Are There Any Government Projects That Aren't Worthy of Tax Dollars? The Answer Will Not Surprise You.

I write this while stuck in the Dayton, Ohio airport, waiting to get to DC sometime today. My noon flight was cancelled and the backup flight has been delayed a couple of hours. But it will get here soon, I'm told. Or not.

Airports have spent $3.5 billion in federal money since 1998 on projects the Federal Aviation Administration rated as low priority because they do little to improve the most pressing needs in the nation's aviation system, a USA TODAY analysis shows. The money comes from a program that is supposed to improve aviation safety. Priority goes to projects such as runways, taxiways and beacons….

Money for projects such as hangars "could likely be better used on higher-priority projects like airspace modernization," said David Castelveter of the Air Transport Association, the airline trade group. "That would allow more flights and would reduce delay."

The FAA defends the spending. "They're all good projects," said Catherine Lang, FAA acting associate administrator for airports.

Of course they're all good projects. Is it asking too much to have bureacrats who don't treat every goddamned pet project like a child about to be sold off for medical experiments? Apparently so.

Just a few weeks ago, Reason.tv released "Your Flight Has Been Delayed…And It's Washington's Fault." Watch on, MacDuff, and weep for a country that is importing the wrong ideas from Canada.