How in the world do you "misplace" so much money?
Indiana's governor announced Tuesday that state officials have found $300 million that went untouched even as lawmakers made deep cuts to education and slashed vacant government jobs while it weathered the recession.
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said the money was collected but never transferred to the state's general spending account, which lawmakers use to allocate funds to various programs and departments.
From a taxpayer viewpoint, I suppose it could be said that at least this is better than the opposite scenario -- thinking you have $300 million that turns out not to be there. But still . . .
And Daniels is making a mistake, I think, in trying to minimize the problem by pointing out what a small amount $300 million is compared with the state's yearly $14 billion budget. Most people see $300 million as a hefty sum, especially considering the cuts made to services by the state while that pile of money was just sitting there.
Oh, silly suggestion, I know, but since you didn't even know you had it, you could always give it to the taxpaye
