That Sinking Feeling

Trent Lott wanted Congress to fund the building of a cruise ship in the Mississippi shipyard where his dad worked. Now taxpayers are out $180 million.

Comments

[Andrew]

In the 80's a friend of mine working at the commerce department (NOAH) let me borrow a copy of the budget (seven volumes) and I worked up a list (twenty pages or so) that my friends could look at it.

It was difficult to find an item listed separately for less than $20-30 million...although projects like this were not examined individually. (BTW the smallest separate item was a civil rights commission budgeted at $200,000...that sticks in my mind.)

My point is, when a congressman shifts his elbow on his desk, $20-30 million disappears...a Senator clears his throat and it's $200-300 million. Below a certain threshold it is as if it is more trouble not to spend in nice round numbers.

[Andrew]

Mske that NOAA...it's been a long time.

[Douglas Fletcher]

There are just too many shipyards in this world, and the work never gets spread around evenly.

This is almost as depressing as one of those "kid lost in the system" stories you hear about once in a while.

[Lott's Karma]

Don't bitch too much about Lott for this. There is probably a similar tale attached to every member of congress.

Where you are right about all other congress members, StMack, its hard not to bitch about someone who should have known better based on their idealogical principles, or so the principles claim!

[Ron Hardin]

At least we got something for the money. With most programs, the money just disappears. Of course there's now disposal costs.

They could make belt buckles out of it, like they did with the nuclear plant in Cincinnati.

[Dave Potts]

Trent Lott continues to make my stomach turn. How these Republicans can even think about calling themselves conservatives is beyond me. It doesn't matter whether or not we actually "get something" out of the deal, because what we really wind up with is a bigger, and more meddlesome government. I hope the project fails completely. Maybe that way our representatives in Congress will be more hesitant to vote for this type of pork in the future. Maybe.

[JSM]

From the article:
"It's almost like this project is jinxed," said Allen Walker, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, a trade organization. "It's really unfortunate, and no one knows what's going to happen."
_______________________________________________

Government funded project....jinxed.....unknown future....wasted taxpayer money....

Yep, that about sums it up! Now how about that medicare bill?

[StMack]

Don't bitch too much about Lott for this. There is probably a similar tale attached to every member of congress. Politicians use our money to buy our votes. As long as we continue to complete the transaction by re-electing them stories like this will be told over and over and over.

[dj of raleigh]

> Trent Lott wanted Congress to fund the building of a cruise ship in the Mississippi shipyard where his dad worked. Now taxpayers are out $180 million.

[dj of raleigh]

> How these Republicans can even think about calling themselves conservatives is beyond me.