Would officials be as anxious for a junket not in Hawaii?
Published 6:01 pm Monday, May 7, 2007
By Staff
A coalition of hospitality and business groups called Tourism Improving Michigan's Economy called May 2 for the state to spend $30 million a year promoting the "Pure Michigan" travel campaign featuring a variety of television ads.
How ironic, given the uproar in southeast Michigan because the annual convention of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems attracted a staggering 82 people from county and local governments to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa in Honolulu.
Ironic because nowhere in Michigan would ignite this kind of stampede of greedy officials even with taxpayer-funded pension plans picking up the tab.
Taxpayers, who seem more aware of Michigan's dire financial plight than their faceless bureaucrats, reacted with justifiable outrage.
The Detroit Free Press, which blew the whistle on this scam May 3, reported Michigan's contingent was more than twice as large as the second-biggest state, Florida, with 38 registered.
Oakland County reversed course on sending four employees and said they must pay their own way.
Wanna wager on whether that happens? Aloha-ha!
So much for teleconferencing or online learning.
Or sending a couple of folks to come back and share what they learn with the larger group in a centrally-located school gymnasium.
This may be no more than a tempest in a hot tub, but the timing stinks.
It's indicative of the disconnect between the taxed-out public and the officials they trust to be responsible stewards of their money.