Paying for work you do yourself?

A couple of times I've heard people admit they clean their home shortly before scheduled maid service. Why? Because they want a tidy house so they're "not embarrased" when the housekeeper arrives. This doesn't make sense to me. If you're going to spend the money to hire help (something my family doesn't do), why do the job yourself?

Apparently, this isn't isolated to housekeeping. American taxpayers fork over more than $400 billion a year on "defense," and billions more in secret funds for the national intelligence apparatus. All of this is supposed to make our nation safe. And yet ordinary people like these are having to patrol our non-existent southern border. And build fences. And put pressure on employers who violate the law by hiring illegal immigrants.

Why do they have to roll up their sleeves? Where is the federal government? Oh, wait: the FBI is busy investigating the CIA and Congress for alleged participation in wild parties thrown by DoD contractors. That would explain why they're all so busy. Well, at least Osama feels safe.

Meanwhile, FEMA keeps writing checks (with our money), while students and ordinary citizen volunteers far outnumber federal workers among those rebuilding the Gulf Coast ravaged by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma last fall.

If I'd hired a maid but had to clean my own house, I'd be letting the housekeeper go. As taxpayers, we may need to take a hard look at our hiring practices. If it's clear we can do the job better ourselves, maybe it's time to give Uncle Sam some pink slips. A lot of them.