Nor is Louisiana's businesslike governor, Bobby Jindal, rushing to accept this "free" money from Washington. He prefers to look first, leap later -- if at all.

This generous offer from Washington ("I'm from the federal government and I'm here to help!") has been welcomed warily, or just flat-out turned down, by one skeptical governor after another. Because it sounds like the bureaucratic equivalent of a Trojan Horse -- attractive from the outside, full of danger within.

Over in Oklahoma, Gov. Brad Henry calls it a Catch-22. If he doesn't accept the money, he's sure to be denounced as a mean ol' skinflint -- and a dumb one -- for passing up freebies for the unemployed in his state. If he takes the bait, he might have to skimp on unemployment benefits in the future -- or tax employers more to meet the burdens that come with this "gift."

And the more employers are taxed, the fewer employees they can afford to keep. Maintaining payroll is a big enough challenge these days. Many a company has gone beyond cutting fat; they're cutting into bone.

Texas' Rick Perry has told President Obama that, if this found money actually increases the entitlements his state will have to pay, "we will not accept." Gov. Perry says that's "exactly how addicts get hooked on drugs." A big high at first, a bigger letdown later.

Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour, an admitted Republican, is looking at this gift horse warily. Because it would require the states to come up with money to fund the enlarged program, he calls it "a tax on job creation."

Lest we forget, states compete with each other for industries that create jobs. The higher the taxes in a state, the less likely a business may want to put a plant there.

So many federal programs are like this one: They sound great but may not be so great in practice. Once again the states might be left having to pick up the bill for what used be known as Unfunded Federal Mandates -- an awkward phrase, but one that's easier to take than the cost of these obligations that the feds are always attaching to their benefits.

And the feds can be unforgiving when it comes to following their rules and regs, maybe right over a cliff. Remember the late great Hyman Rickover? That maverick admiral had his own struggle with the bureaucrats at the Pentagon when he was trying to get the nation its first nuclear sub. His well-founded advice: "If you're going to sin, sin against God. God will forgive you, but the bureaucracy won't."

The moral of this story: Think before grabbing.