Back to Quack Off

 Quack Off               

by Free Market Duck

Gov Kempthorne is not our “CEO”

   Shh, shut up, gather ‘round, listen up, girl friends.  The left Liberal Idaho Statesman (Karl Marx-Boise) and Governor Kempthorne (RINO-Boise) are busy arguing about who should pay for Where’s Waldo’s? (Gov K’s) chocolates.

   Ya-yess.  What a brilliant philosophical discussion on the Statesman’s editorial page.  And a fine rebuttal by Where’s Waldo?

   Warming up in corner number 1, the Statesman erroneously portrays Governor Kempthorne as Idaho’s “CEO.”  Then the IS says that you, the taxpayer, should pay for “CEO” Kempthorne’s expenses through a state slush fund (a “CEO” expense account), you know, like when Enron’s CEO Kenny Lay took everybody out to a wild-ass dinner before their financials imploded like Boise’s University Place.

   Bouncing up and down in corner number 2, Gov K claims (on the same editorial page), hell no, dudes, we shouldn’t burden the taxpayers with my excessive expenditures for chocolates to redecorate billionaire Simplot’s old mansion (now my new Governor’s residence) for my daughter’s wedding last weekend.  I should use campaign bribes (donations) to pay for boxes of Godiva chocolates (is that babe really naked on that horse?), “trade mission” trips to Tokyo, and dinners with Micron, Albertson’s, and Tamarack just before I pass corporate welfare legislation for my dinner buddies.

   Unfortunately, both the IS and Gov K have put forth a false premise: namely, that Gov K is Idaho’s “CEO” instead of a PUBLIC SERVANT, and that the economy of Idaho should be structured as a fascist economy.  Remember, fascism is defined as an economic structure in which the government sets economic rules for all companies.  The only difference between fascism and socialism is that under fascism the state simply sets the economic rules while under socialism the state sets the economic rules AND physically takes over (nationalizes) all companies and tries to run them (always unsuccessfully for economic reasons we will not get into now).

   But it is not the constitutional function of the Governor of Idaho to play the state’s “CEO” or economic dictator.  The Governor does not need a “CEO” expense account because he has no business traveling all over hell and back.  (That’s why we call him Where’s Waldo?)  Idaho is not a free market company operating as a profit or loss entity.  Kempthorne does not have to “sell” Idaho to anybody.  Idaho is a government.  Governments should not be involved in economics.  Governments are granted the power of force (by the people) to protect individual rights, not to form corporate or blue-collar welfare states.

   So it is a moot point whether Gov K’s excessive expenditures should be paid for by a taxpayer “CEO” slush fund OR by Gov K’s political contributions, aka bribes.  These expenses should not be paid for by either method.  The argument between the Idaho Statesman and Gov K rests on the same false premises and, therefore, their pretended debate is actually an agreement by the Statesman and Kempthorne that Idaho is a fascist state and their only disagreement is how best to rip off the taxpayer:  directly through a CEO slush fund or through corporate welfare campaign contributions.  Neither is acceptable.

   The real issues are:  (1) Idaho is not a fascist economy, and (2) Gov K should not receive reimbursements either from a taxpayer slush fund OR from campaign contributions because he should not be incurring those type of expenses.  The Gov’s function is one of checks-and-balances to protect individual freedom in a free market by exercising his Executive veto power over abuses or excesses of another branch of government:  the Legislature.  Other than that, he should just keep his nose clean and stay home.  Smell the roses.  Visit the grand children.

   So far, Gov Kempthorne has scored a big fat “F” on protecting individual rights and Idaho’s free market.  The Gov’s performance is just a cut above, or maybe below (after the University Place fiasco hits the court room in January 2007, or federal criminal indictments next year) Ohio’s Gov Bob Taft who was recently indicted by an Ethics Committee for expending campaign contributions with corporate golfing buddies.

       back to top...