Consider This!
On October 31 and again on November 9, we GROWLED about the so-called homeowner grants the Arlington County Board cooked-up two years ago as another way of showing how caring and compassionate they are. But as good liberals/progressives, they prove their compassion with the taxpayers’ money rather than with their own money. [see the November 28 GROWL]
In the two GROWLS about homeowner grants, we complained about the costly marketing efforts by the County Board to give away tax dollars. A full-page ad on page 19 of today’s Washington Post weekly “Extra” again plays cha ching with our tax dollars. Each of those full-page ads in the Post cost about $2,100 (somewhat less if they’re in the Arlington Sun-Gazette or Arlington Connection), and somewhat less because of discounts for repeating ads.
We understand the bureaucrats at Courthouse Plaza will spend about $30,000 this year “marketing” the homeowner grants. But consider that the taxes of about seven “average” homeowners will be needed to just push (i.e., the marketing) what amounts to “free money” to an expected 3,300 “needy” homeowners – if you have the chutzpah to call someone making as much as $77,000 “needy.”
If you think the homeowner grant program is a joke, call the phone number in the ad, or call the Arlington County Board at (703) 228-3130. And we don't make this stuff up, either. For proof, see page 244 of the county's adopted FY 2007 budget.