This month in Iowa, the media has reported on two events that confirm we have a two-class system. No, I'm not referring to the upper and lower economic classes. I'm referring to government and non-government workers.
You see, it's come out that our governor-for-life Terry Branstad and his entourage don't have to worry about speeding when driving around Iowa. His state trooper driver was clocked many weeks ago doing almost 90 miles per hour, and when another trooper tried to report it, he eventually lost his job.
Talk about hypocritical. This the governor that's supposedly so concerned for Iowans' safety? The governor who's putting all kinds of my tax money into a program to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation? (Aside: That ain't going to happen in farm country.) Hey Terry, stop putting the people who employ and pay you at risk by being late and allowing your driver to go an unsafe speed!
To top this off, now it's been reported that many government vehicles are being exempted from photo-enforced traffic violations. 3,200 license plates have this special exemption (they are not in the usual state license plate database), presumably because they may have a need to be anonymous - for example a law enforcement purpose.
The thing is, law enforcement equates to only a handful of these exempted plates. How is it that folks who drive vehicles for agencies such as the Iowa Lottery need this exemption? And regardless, are they not as dangerous to other Iowans if they are speeding or running red-lights? At the least, it's dumb law. At the most, it's probably unconstitutional.
And so the government-versus-private sector two-class system in Iowa continues. You'd think the governor would do something about this scandal - if he wasn't so busy setting a bad example.
Showing posts with label lottery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lottery. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Friday, April 23, 2010
Deadbeat Lottery Winners Are Still Losers
This week a (stereotype alert) gapped-toothed hillbilly from Missouri won a $250 million lottery jackpot. I've got nothing against bad teeth, hillbillies, Missouri, or jackpots, but let's take a closer look at how this happened.....
The GTH (gapped-toothed hillbilly) bought his $5 ticket at the end of his shift at the convenience store where he worked. In the same purchase he also bought himself some cigarettes, so let's just say that was another 10 bucks.
Seems innocent enough - until you factor in the GTH 1) was also way behind on his electric and gas bills; 2) had less than $30 in his bank account; 3) owed $1,000 to a friend on a truck he recently bought, and 4) apparently has three children to support, along with his girlfriend's two children.
A quick analysis - the GTH had no money to pay bills or to care for his kids, and was deeply in debt to a friend, but still figured he'd spend half his life savings on a lottery ticket and cancer sticks. ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!
The moral of the story is, even if you are a deadbeat GTH who should be paying bills instead of gambling, you could still win the lottery. Also, lending practices in this country are even more lax than we thought, since this GTH found someone dumb enough to loan him $1,000 he could never repay - unless he won the lottery.
I can only think of one good thing to come of this - we've got one less person/family who will be using the social services saftey net. As the GTH might say, "Yippee!"
The GTH (gapped-toothed hillbilly) bought his $5 ticket at the end of his shift at the convenience store where he worked. In the same purchase he also bought himself some cigarettes, so let's just say that was another 10 bucks.
Seems innocent enough - until you factor in the GTH 1) was also way behind on his electric and gas bills; 2) had less than $30 in his bank account; 3) owed $1,000 to a friend on a truck he recently bought, and 4) apparently has three children to support, along with his girlfriend's two children.
A quick analysis - the GTH had no money to pay bills or to care for his kids, and was deeply in debt to a friend, but still figured he'd spend half his life savings on a lottery ticket and cancer sticks. ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!
The moral of the story is, even if you are a deadbeat GTH who should be paying bills instead of gambling, you could still win the lottery. Also, lending practices in this country are even more lax than we thought, since this GTH found someone dumb enough to loan him $1,000 he could never repay - unless he won the lottery.
I can only think of one good thing to come of this - we've got one less person/family who will be using the social services saftey net. As the GTH might say, "Yippee!"
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