Press "Enter" to skip to content

Perdue Likes Rounds; Both Like Irresponsible Spending

An eager reader sees that former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue likes Mike Rounds. How nice.

May we assume that Mike also likes Sonny's self-enriching tax breaks and land deals? Or how about Sonny's legacy of debt, saddling taxpayers with teacher furloughs and budget cuts to health care while doling out pork for projects in his home county?

Taxpayers will spend almost $4 million annually paying off Perdue’s Go Fish aquatic wildlife and fishing education center, some new equine and livestock facilities at the Georgia National Fairgrounds near his home and the purchase of the Oaky Woods conservation property at a price some lawmakers considered excessive. All are in Houston County, where Perdue was born, raised and plans to return when he leaves office.

The state is making debt payments on those three projects — worth a total of $60 million — at a time when legislators are approving tight budgets that forced teacher furloughs and layoffs, and brought spending cuts on everything from economic development efforts to health care.

The three projects are part of the about $1.2 billion a year the state is now paying on long-term debt, up about 60 percent from the year Perdue took office [James Salzer, "Perdue Pushed Pet Projects," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2011.01.03].

No wonder Sonny likes Mike; they are birds of a fiscal feather.

2 Comments

  1. 96 Tears 2014.08.01

    Indeed a match: Sleaze attracts sleaze.

  2. Roger Cornelius 2014.08.01

    When some South Dakotans raise their ugly racist heads, I call this North Mississippi.
    Now we have a governor that is a carbon copy of a Georgian Republican, are we now North Georgia?
    Like Perdue, Rounds will escape prison in much the same way Perdue did.

Comments are closed.