset" with the many ways state lawmakers find to waste their time on ridiculous, moronic issues.
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As if this wasn't expected. I've received responses to my most recent column with the headline "Failure to cut per diem a slap in the face to county employees."
Two members of the Oneida County board contacted me and let me know in no uncertain terms that they objected to what I wrote.
I had positive responses to what I wrote, but the county supervisors who contacted me took the theme of the column personal. It was not meant to be.
The supervisors contend I didn't take into account when writing my column all of the ways they have moved to make cuts and save money before.
That's all well and good and I understand what they are saying, but the main point to my writing that column was to let the county board know they fumbled the ball when they could have made a public gesture to support county employees and show taxpayers that we are all in this crisis together.
I'm sorry, but it was only right that they should have voted to make the cuts in per diem and expenses. The savings they could have made would have been a clear sign to employees and taxpayers that that they want to work together. They missed that point, no matter what they may have done earlier. The time to again make an effort to save money was last month.
Any of their arguments still miss the mark. I have to believe there is an underlying feeling of resentment among some county employees who are not happy with the county board's lack of "doing the right thing" on this issue.
Any way they try to rationalize, paint it or dress it up, how they voted still ignores the point that they chose not to demonstrate support for their employees.
By the way, I recently made an open records request to the Oneida County clerk asking for the listing of all per diem and expenses paid to Oneida County supervisors. A story about what I've learned through that request will be published soon.
Joe VanDeLaarschot can be reached by email at jvandelaarschot@lakelandtimes.com.
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