Your tax dollars at work

Just finished doing my taxes, so I'm reading this story while coming to grips with the fact that a) I've to write a good-sized check and b) I worked about 60 hours a week last year, got paid for about 42 hours a week, and spent the month of December working at less than 40 cents on the dollar because of the marginal tax bracket I crept into. So imagine my bliss at this story from the People's Republic of Maine.

If Maine Gov. Paul LePage doesn’t wish to display a mural depicting the state’s labor history, then the federal money used to create it should be returned, the U.S. Department of Labor says.

The department said Monday that LePage violated the terms of federal laws governing money used to pay for most of the mural’s $60,000 cost when he removed the artwork from state offices last month.

OK, I know that $60,000 is approximately 0 percent of the federal deficit, never mind the astronomical debt. But what the hell is the government doing buying murals? How is that value for the tax dollar? Why should ANY part of my tax dollar be spent on a) an aesthetically unattractive mural b) depicting scenes glorifying people and actions I think should be condemned c) to sit in a freakin' government office building? Where is the constitutional justification for that?

(Don't waste your time looking. There isn't one. They had the money to spend and they spent it. Bastards...)