Government largesse

Much of the domestic and sexual violence that occurs in a community could be prevented if bystanders would intervene. That is the at the heart of the green dot program, whose aim is to encourage everyone to overcome barriers that keep us from taking action to protect potential victims.

The green dot program, developed at the University of Kentucky, is gaining national recognition as a way to bolster zero tolerance for sexual violence. Last month a partnership was formed in Cape Girardeau that involves the police department, Southeast Missouri State University, the Safe House for Women and the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence that aims to put more green dots on the city's map than red dots, which indicate an act of violence.

The program is funded by a three-year grant of $296,000 plus $199,820 from federal funds the university received in 2006.

Meanwhile, the university announced last week that it has received a $421,000 federal grant to train 40 teachers from eight school districts how to be better math instructors. The districts involved are those identified as struggling on math test scores.

Both of these programs have honorable and useful aims. But why does it cost nearly half a million dollars to persuade people to do what they ought to know is the right thing to do in a bad situation?

Or more than $400,000 to share teaching techniques to help poor-performing math students?

Obtaining good-sized grants has become an industry in today's world of "get the government to pay for it" society. We've become a nation of grant writers with a big chunk of the proceeds going to administer the flow of taxpayer dollars.