It's all your money

     I read an article recently where the author said that we should force everyone, including the media, to refer to the government as "us". As in we spent $100,000 to make a glossy advertisement that explains what the Simcoe County services do for us. Not the County spent $100,000. We did! It's all our money. Here's a great example of wrong thinking from Seth Godin who I generally think is a brilliant guy.

No!

They just announced the results from the vote on the school board budget in my little town.
As usual, several hundred people voted no. In fact, every year approximately the same number of people vote no. The budget passed, it almost always does, but the naysayers get their say.
Here's the interesting part. Also on the ballot was a New York State grant. This would permit the town to use State money (a grant, not a loan) to improve a building. More than 200 people voted no. Even the most selfish person who analyzed this measure would see that there was no downside, selfish or otherwise, to the town. Yet hundreds voted no.
When no becomes a habit, it's very hard to break.

     How can he not clue in that the State money is still his tax dollars? Perhaps those 200 people just had the foresight to realize that the money being spent on that building wasn't the right thing to do. Seth apparently sees "no downside" to the State tax dollar being wasted but it's still out of HIS pocket!