Advising the Advisers

Chaircreature Reber has responded to my suggestion that we use the $370,000 to provide funding for additional Nexus lane hours by saying it is a funny joke, but then goes on to say that surely I understand that the border is controlled by the Federal Government.  Well, shucks, yes, Sherlock.  I did know that.  But I assumed that Whatcom County was collecting the penny/gallon tax on gasoline in U.S. dollars, rather than in drachmas (which Greece may be needing again) or, in chickens as in the infamous Lowden barter plan  (that's one unplucked chicken/dollar).  I did consider the problem in converting U.S. dollars into Canadian ones to extend the Canadian Nexus Lane hours, but thought that there was probably enough currency exchange going on in Point Roberts that that, too, could be managed. 

But, apparently not.  Whatcom County will build us some little walking paths or some little biking distances.  And we can be happy with having had our opinion sought.

It occurs to me, of course, that, although I was not making a joke, I did make a fatal error.  Like those who are under the misimpression that the Social Security Tax is being kept in a literal lockbox to be spent on securing the social, I foolishly thought that what we were talking about were actual dollars that were down there in the possession of the County.  Now, I have no real knowledge here, but I'm guessing or inferring that what happens is something like this:  Whatcom County gets the pennies per gallon and puts it in its accounting credits and then it spends it for whatever things and services that Whatcom County buys, and puts the cost of that spending in its accounting debits.  And so, there no longer is any money to spend.  That's all done.  The money came in; the money got spent.

What Point Roberts gets to do is to go poke around in the Whatcom County attic where the County people keep all their office and other county supplies that haven't yet been used or aren't currently being use.  And Point Roberts can then ask for $370,000 worth of that stuff.  Could be street signs, could be walk-making labor, could be an old snow plow.  But it couldn't be longer Nexus lane hours because Whatcom County didn't buy any of those last year. 

Also, we can't use the money to buy a llama for all the Point residents who want one because llama ownership isn't related to transit, and even if it were, the County Attic is devoid of llamas for us to choose from.  Too bad.  Either longer Nexus hours or a llama per household is what we need, of course.  But the joke is on us!