Good money after bad

“Unlike the Opposition, the Brumby Government invests in public transport.” (From *The Age*  , a story about the myki people [getting even more money for a crap job](http://www.theage.com.au/national/myki-card-group-paid-20m-20080902-481f.html?page=-1)  .)

Attention Brumby government! As a service to you, I am reprinting the definition of “invest”.

# To commit (money or capital) in order to gain a financial return: invested their savings in stocks and bonds.

# To spend or devote for future advantage or benefit: invested much time and energy in getting a good education.

# To devote morally or psychologically, as to a purpose; commit: “Men of our generation are invested in what they do, women in what we are” (Shana Alexander).

# To endow with authority or power.

# To install in office with ceremony: invest a new emperor.

# To endow with an enveloping or pervasive quality: “A charm invests a face/Imperfectly beheld” (Emily Dickinson).

# To clothe; adorn.

# To cover completely; envelop.

# To surround with troops or ships; besiege.

Nowhere in there does it say anything about throwing good money after bad. There comes a point where someone needs to realise that they’re no longer investing in something – they’re throwing money down a pit. The quote, from the public transport minister who does not want to run a train system, tries to justify this foolish spending by calling it better than nothing. However, spending foolishly is no better than not spending at all.

(Aside: The real reason why there’s such a push behind this myki thing is that the company that supplies machines and parts for the current system is not supplying them anymore. For all the money spent on myki, we could have easily bought that company and told them to keep producing parts.)