NOT THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: NJ Taxpayers Must Choose Between Dollars And Dolphins
The Associated Press reports that since June, NJ has been in the throes of “a battle over whether wild animals need humans' help to survive, or whether they should be left alone to let nature take its course”:
Federal wildlife officials are convinced science is on their side in the decision to leave a family of bottlenose dolphins in a frigid … river over the winter, even if it means letting them die.
But they didn't count on the “Flipper factor”: An intense, emotional attachment many people have toward dolphins, the highly intelligent, social animals whose facial expressions make them look like they're smiling. …
The [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] says trying to move the remaining dolphins is risky and probably wouldn't work. Critics fear a repeat of 1993, when four dolphins died in the river when ice closed in on them and they drowned. …
This isn't the first time emotions have run high over perceived threats to wild animals and whether or not to try to save them. In June 2001, a 50-ton right whale dubbed Churchill became tangled in fishing gear in the Atlantic Ocean off Massachusetts, spurring a three-month rescue effort that included seven unsuccessful tries to save the animal.
Rescue groups and the federal government spent more than $250,000 on the effort, which failed when Churchill died that September.
The state is facing “daunting fiscal challenges,” reports The New York Times, and in his final State of the State address last week Gov. Jon S. Corzine (D) “seemed almost to pride himself on putting forth an unvarnished view of the sorry state of New Jersey’s finances”:
Mr. Corzine did not shy away from addressing the impact of the national recession on a state that relies heavily on Wall Street profits, and has been reeling for years under the weight of high taxes and questionable fiscal practices by both parties.
As a result, he said, he will be forced to take emergency steps, like giving local governments the option of postponing their contributions to employee pensions, that he normally would not take.
“When good people are at the end of their rope, they need to know that government is there to lend a helping hand,” he said. “It is in this context that we have made the economy Priority No. 1, Priority No. 2 and Priority No. 3.”
That seems clear enough: Wayward dolphins are not – and should never be – a priority when the state government is struggling to keep the safety net intact.
Editorial Note: If people knew what thugs dolphins are in the wild, they might not be so quick to want cash-strapped local governments to intervene when they get stuck in a river or get beached.
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