In anticipation of the rapid passage of a $1 trillion stimulus package as soon as President-elect Obama and the new Congress take office in January, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released its wish-list of what it called “shovel-ready” projects that the Conference claims can be completed in 2009 and 2010 and will create 847,000 new jobs. With taxpayers already experiencing the worst holiday season in years, this is another big lump of coal in their stockings.
Railing Against High-Speed Rail
On November 4, voters in California will have a dozen propositions on the ballot. There are four bond issues, including renewable energy, veterans housing, and children’s hospitals. The most expensive – Proposition 1A – would provide for a bond issue of $9.95 billion to establish high-speed train service linking Southern California counties, the Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The network would eventually cover 800 miles and enable travel from Northern to Southern California at speeds of 220 mph. The official estimated cost is $45 billion.
Pentagon’s Travel System Still Grounded
There are a lot of reasons to complain about air travel: overbooking, rising costs, delays, cancellations, uncomfortable seats, and rude passengers, among others. With all of these hassles, travelers do have a plethora of online travel services to try and obtain the cheapest flight. With the immense of amount of travel undertaken by the federal government and especially the Department of Defense, an online travel system sounds like a marriage made in heaven. Unfortunately, combining logic and the federal government is as easy as putting a square peg in a round hole.
Coconut Road Outrage
An update on the ongoing drama associated with what CAGW has dubbed “the immaculate earmark.”
Home, Home on the Range, Where the Big Railroad Companies Graze Or South Dakotans Should Choo Choo Choose Their Own Destiny
When one thinks of western South Dakota, one imagines sweeping vistas and beautiful ranches. However, the Dakota, Minnesota, & Eastern Railroad (DM&E) is threatening to grab massive swaths of this beautiful private land in western South Dakota to build 120 miles of new rail line.
Rep. Hal Rogers “Road to Nowhere.”
The Kentucky Courier Journal ran a series of articles on December 16 and 17, 2007, on a wasteful pork project, the proposed Interstate 66. This is another “road to nowhere” that dramatically demonstrates how a politician’s desire to “bring home the bacon” trumps other needed public works.
Bridge to Nowhere Update
Even though the Bridge to Nowhere has gone nowhere fast since Congress stripped it of its federal earmark, outgoing Governor Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) is still trying to keep the project alive.
The Rail Subsidy That Could
Parents and children alike are familiar with the story, “The Little Engine That Could.” Through perseverance and sheer determination, a small train engine pulled a train over a steep mountain even with the odds stacked against it and when other train engines didn’t think it possible. It appears that Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is twisting the lessons of that book into a rail subsidy that could be the biggest taxpayer rip-off ever. He helped to secure a $2.3 billion loan from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to expand and improve the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad (DM&E), which is used primarily to transport coal from Wyoming to Minnesota.
A Victory for the Defense Travel System
Since its initial creation in 1998, the Defense Travel System (DTS) has exhibited massive inefficiencies and waste. The project, created by the Department of Defense (DOD), was meant to serve as a cost-efficient travel system for DOD employees. The initial idea was to create an end-to-end electronic booking program. Instead of paying a travel agent $25 per flight, booking online through DTS would cost each individual approximately $5. According to DOD, the program was meant to save taxpayers $234 million in DOD travel costs, approximately $56 million annually.
Taxpayers Get Railroaded
In an emergency supplemental appropriations bill designed to provide $92 billion for the war on terror and hurricane relief, Mississippi Senators Trent Lott (R) and Thad Cochran (R) added $700 million to relocate newly repaired railroad tracks. The costly pork barrel project has been jammed into an already bloated bill which currently sits at $106.5 billion, or $14.5 billion above the $92 billion version passed by the House last month, which met the President’s request.