PREFERRED VENDORS
List for schools will just cost Minnesota more
I must disagree with Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Star Tribune (editorial, Jan. 8) that a bipartisan plan to create a preferred vendors list for schools will save money for the state of Minnesota. History tells us that government spends money but does not effectively save it. Millions lost to graft in Afghanistan and Iraq, thousand-dollar toilet seats, $67,000 for espresso machines in Chicago schools and all-expense-paid training sessions for DNR employees are just recent examples of government vendor expenditures.
Your editorial lauded the plan as bipartisan. However, union, lobbyist, community activist pressure will bring legislated partisan restrictions on just who gets the contracts. Cost savings will be a forgotten goal.
JAMES M. BECKER, LAKEVILLE
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What Gov. Tim Pawlenty is suggesting for schools makes about as much sense as municipal and rural water systems encouraging volume discounts on water during a drought.
First, schools already have buying pools. In some cases they are called service units and in other cases simply an agreement among schools.
Second, Pawlenty wants to create one more government-sanctioned single access point enterprise where some day someone will find a way to insert greed and cronyism, accompanied by mediocre services and lower quality goods that both cost more in the long run.
Third, look at the map. How can this possibly work? A company in Edina providing a service to Canby or Thief River Falls for a $10 savings over a similar company in Willmar or Marshall, but it takes two trips instead of one. A company in St. Paul providing a tangible product at a $25 savings but a $50 delivery charge.