Top Ten Porkiest Projects in the Omnibus Spending bill

flyersboy114

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Happened to come across this today.

Top Ten Porkiest Projects in the Omnibus Spending bill
From John McCain
Friday, February 27, 2009 at 5:50pm
Top Ten Porkiest Projects in the Omnibus Spending bill

10. $1.7 million "for a honey bee factory" in Weslaco, TX

9. $475,000 to build a parking garage in Provo City, Utah

8. $200,000 for a tattoo removal violence outreach program that could help gang members or others shed visible signs of their past

7. $300,000 for the Montana World Trade Center

6. $1 million for mormon cricket control in Utah

5. $650,000 for beaver management in North Carolina and Mississippi

4. $2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York

3. $332,000 for the design and construction of a school sidewalk in Franklin, Texas

2. $2 million “for the promotion of astronomy” in Hawaii

1. $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa
 
With the exception of '8' and perhaps '2', I see nothing wrong with the rest. Construction is one of the quickest ways to stimulate the economy. And ifcricket and odor control can increase farming output, I am all for it.
 
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#8 is a program aimed at making former gang members more employable -- many businesses are uwilling to give anyone a job who has visible gang tatoos. 80% of the participants who were unable to find employment for that reason got jobs after having the tattoos removed. I can make an argument that it is money well spent, and a small amount compared to supporting them in prison or on welfare long-term... IT doesn't create jobs, but it can help lower unemployment...
 
Agree. Assumed the same thing. It is just a further stretch than the rest.
 
This is actually comical! :shake:

It's typical liberal politics with non business people spending money, they didn't earn, with a nanny state sense of entitlement and mentality.

Simple economics, you can't spend your way out of a recession.

That beaver control project will net exactly how many construction jobs again? lol
 
That beaver control project will net exactly how many construction jobs again? lol

Surely you jest. Beavers build dams. Flood waters kill trees. Trees that could be utilized in construction. Trees that would drive the cost of lumber down. Cheaper lumber results in more construction. Need I continue?
 
lots of talk about construction.. but alot of companies are closing up now for fear.. and lack of business... interesting the way they had it on the radio yesterday.....
 
Surely you jest. Beavers build dams. Flood waters kill trees. Trees that could be utilized in construction. Trees that would drive the cost of lumber down. Cheaper lumber results in more construction. Need I continue?

You're right '69, the way nature intended it just gets in the way of good ole fashion logging. Exactly what kind of wood is being logged in these boggy areas though? Soft wood, oak, maple....surely you jest.
 
LineInTheSand said:
You're right '69

Thanks for the compliment. Mighty big shoes to fill, though. Not sure I am able. He did seem to bring out the worst in some posters though. With that said:

LineInTheSand said:
the way nature intended it

I assume you are a proponent of allowing nature to run its course? If so, we need to bring back the natural enemies of the beaver which have all been decimated by the human hand; the bear, wolf, coyote, lynx, mountain lion, otters, bobcat, hawk, alligator, etc. Just don’t start crying when the family dog and maybe a child or two disappears. Or maybe just bring back the fedora. “Save a tree, buy a hat.” Sorry, we are beyond nature balancing itself.

LineInTheSand said:
Exactly what kind of wood is being logged in these boggy areas though? Soft wood, oak, maple...

Surely you jest. The West was pioneered by beaver trappers. Not a lot of “boggy areas” in the Rockies. US History and Geography 101. Beavers are everywhere there is running water. It doesn’t necessarily become “boggy areas” until the beaver has done its thing. Oregon, the Beaver State, is not blessed with a lot of “boggy areas” either. I saw where beavers have become such a nuisance there that residents want to change their moniker.

The type of trees: pine (construction) down South, and hardwoods (furniture) up north.

Incidentally, many of the affected areas are where the government has transplanted beavers into areas where there were none.

I guess it is easy to be an environmentalist so long as it is not one’s own streams, trees, pasture, cropland, etc. being destroyed.
 
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No one needs to bring coyotes back. There are more than enough, and the family pets have had more than their share of run ins.

You're right though, screw it, it's too late for the beaver, forests, and streams. Because most people wouldn't appreciate pig odor research or cricket control being paid for on their dime, you should probably disagree with them.

What isn't being addressed is that a majority of these projects are not creating sustained jobs. I wonder how long it will take to make a sidewalk. I'm thinking less that 4 years. Where do those workers go after it's built?
 
