Channel 10 has a report up on the sorry state of Rhode Island’s roads and bridges and the absence of funds to address the problem.  Here’s the missing question that really needs to start being asked:  Where is all the money going?

From 2003 to 2013, Rhode Island’s budget increased from $5.4 billion to $7.7 billion.  That’s a 42% increase, or 3.56% per year compounding.  Over that same period, the gross state product (GSP) went up 32% (2.79% compounded per year), and inflation was 27% (2.39% per year).  (From 2005 to projected 2015, by the way, the state budget increase is 46%, or 3.88% compounded annually.)

With the government’s budget growing so much more quickly than either the state’s economy or inflation, where is all the money going?

According to WJAR’s Susie Steimie:

President Barack Obama is pushing Congress to put $300 billion toward road repairs.  The president warns if we don’t put money toward infrastructure repairs the economy will suffer.

We must stop letting politicians off so easily.  $300 billion doesn’t materialize out of nowhere.  From where does Obama plan to take that money, and why won’t that hurt the economy?

Unless we move past the superficial analysis of noting problems and insisting that the solution is money, we’re like children being governed by the Coachman on Pleasure Island.