Why I am the best qualified candidate for Missouri State Auditor.

Susan Montee’s website celebrates her experience as an attorney and CPA, which she feels makes her the most qualified candidate to be Missouri’s State Auditor. Tom Schweich proclaims how he loves to do audits. I readily concede that both Tom and Susan can do a better audit than I do. I would love to have them on my staff. However, the State Auditor has a staff of 125 people, many qualified to do a great audit. In fact, many of the audits are not even done by Susan. She just oversees them. Susan claims to have saved Missouri millions of dollars. However, there is no accounting of this, which is kind of ironical in that the State Auditor has no real verification that she has saved the state any money. The State Auditor’s budget is close to $5,000,000 and we really have no accounting of whether or not it pays for itself. What we need is an auditor that can actually save the state of Missouri money. Accountants are good at doing accounting, but not usually that good at achieving action and results. It takes a different skill. What we need is an auditor that can aggressively carry out the recommendations in the audit. How many of Susan’s staff’s recommendations are carried out? We don’t know. She does her audit, makes recommendations and moves on to the next audit. No real follow up. We live in a society that loves to create volumes of paper. In fact, we are overwhelmed by paper. In 2009, Susan had overseen 151 audits, thousands of pages all buried away somewhere read by almost no one, like the 2,200 page financial reform bill that no one reads and no one knows what it will mean. What we need today more than ever is simplicity, action, and leadership, not more audits. If the state auditors job is to do audits and provide transparency Susan has done a great job but if it is to actually save the state money I’m afraid she falls short. Accountants are great at counting the number of trees in the forest but often miss the forest.

Talking about Progress

Susan Montee has done and outstanding job in producing audits. In 2009, with a staff of approximately 130 and a budget close to 5 million dollars, she turned out 151 audits. So what has been the net result of all of these audits? Do we know if these audits saved the state any money? How many of her recommendations were acted upon? We just don't know. The audits are very thorough but they don't tend to differentiate the important from the unimportant. In the Jennings School district "Administrative salaries increased by a total of approximately $988,000 from fiscal year 2006 to 2008. The increase is primarily due to the creation of nine administrative positions" is given the same weight as the city of Florissant's audit. " Rental revenue lost to the city ranged from approximately $11,600 to $18,200. City tables and chairs were used for the Mayor's wedding anniversary at no charge."(For shame!) The contrast of such audits should seem clear-cut. However, both carried similar press. I want to know who hired theses administrators for $988,000 dollars? Are they still there?
Simply put, I would like fewer audits and more net results. We don't really know if the Auditor's office saves the state money or cost the state money. As State Auditor I would focus on the important, do what I can to name and expose those responsible, get the media involved and put pressure to actually cause some of my recommendations to be enacted.

Politics: Money never sleeps

Politicians, like the rest of us, are most interested in keeping their jobs. As a result they care more about campaign contributions than they do about voters. Both of the parties are now controlled by money and special interest groups. If you are not a lawyer, corporate exec, or member of a union don't expect much help from a Republican or Democrat. Keep in mind that most politicians are experts at dancing around topics and fabricating promises. They spend countless sacks of money to find out just what the voters want and then they promise those same exacts "wants" knowing full well that they are unlikely to be delivered. Washington's finest are also good at creating this illusion that there is this big difference between Republicans and Democrats. If so, tell me how nothing has seemed to change over the past decades?

Politicians are all part of the wealthy elite, they drive the same cars and drink at the same bars. They even sing the same song, "Help ourselves, help our friends, and help our re-election". If you have grown to dislike that tune, vote for a true change.

Why Libertarian?

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Forgive me if I offend anyone, but that sounds a lot like the average American voter. They continue to vote either Democrat or Republican and get the same corrupt politics, the same growth in Government and the same increasing regulation. There is much more similarity between Democrats and Republicans than either party cares to acknowledge. For the most part they are career politicians more interested in their reelection. They all play the same political games, the same grandstanding and partisan fighting to exaggerate their differences. Most middle class people tell you they want less Government and less regulation but continue to vote for parties that have never really accomplished either one. Lately there’s been a movement to throw out the incumbents. That would help but in most cases you will just be replacing the incumbent with another career politician with all his cronies and people he owes favors to because they helped him get elected. The only real way to change the same politics as usual is to vote Libertarian. They alone stand for less government, less regulation, and don’t have the massive power grid that both the Democrats and Republicans have. If over the years I’ve found one thing that is almost always true, it’s that power corrupts. We have a very powerful and corrupt Congress. The Libertarians have no power and they are not corrupt. If they were to become a major party in thirty or forty years they would probably become corrupt, too, but think what a difference you could make in that time. It might be just enough to save the country. I am convinced that most middle class people are Libertarian in their hearts. Maybe it’s time to vote your heart.

My two cents..or maybe even three (tax-free)

Many people, especially the tea party movement, seem to be under the misguided notion that by electing republicans they will reduce the size of the government. I'm not sure that this is based on anything other than wishful thinking. The government has always gotten bigger whether under control by republicans or democrats or even in gridlock.

The only way to reduce the size of government is to reduce the role they play in our lives. We need to rid tax-hoarding departments like that of the department of education. We need to rid the regulation of business or at a minimum lessen the goverment's stranglehold on it's potential. If we are serious about limiting the size of the goverment then we need to talk about benefits you are going to cut. I do not hear the republicans talk much about where they are going to cut benefits. Each party wants the other party's benefits cut but God forbid anyone cut their own. If one is destined to think that America needs smaller government and less Government intervention, you must look back on history. Realizing this will not be done in the booth voting for a republican or democrat. You will need to vote Libertarian!