Security funding: New York vs. Wyoming (CSM)

[deadparrot]

NEW YORK - On a recent visit to New York, Mark Young was casually chatting with the ticket taker at the Empire State Building, only to have the conversation take an unexpected turn.

"He asked me where I was from. I said, 'Wyoming,' and he said, 'Why do you guys get all of the homeland security money?' " Mr. Young recounted. "He didn't even know that I was the fire chief ," he noted, "or that I had anything to do with it."

Since Congress first dispensed money after 9/11 to help local officials prepare for future acts of terrorism, New Yorkers have been rankled by the notion that people in rural states like Wyoming get almost twice as much per capita as they do. It's a feeling based not only on having experienced 9/11 firsthand, but also in knowing that New York remains a top target.

This week, Congress might do something to change that. A House-Senate conference committee will decide how much risk should factor into the decision about how to distribute homeland security money. Big, vulnerable states like New York are in favor of a more risk-based formula, but they're getting a fight from lawmakers in small states, who contend they also have vulnerabilities and just as much right to protect themselves.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/afunds

[tk2kewl]

1. Why? I'll tell you why...

the funding was never about security. it was about using the Treasury for political payoffs and enrich cronies