It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring
Bumped his head and he went to bed
and he couldn't get up in the morning
Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day.
If we get any more precipitation metaphors from the General Assembly, we're all going to feel like we've bumped our head. Here are the boys arguing about whether to spend the money the state has held in reserve:
House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, called on his colleagues to tap into the state's $1 billion-plus rainy day reserve fund to stimulate Indiana's economy and put Hoosiers to work.
It's not only raining in Indiana today, it's pouring," Bauer said, his voice rising during a speech to open the session. "Put it out there for the people."
[. . .]
But Republicans cautioned the state's dreary current economic situation could turn out to be just a drizzle if the economy continues to worsen.
Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, said legislators need to work to cut costs in every way possible before considering dipping into the reserves.
"We don't know how long it's going to rain," Hershman said.
Don't you just love the way Pat talks? He says he wants to to put the money "out there for the people," but of course what he means is "Let's spend it!" which is the natural inclination of Democrats. And the natural inclination of Republicans is to sit on the money as long as possible. I didn't hear anybody mention the third option, which is to give the money back to taxpayers or not take too much from them in the first place. Maybe then we could, you know, buy some umbrellas or something. Or fix one or two of the holes in the roof.
Do snow and hail and freezing rain count when we're talking about the "rainy day" fund, by the way? What about frost and fog? I think the state should come up with a Fair Weather Fund. Then, on the first perfect day of spring, the whole state can just have a party.
