You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life - Albert Camus

Waterfront Ducks Stimulate The Economy

by Hal_10000

I’ve been saying for a while that the Democratic economic stimulus plan is nothing but a gigantic pork barrel.  Behold the US Conference of Mayors plan to build infrastructure:

On Monday, the U.S. Conference of Mayors went to Capitol Hill to ask for a handout, or as they put it: “We are reporting that in 427 cities of all sizes in all regions of the country, a total of 11,391 infrastructure projects are ‘ready to go.’ These projects represent an infrastructure investment of $73,163,299,303 that would be capable of producing an estimated 847,641 jobs in 2009 and 2010.”

A wish list that is 11,391 projects strong! What vital infrastructure projects would cash-strapped taxpayers get for their $73 billion? Here’s a sampling:

- Hercules, Calif., wants $2.5 million in hard-earned taxpayer money for a “Waterfront Duck Pond Park,” and another $200,000 for a dog park.

- Euless, Texas, wants $15 million for the Midway Park Family Life Center, which, you’ll be glad to note, includes both a senior center and aquatic facility.

- Natchez, Miss., “needs” a new $9.5 million sports complex “which would allow our city to host major regional and national sports tournaments.”

- Henderson, Nev., is asking for $20 million to help “develop a 60 acre multi-use sports field complex.”

- Brigham City, Utah, wants $15 million for a sports park.

- Arlington, Texas, needs $4 million to expand its tennis center.

- Miami, Fla., needs $15 million for a “Moore Park Community Center, Tennis Center and Day Care” facility. The city is also desperate for $3.6 million to build a covered basketball court and a new tennis court at Robert King High Park. Then there’s the $94 million Orange Bowl parking garage you are being asked to pay for.

- La Porte, Texas, wants $7.6 million for a “Life Style Center.” And Oakland, Calif., needs $1 million for Fruitvale Latino Cultural and Performing Arts Center.

And you thought infrastructure investment meant roads, bridges and schools. It is clear that any infrastructure stimulus money given to the country’s mayors will lead to thousands of tennis centers to nowhere. News alert for mayors: We are officially in a recession. American families have to get by with less, and so do American cities.

Please read the entire thing because it gets into how we can really improve our country’s infrastructure with smart investments in highways and bridges.  That is what this package of goodies is being sold as.  But don’t believe a word of it.  Our mayors have a horrid record of letting their cities literally crumble while they burn money on “big projects” like stadiums for sports teams owned by multi-billionaires.

It’s bad enough that the citizens of our cities get ripped off this way.  But at least the sucker city residents voted for it.  I see no reason why the rest of us should get stuck with the bill for the US Council of Mayor’s largesse under the guise of “stimulating” the economy.  It is literally taxation without representation.

Comments

Posted by on 12/10/08 at 11:11 PM from

Our mayors have a horrid record of letting their cities literally crumble while they burn money on “big projects” like stadiums for sports teams owned by multi-billionaires.

Check out this amusing rant on the future of the sports pleasure palaces.

My favorite quote from the article:

If there’s any good to come out of this complete disaster of an economy, it’s that the all the carping of supposedly needy pro sports owners will either go away, or be met with pure, brutal hostility. “We can’t compete at this revenue level.” “We reserve the right to explore our options.” Yeah? WELL FUCK YOU, AL DAVIS.

Okay, it was just the last line there, but still.

Posted by on 12/11/08 at 07:07 AM from

So much for “change”....

How about transportation projects that help business be more efficient and competitive?  How about some electricity infrastructure projects that allow “free’ wind generated electricity to be used where it is needed.  How about R&D;money to help the US economy with new technologies?

If you are going to spend it, there are so many real ways it could be spent that actually has an ROI beyond “Jobs”.

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