| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Taxpayers should be upset with spending on road signs |
| 2009-07-08 |
| 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 |
| #7 Sign makers gotta eat too. And they can vote. If the signs really upset you, plow your car into them and when asked, point out that garbage collectors have to eat to. And they also can vote. Waste as economic stimulus is a very Keynesian theory - oft demonstrated by his public throwing of towels on to the floor so the bathroom attendants would have something to do. |
| Posted by: Adriane 2009-07-08 17:57 |
| #6 Blago's name was taken off all those "Open Road Tolling" signs. No replacement by Quinn "the Eskimo" either. |
| Posted by: Spot 2009-07-08 12:52 |
| #5 Illinois must have spent a bundle of their 'stimulus check' on changing the 'Vanity Highway Signs' from Rod Blagojevich to Pat Quinn. It seems that every highway, rest stop and tollbooth sign in the state had his name on it. I do notice that in some areas they've changed it from Blagojevich to a more generic "The People of Illinois". Might make it cheaper when the next governor is 'disgraced' (as seems to happen every few years). |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2009-07-08 12:20 |
| #4 $5.8 mil for road signs? Can't wait to see how much they fleece us for new road cones. |
| Posted by: Andy Ulusoque aka Broadhead6 2009-07-08 10:38 |
| #3 These slogans are to stilted to make the signs attractive wall decorations for teenagers - maybe in Berkeley? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2009-07-08 10:03 |
| #2 I noticed one of those signs on Sunday, and frankly, I can't too worked up about it. I doubt I've ever seen a highway project that didn't tout the sponsor. And as far as government spending goes, at least it's for something concrete. |
| Posted by: Spot 2009-07-08 09:13 |
| #1 President Barack Obama's administration said the signs are useful sources of propaganda There, fully repaired. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-07-08 08:54 |