(Originally appeared in the Rocky Mountain News on 08/12/2005)
State like a drunk who needs one more drink
As a Libertarian and fiscal conservative who will be voting no on Referendum C, I must respectfully disagree with Vincent Carroll's On Point comments of July 27, "The $400 million question."
As a former bartender, intellectual honesty tells me two things. First, a drunk with a drink doesn't worry about the future. Second, a drunk with the shakes doesn't need just one more to get right.
Take a field trip to Step 13 and interview some drunks not in the program. After you hear some genuinely sad stories, suggest any of the hundred solutions that pop into your mind on how this drunk can improve his life. Each of your suggestions will be labeled as impractical, lacking understanding, not possible at this time, hard-hearted, etc. If you look like a soft touch, I'm sure you'll hear a promise to do better if you could just spare a few bucks.
Sadly, the referendum is not a request for solutions to the budget mess. It is a request for one more.
Doug Anderson
Lakewood