|
Taxpayers should be upset with spending on road signs
That some taxpayers are upset that governments are spending federal stimulus money on promotional road construction signs is completely understandable. The money should be used to fix roads, period.In case you missed the story, the Associated Press reported in Monday's Daily News that the federal government encouraged state governments to create signs which read "Putting America to work" and "Project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act." Sounds more like a paid political advertisement than an educational tool for the public, don't you think? And let's face it, the project is funded by dollars that the government doesn't have and that the taxpayers will have to pay back. President Barack Obama's administration said the signs are useful sources of information for the public because they help citizens see how the stimulus money is being spent. "We look at it as a way to promote transparency," said Sasha Johnson of the U.S. Department of Transportation. If the government really wanted to promote transparency, the signs would read something like this: "This project put America another $5.8 million in debt. Your share of that debt keeps growing every day." The stimulus road signs cost between $500 and $1,200 to design, make and install. By the time the cost for all of these signs is added together, millions will have been spent that could have gone toward road work. That wasteful spending should be upsetting to all taxpayers. Posted by: Fred 2009-07-08 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=273889 |