Tell us which of the following THUD pet projects YOU think is the most wasteful, irresponsible expenditure by lawmakers in the face of our nation’s $1.3 trillion deficit:
•$6,800,000 for streetscape design in 12 cities across the country. House appropriator Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) requested the largest amount, $1,000,000 for downtown Tacoma, Wash.
•$1,750,000 requested by House appropriator Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) for “The Wave,” a 2.7-mile downtown streetcar system in Fort Lauderdale that is estimated to cost $46 million per mile.
•$750,000 added by Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and Dina Tutus (D-Nev.) for the construction of a solar power array at the Three Square Food Bank in Las Vegas. According to the organization’s website, $1 can pay for three individual meals, so for the cost of the solar power array, needy citizens could receive 2,250,000 meals.
•$500,000 for a new ferry service in Berkeley, Calif. Requested by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), these federal tax dollars will pay for the acquisition of two ferries, which would come equipped with solar panels.
•$150,000 added by Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) for renovation of the Tibbits Opera House in Coldwater, Mich. According to financial information provided in the opera house’s most recent annual report, charging an additional $3.56 per ticket would offset the cost of the renovations without burdening federal taxpayers, the vast majority of whom will never visit the Tibbits Opera House.
