It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. Or so our globe-trotting state legislators would have you believe.

A delegation of our lawmakers left on a mission last week; an official government trade mission. At least that's how they painted it after the media publicized the junket, and some of their colleagues criticized the lack of clear objectives, as well as the unnecessary expense.

You see, the eight-day trip won't cost our illustrious leaders a dime. It will, however, cost Utah taxpayers $36,000, the price of airfare and lodging for 13 legislators and two legislative staff members.

The trip is unprecedented. Never before has the Legislature spent your money to send lawmakers abroad.

The delegation - seven senators and six state representatives, including 11 Republicans - is too large to allow for intimate meetings, and the kind of one-on-one discourse likely to net results. And the fact that some of the participants are paying to take their spouses along undermines their claim that the trip is more about work than play.

In theory, it's not a bad idea. It makes at least some sense for our leaders to try to foster economic ties and see how the rest of the world works. But lawmakers need to be able to fully articulate their goals in order to justify the expense, and in that regard, they have failed spectacularly.

When the trip was announced this spring, legislators were at a loss to explain the reasons. At first, they tried to bill it as a diplomatic mission to establish a relationship with a foreign government. Later, it became a trade mission, an attempt to give our booming economy another boost.

The goals, it seems, are still elusive. "I don't know what will come of this, but I expect it to be good," Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble told the Tribune last week.

We're hoping that they bring back business contacts, maybe even contracts. And had they herded Utah business leaders onto the plane and arranged for one-on-one meetings with their Chinese counterparts, maybe they would have. But they didn't. And we suspect that all they'll bring home is souvenirs, thanks to all of us who pay taxes.