Two months ago, Politifact Texas ran a piece fact-checking Texas Comptroller Susan Combs and a comment she made about wiping out “the state Agriculture Department’s inspections of eggs at retail sites like grocery stores.” After an extensive look at the program, its history, and Combs’ attempt to root it out, the authors ultimately conclude that Combs’ statement was false and that, in fact, state officials “continued checking eggs in stores-and still do.”
This got us thinking-if this program is indeed still in existence, just how much money are Texas taxpayers being asked to spend every year to make sure grocery stores and the like aren’t selling broken eggs to consumers who, presumably, should be checking for themselves? Quite a bit as it turns out.
In response to an Open Records Request, the Texas Department of Agriculture offered us the following information:
– The amount appropriated to the Egg Quality Program for fiscal 2012 and 2013: $343,860 each fiscal year or $687,720 for the biennium. – The number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions allocated to oversee and administer the program: 6.97 FTEs.
That’s right-Texas taxpayers will spend almost three-quarters of a million dollars on retail egg inspections over the next two years, not to mention shouldering any future pension and healthcare costs for the state employees assigned to run the program. Oy vey!
It just goes to show that, despite the constant media portrayal of a government “cut to the bone,” there are still plenty of areas that need to be trimmed.
-James Quintero