100 Wasteful Stimulus Projects That Actually Cost America Jobs
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1/20 The U.S. Forest Service Replaces The Windows in a Visitor Center That Was Closed in 2007 (Amboy, WA) for $554,763Image: Summertime Blues
Despite having no plans to reopen a shuttered visitor center at Mount St. Helens in Washington state, the U.S. Forest Service is spending more than $554,000 to replace its windows. One government official likened it to keeping a vacant house in good repair,” while another official noted that there is hope to find some purpose for the building in the future, whether as a hotel, science camp or restaurant. Despite those efforts, there are no current plans to use the empty space.
Spending $11.5 million in 1993, the Forest Service opened the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center to provide visitors to Mount St. Helens a “sweeping view of the volcano”4 through the center’s soaring windows. In 2007, however, the Forest Service closed down the visitor center after just 14 years in operation. Former USDA official, Mark Rey, said at the time regarding Mount St. Helens, we have more visitor center capacity than the public can reasonably use.”Officials are hoping to maintain the facility so that another use can be found, such as a lodge or educational facility. But the Forest Service has been criticized in the past for poor facilities management, especially within the Mount St. Helens National Monument, and there is no sign that an economically viable use for the center is close to being found.
When Congress passed the $862 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, otherwise known as the stimulus bill, it passed with assurances that it would stem the loss of American jobs and keep the economy from floundering. As most can see, it hasn’t.
Eighteen months since the law’s passage, millions of jobs are still gone and the economy is as uncertain as ever. The only thing getting a boost is our national debt – the stimulus has helped push it 23 percent higher, to $13.2 trillion, a new record.
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The dramatic increase in government spending has not shortened the nation’s unemployment lines. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in June 2010 was 9.5 percent, which is essentially the same as June of last year. Many economists are forecasting that the debt incurred to pay for these projects increases the risk of a greater economic downturn in the near future.
We owe it to all Americans that are paying taxes and struggling to find jobs, to rebuild our economy without doing additional harm, and to do it in a way that expands opportunities for future generations. Too many stimulus projects are failing to meet that goal.
As we detail in this third report in a series, some projects accomplish such questionable goals as putting in new windows at a vacant government building, replacing a new sidewalk with an even newer one, or money for a park that is only accessible by boat or plane.
Other projects that appear in the report may have merit, but are being mismanaged or were poorly planned. A biomass power plant was awarded hundreds of thousands of stimulus dollars, but may close in months. The same is true for a rail line to two professional sports stadiums— yet it is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and only “shovel ready” because it was years behind schedule when funding came available.
Worst of all, some stimulus projects are actually costing jobs and hurting small businesses. By largely closing off access to local shops to build some of the stimulus projects, some business owners have had to cut staff hours, and let people go.
Washington should focus on re-igniting the unmatched power of the American entrepreneurial spirit by sweeping away government red tape, expanding markets for U.S. goods, making it easier for small businesses to compete in a global market, and reducing our national debt by eliminating wasteful Washington spending. We owe it to every American to rebuild our economy without doing additional harm and in a manner that expands opportunities for future generations of Americans.
There is no question job creation should be a national priority, but torrential, misdirected government spending is not the way to do it. Generating record-breaking national debt is not an investment in our children’s and grandchildren’s future and will not lead to any long-term recovery.
The U.S. Forest Service Replaces The Windows in a Visitor Center That Was Closed in 2007 (Amboy, WA) for $554,763Image: Summertime Blues
Despite having no plans to reopen a shuttered visitor center at Mount St. Helens in Washington state, the U.S. Forest Service is spending more than $554,000 to replace its windows. One government official likened it to keeping a vacant house in good repair,” while another official noted that there is hope to find some purpose for the building in the future, whether as a hotel, science camp or restaurant. Despite those efforts, there are no current plans to use the empty space.
