"The city has the right to buy from whomever they want to buy from and at whatever price they want to buy from. That keeps it equal for minorities," said Sharon Bradford, president of B&B.
I don't even know what this means. Is she suggesting that the city has the right (or even responsibility?) to overpay for goods in order to help out a specific minority group? That is such a wrong-headed approach to public policy, I don't even know where to begin. A local government's primary responsibility is 1) Protect its citizens. Baltimore, though improving, does not have a good track record with this. Having been unable to master the first goal of government, they've moved on to other things. Like social engineering, with the taxpayers footing the bill.
This brings me to what I see as the second function of local government: be efficient and cost-effective. Granted, governments require taxes in order to pay for the services that most of us take advantage of, but to be so flagrant in your disregard for the taxpayers is really something. I even understand the desire to help boost minority-owned buisness. But at what cost?
When O'Malley, whom I generally like, and other city officials talk about the "Believe" program they are referring primarily to the city's drug problem. But I think it's these kinds of light-bulb incidents that prevent taxpaying Baltimoreans from being able to believe in the city, or government in general for that matter. To me this whole fiasco really sheds light on why people have been drifting toward the Republican party over the last few years. It is government's inability to gain the trust of taxpayers, highlighted by this example, that makes the Democrats (the party of government) seem so out of touch and risky. When politics comes down to who you trust with your money, the Democrats lose every time.
Tony
