More on Our Naked Emperor

That's our governor, Tim Pawlenty, again. A few days ago I commented on the governor's proposal to road construction companies that they lend the state money to get a much-needed construction project underway in the metro. The governor was forced into this novel approach because we have no money and the governor has pledged never to raise taxes. The road construction companies walked away from the table. They like the old way: they do the work; the state pays them for it.

Today the governor did it again, this time with technology companies:

Minnesota wants the best minds in the computer business to come work in state government -- for free.

The state is circulating a proposal to high-tech firms and large corporations, asking them to lend computer experts to the Office of Enterprise Technology for up to a year. The private companies would continue to pay their employees' salaries and benefits.

Once again, the governor is taking this approach because we have no money in the state, we have a legitimate need for a government service, and the governor won't ask the citizens of Minnesota to pay for it.

And once again there are no takers:

"That'll separate the men from the boys, certainly," said another vendor, Richard Winkelmann of CA International, a New York-based IT firm.

Winkelmann attended a meeting with state officials last week about the loan program and called it "an exciting opportunity to put someone at the table with the chief information officer to help set strategy for the state of Minnesota." But he said it's been a tough sell to his corporate bosses.

"I've spent a week lobbying CA to come forward with resources," Winkelmann said. "Uncorking someone is a challenge. We're not there yet."

It's that conservatives and government thing again.