Commentary

Your Tax Dollars Send Government Officials To Conference in Hawaii on Childhood Drinking

As Dr. Coburn has reminded us time and time again of the millions of dollars spent on sending government employees to conferences in exotic locations, we see another opportunity to point out this waste of taxpayer dollars… Today, Hawaii’s Lt. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona and Acting US Surgeon Kenneth Moritsugu held a call to action meeting in Honolulu to cite stats on how widespread underage drinking in Hawaii is. According to the Lt. Governor’s spokesperson, “in attendance were members of the research community, health care providers, Department of Health officials, policy makers, law enforcement personnel, educators, business representatives, members of the faith-based community, youth and parents.” While they lounge in the sun and enjoy Hawaii’s surf on my dime, I wonder how much it really costs the taxpayers… instead I would love it if those government employees would explain how it is that a 18 year old can fight and die protecting this country and they are not allowed to have a beer… and why millions of dollars continue to be wasted on prevention programs that have continually proven ineffective at stopping teenagers from drinking before they are of the legal age. Did they ever stop to think that teenagers might not drink underage so excessively if it wasn’t a forbidden fruit, if they weren’t prohibited like people their age in the rest of the world?