Cat’s Cradle
The Stimulus money being offered to the states is little more than a Cat’s Cradle: so many tangled strings it becomes a woven prison.
If there were no strings, states could simply accept the federal dollars, cut their own taxes the same amount, and enjoy the benefits of a stronger state economy.
However, states are now being lampooned for turning down “free money,” that comes with provisions that entail permanent and onerous conditions.
This Cat’s Cradle is so strangling that even the rats are staying away.