9. $475,000 to build a parking garage in Provo City, Utah

7. $300,000 for the Montana World Trade Center

If any, these would be the two I would agree with. The sidewalk is way too expensive.
 
All I know is that I hope that whatever they choose works. I may not agree with some of the routes that they take, but I am hopeful that it works. I know some would love to be able to say "I told you so" in the coming years (especially in 2012), but in reality what this country needs is to do well and make it out of the current economic situation.

Although I like the fact that all the stocks are on sale right now and I've been able to get my mortgage down to a ridiculous rate of 5% (remember rates of 10% or more???) I really hope we've hit "bottom."
 
Surely you jest. Beavers build dams. Flood waters kill trees. Trees that could be utilized in construction. Trees that would drive the cost of lumber down. Cheaper lumber results in more construction. Need I continue?

Two free words to stop the Beaver damage: Open Season.

That is how we entrepreneurs do it, simple innovation. lol
 
and I've been able to get my mortgage down to a ridiculous rate of 5% (remember rates of 10% or more???) I really hope we've hit "bottom."

You kidding me? I remember when Jimmy Carter and his misery index, had mortgage rates over 20%!
 
You kidding me? I remember when Jimmy Carter and his misery index, had mortgage rates over 20%!

Just for fun I went to a mortgage calculator to calculate what a loan at 20% would be for a 30 year fixed mortgage on home of $200,000.

20% rate: 3,342/mo
5% rate: 1,073/mo

That is a huge difference!
 
Just for fun I went to a mortgage calculator to calculate what a loan at 20% would be for a 30 year fixed mortgage on home of $200,000.

20% rate: 3,342/mo
5% rate: 1,073/mo

That is a huge difference!

I was working in construction at the time and just out of high school when the rates were that high. I wanted to change careers and joined the Marine Corps for stability! lol
 
All I know is that I hope that whatever they choose works. I may not agree with some of the routes that they take, but I am hopeful that it works. I know some would love to be able to say "I told you so" in the coming years (especially in 2012), but in reality what this country needs is to do well and make it out of the current economic situation.

Amen. I suppose that no matter what the list, some will disagree. I have always been a proponent of construction because it is labor intensive at a relatively low pay scale, thereby affecting more of the population. Also, on federal projects, all material, if available, no matter the costs, must be manufactured in America.

flyerboy114 said:
The sidewalk is way too expensive.

How do you know? Do you know the scope of the work? How much per square foot? Does it perhaps go over or under a mullti-lane road/street and tunneling or bridging is involved?
 
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How do you know? Do you know the scope of the work? How much per square foot? Does it perhaps go over or under a mullti-lane road/street and tunneling or bridging is involved?

Its a sidewalk........

Sidewalks are stretches of cement along a road. Seriously
 
The items on the list are all sound bites. The problem with listening to sound bites is that they are just that. They don't tell the whole story and often are spun in the direction of whomever is decrying the spending.

The deal with the "school sidewalk" is that it connects the town with the school. It is for the safety of the kids who walk to school so they don't have to walk along the highway. Most of the "school sidewalk" is actually along the state right-of-way and is a state construction job. Note the money is for "design and construction" - the design portion is quite expensive - engineers must be paid and environmental studies done. State contruction jobs are notorious for their cost as many states have rigid requirements for bidding a state job.

The mormon cricket is a pest and a noxious one. It is actually a katydid and they have periods of swarming where they destroy crops and become safety hazards along the highway. They are so named because tradtion has it they were destroying the first wheat crop of the first Mormon settlement in Utah when a flock of seagulls swooped down, detroyed the swarm and saved the crops.

Pork is pork as long as you are not directly affected then it becomes "your government working for you".
 
Amen. I suppose that no matter what the list, some will disagree. I have always been a proponent of construction because it is labor intensive at a relatively low pay scale, thereby affecting more of the population. Also, on federal projects, all material, if available, no matter the costs, must be manufactured in America.

Low pay scale? All of these projects are prevailing wage where unskilled laborers earn $35-38/hr! I work for a construction company and have to keep track of all the prevailing wage reports for the government, plumbers and electricians make $58/hr. I'm all for a decent wage but that is simply a waste of our tax dollars. My husband is a plumber and I am still against this.


How do you know? Do you know the scope of the work? How much per square foot? Does it perhaps go over or under a mullti-lane road/street and tunneling or bridging is involved?

Once again if it a government funded project then it will cost roughly double what it would cost on a regular basis.
 
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