Sometimes when you look at the things a candidate does during an election campaign, you get a glimpse into the wisdom that they will bring to the decisions they make after they are elected. Martha Coakley has shot herself in the foot many times recently, but her last move is amazing. <\/p>\n
According to the Boston Herald<\/a> today, Ms. Coakley has begun an initiative in Massachusetts to make sure all garden clubs submit four years of financial records to the state. The garden clubs are the organizations that maintain traffic islands, town halls, libraries, and veteran’s hospitals across the state. Most of these organizations bring in about $5,000 to $10,000 a year in annual dues and plant sales. Garden clubs in the state have recently received a strong letter from the Attorney General’s Office stating that they need to file four years’ worth of financial records by February 4th.<\/p>\n According to the article:<\/p>\n “Coakley spokeswoman Jill Butterworth said the letter is part of a statewide push to ensure all charities file with the attorney general’s office to let the public know how their money is being spent.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There does need to be accountability and transparency in any organization about how the money it collects is spent, but I would assume that the members of the organization would do a better job of controlling that than the state. This is another example of the state wasting time harassing people doing a good thing, rather than dealing with people who intentionally break laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes when you look at the things a candidate does during an election campaign, you get a glimpse into the wisdom that they will bring to the decisions they make after they are elected. Martha Coakley has shot herself in … Continue reading \n