Plasma Weapons

My gut tells me there is a lot of this kinda stuff going on, all across the country

But do you really need the 60-inch plasma TV? Couldn't you just spend your anti-terror funds on a 42-inch plasma for your office? Dope.

Comments

[Russ D]

From the article:

Gov. Mitt Romney said he was "dismayed" by the report and immediately instructed current Public Safety Secretary Edward Flynn to sell the TV.

"If we can sell it, we will," the Republican governor told reporters after a news conference about his education plan.

Assets seized from the government, at reduced cost to YOU! Now that would be a change I'd like to see.

[Brian Carnel]

The university I work at in Michigan has gone through a lot of budget cuts, letting people go, etc. this year. But they're very proud of the multiple plasma displays they installed in the student union. Of course they don't actually have any original content for the plasma screens -- for some reason they won't run CNN, etc. from the cable system through them -- so from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. they cycle through PSAs urging students not to be racists, avoid drugs, stop illiteracy, etc. A very wise use of taxpayer dollars.

[dhex]

not knowing any of the details of your university's current donor situation, i can say that it's possible the money came from a grant, foundation or individual(s) who wished it to be used for "student center renovations" or "campus technology initiatives" - it's still a waste of money, but probably unconnected from payroll cuts.

[Madog]

I work in a university, and alot of our donations and investments have all sorts of conditions on what they can and can't be used for. While I'm in favor of donors being allowed to say what their donations are for, it does lead to some extremely wasteful situtations, like new plasma TVs while clerical workers are fired.

[Jean Bart]

Madog,

Many European universities (and in France the "Grandes Ecoles") require that donors split some of their donations towards things like salaries of the clerical staff, etc. Is this common in the U.S.?

[Brian]

Hey--maybe plasma screens *do* help deter terrorism.

That would explain why I've seen them installed at so many airport gates lately.

Plasma screens to display the gate number, flight number, and departure time. THAT is a waste of money. Especially at ATL, which has what, 160 gates? The mind reels...

[Jay]

What is it with bureaucrats and big-ass TV's?

Ottawa Sun: Ethics Czar Takes "Strong Ethical Performance Award"

Steinberg billed taxpayers $22,181 for a high-end entertainment system for his personal office -- including a 50-inch plasma TV -- and $60,000 in computers, hardware and software since 1999.

[Best Buy]

Whats the problem here? At least the Plasma Screen is a tangible assest. How much did we spend on the terrorism warning color code scheme and how many months did it take to develop?

[AJMB]

Plasma screens, according to a techie friend, currently have a life span of between 5 and 7 years, due to the limits (so far) of the engineering/construction. Awful lot of money to be spending right now. I think I might wait a bit.

[Circuit City]

With planned obsolescence, few people keep their TV's that long anyway.

[Madog]

There aren't many restrictions on private universities in the US. It might be different with public universities, but they get a lot of money from the state (which can be a bad thing during budget cuts).

[Russ D]

5-7 year life span?? No wonder they're popping up on public transit systems.