Apparently, after the terror attacks on September 11th, the State of California started a fundraiser of sorts in which they would sell license plates that read, "We Will Never Forget" and the money raised from these plates would be given in the form of scholarships for families of those who perished that terrible day and to anti-terrorism training for local police and law enforcement. Sounds great right? Well as most things these days, it didn't really turn out according to plan.
For one, only 40% of the raised funds actually went to Anti-terrorism training (where 85% of all funds were supposed to go) and a mere 1.5% actually went to the scholarship program intended to 9/11 victims families in California. In total, the program raised roughly $15 million. The remainder of the funds are not so easy to track with some ending up at the Department of Food and Agriculture and various other government bodies.
Worse yet, some $3 million was taken from the fund by the previous and current governors of California to help fill holes in the state's budget deficit.
But possible the worst part about this story is that the California Department of Motor Vehicles still advertises the scholarship portion of the fund when you purchase or renew your license plates...Even though the scholarship program was shut down in 2005! The DMV merely stated that the program isn't "totally disingenuous" and they it would "probably" be a good idea to removed reference of the defunct scholarship program from their offices(1)....Gee ya think?!
California is often referred to as being a small-scale representation of America as a whole and when it comes to government programs and spending, this story certainly reinforces that belief...
UPDATE:
Here is a clip from Fox News about this story and the state government's excuse for raiding this 9/11 fund..
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Reference(s):
1. http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-calif-9-11-fund-raided-deficits-070528674.html
