TheAgitator.com
Lou’s Blues
Tuesday, January 13th, 2004First, they crack down on naked lady cars.
Now it seems my Indiana brethren have drank liberally from the protectionist Kool-Aid. Lawmakers cancelled a planned $15 million upgrade of the state government’s computer systems because the winning contractor outsources some of its labor to India. This despite that fact that no Indiana firms bid on the job.
Consequently, Hoosier taxpayers will pay an extra $8 million to outsource the job to Florida instead of to New Delhi.
Maybe the Indiana legislature ought to meet in Tallahassee next year.
That’s funny…sad too, but funny, very funny.
“All you do is take more money out of taxpayers’ hands that could be used for something more useful, like education or other purposes. These are political decisions that have no economic or fiscal basis.”
Like that would happen. Hell, if the state runs out of money all they need to do is raise the taxes. Just ask Bob Taft.
The correct headline for this one, Radley, is “Taking the Indian out of Indiana”
While I’m very much oppossed to the changing of the IT contract, I have to say the driving aroung town in a car which has a picture of nude woman with all the genitial detailed is an act which I hope my government would respond. I’ve seen pictures of the car and it does cross the line. There has to be a distinction between the freedom to “express ones self” and the right to offend others. Unlike TV, where all you need to do is hit the off button, would you want your five year old child to see the picture of a naked woman while stopped at a traffic light? Do you have the right to rent a room at the Embassy Suites and project a porn movie on the roof of the RCA dome from your room?
Disappointing.
That reminds me of an uncle of mine who was giving me down the road for “not buying American” when I bought my Honda (built in Marysville, Ohio).
He, of course, drives a Ford (built in Hermosillo, Mexico).
As our president would say, hey, isn’t India part of Indiana?
Florida is the new India. Or wait, India is the new Florida. Shit, anyway, service jobs have been coming to FL for years. Jacksonville has thousands of call center type jobs located here. Low-paying jobs mind you. And there’s no running water, the sewage flows in the streets..no, that’s India. But we do have a football team, so that makes it easier to handle the 3rd world atmosphere ’round here.
Radley –
The legislature does not contract with companies — it’s the executive branch of government that handles those decisions. The governor is the one who cancelled the contract.
The reason no other companies bid: there were strict limitations on bidders; so strict that no companies from Indiana were eligible to bid.
The arse-kicker: the contract was going to use money appropriated to a project called “Energize Indiana,” the premise of which is to boost INDIANA’S lagging economy. You know, the state where no one can find a damn job?
And those are the facts.