In the past, man tried to invent a machine that would perform a useful function and also provide the energy to keep itself running. These devices were called perpetual motion machines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Perpetual_motion_machine).

A classic example involved a container of water that was allowed to run over a water wheel at a lower elevation. The energy from the falling water was used to provide power to perform a simple task, such as grinding wheat into flour. This energy was also used to pump the water exiting the water wheel back up to the upper level to repeat its course and come back through the water wheel.

Today, politicians attempt to devise legislation to take money from the people (taxes), run it through a government agency and spend it on projects devised to create jobs. The jobs then will grow the economy. The enhanced economy then will create more tax revenue to keep the government running perpetually.

I, for one, am quite skeptical of this scheme.

Phil Pinkham

Jefferson