Utah’s fake lease bid trial has a link to Wis Governor’s action

It appears that nationwide, efforts are being made to circumvent public wishes to secure balanced budgets, or so some say that is the purpose.  The selling off of public lands for drilling was an argument had many months ago but has again found its way into the spotlight. 

According to Associated Press writer Jennifer Dobner’s article titled Trial over fake lease bids becomes cause célèbre, “Tim DeChristopher has pleaded not guilty to felony counts of interfering with and making false representations at a government auction. He is accused of racking up a total of $1.7 million in bids for 13 oil-and-gas leases near Utah's Arches and Canyonlands national parks, without the ability to pay for them.”  Despite the admission of “Federal prosecutors have acknowledged that DeChristopher is the only person ever charged with failing to make good on bids at a lease auction of public lands in Utah.”  DeChristopher is expecting to be found guilty but chooses to go to trail anyway.  The question then becomes what does him or does he expect the outcome to be with this act?  How does this link to the events in Wisconsin by Governor Scott Walker?  Mr. Walker has proposed selling off energy facilities to the highest bidder and if successful, will then look to other places to find his surplus.

What he has done was drive up the price of the land so that the state could receive more money than they probably would have had he not committed this act.  The second thing he has done is given the public a reason to fight for public lands and not have their resources sold off to the highest bidder without receiving adequate compensation or something beneficial to the state in return.  Balancing the budget is one thing but if all states are required to balance their budget each year and they still find themselves in a deficit, then something else is really wrong with the system.  DeChristopher’s actions may expose this fact much better than it seemed to have been shown in the past.  Like many households, you balance your budget and stick to it, adding nothing that you can not pay for and therefore it prevents you form doing it each and every month or year.  The only additions you make to it would normally come after another debt has been paid in full which then releases those funds to be directed some place else.  Maybe that’s the most important thing that will come from Mr. DeChristopher’s antics.