Politicians are incapable of doing the right thing on their own. Without some sort of artificially imposed rules, they will continue along in their hapless way on the road to destroying the country. The federal budget is a problem that can only be solved by going back to the 1980s.

Government data shows that Governor John Lynch issued 352 exceptions to his Executive Order 2008-01 instituting a hiring freeze, a ban on out of state travel, and certain equipment purchases. The 352 exceptions cost a total of $6.2 million during the twelve months of fiscal year 2009. These totals are only for the months from July 1, 2008 through June 30 of this year and do not include the first four months of the executive order or the most recent two months.

For details on all of the exceptions granted click here for a

LIST OF EXCEPTIONS

The full text of the governor’s executive order is attached

HERE (Executive Order)

The Bartlett Center has been a leading opponent of the government’s attempt to take the private property commonly known as JUA. With the court ruling of 7-29-09 prohibiting the taking of $110 Million, readers may wish to see our previous work on the subject. Included an early piece (March 25) sounding the alarm before there was a lawsuit

Unacceptable Seizure of Private Funds

The other discusses the lawsuit and the reasons the taking would almost certainly be prohibited ( from July 8 )

Dangerous Taking of Private Property

Scott R. Mayfield, a senior at Monadnock Regional High School, was chosen by a panel of judges as the winner of the Josiah Bartlett Scholarship Competition for this essay. Mayfield, who lives in East Swanzey, is a founding member and co-captain of his high school swim team. For his efforts, he has won $5,000 towards his next year’s college tuition, a trip to Los Angeles to visit the set of The West Wing show, publication of his essay, and the opportunity to have President George W. Bush read his winning essay.

Better Government Competition Winners

In the face of an ever-expanding correctional system, more prisons continue to be approved and built in an attempt to solve the crime problem. Many prison sentences recommend the inmate complete either substance abuse treatment or an intensive sexual offender program. Parole boards usually deny parole until such time as these programs are completed. Unfortunately, funding to expand the capacity of these treatment programs has not kept pace with the massive growth in prison populations. An excessive backlog has developed so that waiting lists are long, and many inmates serve well beyond their minimum sentences awaiting admission into these programs, if at all. Targeted funding for the specific expansion of these treatment programs would result in net savings through shorter sentences being served with the earlier parole of prisoners. At $19,000 per year to house an inmate versus $825 to supervise a parolee, any net savings more than compensate for the increased cost of expanding treatment programs, and allow reallocation of the surplus to other corrections programs, or reduction of the overall budget.

SUMMARY It’s clear that in America, reform is in the air. Whether you’re in government or in business, marketplace pressure is forcing a reexamination of the delivery of services from top to bottom. This close scrutiny makes many nervous because it can mean that just because something has been done one way “forever,” doesn’t mean [...]