…What a turnout!

People respond to “free” entertainment at my (involuntary) expense, and this is cause for celebration?

The Chamber of Commerce needs to start funding this substantial expense.

That’s where we’ll just never agree, Mike. I just don’t think it’s a proper function of government to “bring the community together.”

Look, I realize that the people of Keller, especially the ones who vote, would overwhelmingly approve of city-funded Christmas decorations. But I think the vote would be a heck of a lot closer if they knew how much it actually costs. Remember the discovery that it costs $150,000 to maintain the grounds around Town Center?

But what really galls me is that significant expenses like this, once approved, never get discussed again. Even if this expense was specifically approved by the city council at the time, there are NO remaining members from that time. I think marginal expenses like these should be reconsidered every single year. (This is the idea behind zero-based budgeting.)

Many of you get profoundly annoyed at me for questioning government funding of park-related functions because, to you, these things have always been funded by government and simply would not exist without it. I can assure you that that is not the case in many parts of the country. I grew up in a town where the Chamber of Commerce did ALL the Christmas decoration. I learned to play football and baseball on fields that were owned and maintained by the Youth Association.

It is a central principle of freedom that if something CAN be funded voluntarily, it should be.