Call me crazy, but would you spend $6 million bucks on a heated pool?

Better yet, you live in Hawaii, who arguably has the best climate on the planet, and you’re seriously telling me you need heated pools throughout your city?

You’ve got to be [bleep] kidding me!

The Mayors of America, including the aforementioned Mayor of Maui, has put together a list totalling an estimated 73 Billion Dollars that they believe qualifies as “infrastructure” projects to help stimulate growth and reinvigorate the economy.

Some of my favorite pork barrel spending projects are as follows:

1. Minnesota - $6 Million bucks for a skiing related snow making device.  Of course, Minnesota is rather well known for its inhospitably cold climate during winters and it’s not like snow would ever fall in a location where the winter temperatures frequently dip below zero.
2. Pennsylvania - $100 Million dollars to aid the casino industry.  Don’t these guys have the best racket in the country when it comes to hosing their constitutients?  They even kick out the players that can count cards — legally — so why are we giving them more cash when they basically print their own money?
3. California - $6 Million bucks to “reclaim” a famous surfer’s hangout in Ventura.  I’ve tried surfing, and even though it was enjoyable (I gave a horrendous performance), I don’t see the immediate need to move a few sand tunes.  You can checkout just how frivolous this project really is at the Ventura beach improvement project.
4. North Carolina – $20 Million smackers for a Minor League Baseball Hall of Fame.  Just to show I’m not picking on everyone else but me, this project would benefit the city of Durham and my beloved Durham Bulls (think Bull Durham).  I’ve watched more ballgames here than probably than any other park in America, but such an expense is no where near justifiable.

I’m all for localized stimulus, but some of the proposed items in the Mayors of America report are ludicrous.  In my own cynical way, it is my belief that these mayors are withholding their own state and local tax dollars to pay for projects that are most important to them, and throwing any “nice to have” projects at the federal government.  I would encourage each reader to take a look at their own cities proposed projects just for your own laughs and possible edification.

I’m sure most of the projects are worthwhile — like building bridges, paving roads, creating new green energy initiatives — but frivolous projects like the ones I’ve singled out above are ridiculous and should be cut from the proposal.

Hopefully, President Elect Obama will see through this charade and take the necessary actions once he takes office.  His campaign was based on Change after all, so let’s hope politics as usual does not prevail when he approves the projected 1 Trillion Dollar Stimulus Package.

If you’re like me, you want to speak out and fight against such pork barrel spending, you could consider joining the Citizens Against Government Waste organization.  Signing up took me five seconds, and joining the million plus supporters only gives them more lobbying power to curb Washington’s spendthrift ways.

…

Photo by The Pug Father