A story in today's
Akron Beacon Journal chronicles yet another example of Ohio government working for you. Or at least working to torch your money.
According to the
Beacon, the Ohio Supreme Court spends $1.1 million a year providing "public information," presumably to the public. But its 11 fulltime employees don't do much to earn their keep. They refuse to talk to reporters on anything other than "background," one of those journalistic geekisms that in this case means "We'll talk, but we won't say shit, and you can't use our names." And if you don't agree to these ground rules, they won't talk to you at all.
Why it takes 11 people and $1.1 million to essentially provide the same information you can get from consulting the stuffed flounder mounted on the wall of your uncle Walt's den remains to be seen. But at least we're providing jobs to people who would otherwise be bumming cigs from you on West 9th Street. Now that's something we can all rally around.
-- Pete Kotz
