Boy, can a picture ever tell it all! Today was the U.S. Conference of Mayors' turn to come forward with hat in hand and their lists of "shovel ready" projects. In reading through some of the requests I'm beginning to think we are a nation governed by those who just don't get it.Granted, a lot of the projects would indeed provide jobs and therefore stimulate the economy. However, by their own admission, some used the "throw spaghetti against the wall" approach. Throw enough and some of it will stick.
The Wall Street Journal listed some of them. $2 million for neon lights for Las Vegas. Enlightening. $4.5 for butterfly gardens and gopher tortoises for an "eco" park in Boynton Park, FL. $500,000 for an off leash dog park in Chula Vista, CA. $3 million for an environmentally friendly golf course clubhouse in Lincoln Nebraska. The construction of said clubhouse would create a whopping 54 jobs! Then what?
I shouldn't leave out $886,000 for a 36 hole "disc golf" course in Austin TX and Shreveport, LA wants the Feds to pony up the funding for eight Harley-Davidson's for their police department. Vrooooom!
Either these mayors are the smartest politicians in the country or the dumbest of the dumb. I'm not sure. When they look at what Congressional pork projects have included previously, why not try? On the other hand this does not seem to me to be the time for frivolous wish listing. It gives me the feeling the economic meltdown is not being taken seriously.
Is it?
2 comments:
I don't know how I feel about these projects. They may seem frivolous to m, but, on the other hand, they will put some people to work at least for a while.
I agree. I think Obama's people should go through that list with a red pencil and run a line through those sort of projects. Talk about pork!!
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