Home > So, what do you think? > Archives > 2009 > May > 13 > Entry
Squash the bed bug bill before it hatches
U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield has the best of intentions, but nowhere in the U.S. Constitution did our Founding Fathers suggest that the federal government fight bed bugs.
Butterfield, a Democrat from North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, has introduced a bill that would spend $50 million on identifying, combating and eliminating the pests, as reported this week by Telegram staff writer Mike Hixenbaugh.
Bed bugs are a big issue for hotels. They’re small, resilient and annoying as heck if they occupy the same bed as an overnight guest. No one wants to imagine a night full of creepy crawlers - not even newspaper editors. But come on. This isn’t the kind of war we’re making sacrifices to fight through our tax dollars.
Bed bugs or termites or fire ants or hissing cockroaches or any other pest you can think of are the kind of risk that hotel operators and homeowners assume when they decide to build and maintain hotels and houses. Rocky Mount residents don’t look for tax dollars to help us contract with pest control services. That’s just one of the obligations that comes with being a responsible homeowner.
We’ve heard the refrain so many times it practically numbs the ears - fifty million dollars really isn’t a lot of money when you look at the whole of the federal budget.
Enough of that.
Fifty million dollars is a lot of money, period. It might not make a big dent in the effort to right the U.S. economy or fight two wars or even reduce Rocky Mount utility costs. But surely those are more important causes to throw it at than bed bug control.
Here’s hoping the congressman’s bill is properly squashed to death in committee.
Comments
By Darin Gurganus
June 26, 2009 6:55 AM | Link to this
I was riding home from work this past Wednesday night around 12:00 am ( I work 2nd shift), I decided to go a few blocks out of the way to ride through my old neighborhood. I must have counted 15 people out and about in this neighborhood. Recently, gang graffiti has made it on the walls of a few local businesses here in Tarboro. I think it’s time to consider a curfew for our small town. Anyone else care to share opinions?