iPads

Don’t you just love politicians? These guys never run out of creative new ways to spend our money. Here’s the most recent one. It’s not the worst, just the most recent.

Politicians in one Canadian province, have decided that if they give themselves and their assistants shiny new iPads, they can save money on printing and paper costs. They claim that by spending about twenty-five grand on the devices, they “expect” to save double that in printing and courier costs each year. Okay, on the surface that sounds kind of efficient, doesn’t it? Save some trees, save some money… how green and frugal of them, right?

Except…. Well, they already have Blackberrys, which they’ll also keep, along with the associated network fees. Chances are, they also all already have pricey notebook computers and docking stations they overpaid for, and which will now probably be handed over to their kids. And you can bet some consultant was paid a fortune to do a “study” helping the government decide which computers they should buy in the first place.

Then, they’ll buy all these nice new iPads without negotiating a volume deal, of course and outfit them with fancy leather covers and matching shoulder bags. Soon enough, someone will decide that having “mismatched” tech platforms doesn’t make sense, and the Blackberrys will be replaced with iPhones. And their offices’ rickety ol’ PCs they bought last year replaced with fancy new iMacs. You know. For compatibility.

Meanwhile, public schools have 28 kids to a classroom because there is no money for more teachers. And the textbooks are decades old because there is no money for new ones. And the school librarian was laid off, not because every kid has a computer and all the books are digital, but because they just couldn’t afford a librarian anymore.

Oh, and the wait times at the hospital Emergency rooms are so long you need an iPad to distract and entertain your child while he’s waiting four hours to have his broken arm set.

And meanwhile, the politicians will cite “improving efficiency and maximizing value” as their excuse to attend that week-long “How to get the most out of your iPad” conference in Paris.

You know what the difference is, between a politician and a mugger? You ELECTED the guy who robs you… and he keeps coming back to do it again and again.

But hey, they’ll be spending less on paper!