Spending $11.5 million in 1993, the Forest Service opened the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center to provide visitors to Mount St. Helens a “sweeping view of the volcano”4 through the center’s soaring windows. In 2007, however, the Forest Service closed down the visitor center after just 14 years in operation. Former USDA official, Mark Rey, said at the time regarding Mount St. Helens, we have more visitor center capacity than the public can reasonably use.”Officials are hoping to maintain the facility so that another use can be found, such as a lodge or educational facility. But the Forest Service has been criticized in the past for poor facilities management, especially within the Mount St. Helens National Monument, and there is no sign that an economically viable use for the center is close to being found.
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
The University of North Carolina (Charlotte, NC) Developed An Interactive Dance Software for $762,372 Image: Summertime Blues
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte received more than $750,000 in stimulus funds to help develop a computerized choreography program that its creators believe could lead to a YouTube-like 'Dance Tube” online application. The grant says UNC-Charlotte will “define an evolving system that assists in the design and production of interactive dance performances with real-time audience interaction.”
A device is attached to each dancer, which will be recorded on video, and their movements will be logged and analyzed. “This will allow choreographers to explore interactive dance without always
having a full cast of dancers present,” the grant states. One day, dance performances may enjoy the
popularity of YouTube hits like “double rainbow” or “dramatic-look prairie dog.” States the grant:
“The system will be extended into a Web-based 'Dance Tube’ application that will allow the public to engage in interactive dance choreography.”
Administrative expenses are unusually high for this project, however. The project’s lead researcher noted that the university is taking a 44 percent cut to cover “overhead expenses.”
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
A rail extension is to be built to get to professional sports stadiums and a casino (Pittsburgh, PA) for $62 million Image: Summertime Blues
In February 2009, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell called Pittsburgh’s North Shore Connector “a tragic mistake,” leaving taxpayers wondering why the project recently received a $62.5 million windfall from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The project would allow the Port Authority of Allegheny County to extend the city’s light rail under the Allegheny River to the new Rivers Casino, as well as to its two professional sports arenas, PNC Park (home of the Pirates) and Heinz Field (home of the Steelers). Unfortunately, the North Shore Connector has been plagued with problems since its inception, making it seem in this case that federal officials are throwing good money after bad.
Almost immediately, the North Shore Connector went over budget, blowing through cost projections at alarming rates. Original estimates put the final tally at approximately $390 million, but quickly ballooned. Pennsylvania auditor Jack Wagner noted in a 2007 audit that, “In mid-2005, the [Federal Transit Administration] directed the Port Authority to solicit bids for construction of the [North Shore Connector] under the Allegheny River. Three firms responded - the lowest of the three bids was 24 percent higher than the engineer’s previous estimate” (original emphasis).
To deal with the cost overruns, officials dropped plans to extend the rail to the convention center,
reducing costs by $85 million. Despite that, current estimates put the final cost at $529 million, far
exceeding the $435 million total estimated just last February. Even after removing the convention
center portion, project costs are more than a third greater than original estimates. State auditor Wagner blamed the cost overruns on “poor planning,” adding later that it is “a waste of taxpayers’ resources".
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
The construction of two Texas fire stations is delayed for more than a year, and it increases costs (San Antonio, TX) - $7.3 million The City of San Antonio is hoping that there aren’t any fires for at least a year in the vicinity of two planned fire stations, thanks to “help” from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA awarded $7.3 million to the city for construction of fire stations #50 and #51, but the projects have become so mired in red tape it is not clear when they will be built.
Before the stimulus award, San Antonio was set to fully fund the two new stations with its own money, having even gone so far as to hire private contracting firm, Bartlett Cocke to begin work. After the stimulus, however, the city found itself unexpectedly navigating complicated and expensive federal regulations, requiring environmental and historical considerations—all delaying the project significantly. The result was an estimated $2.2 million overall increase in the cost of the two stations,and Bartlett Cocke losing its contract, which in turn had to lay off employees. In an email between employees of the City of San Antonio, they discussed the delays and that FEMA officials had informed them that “‘shovel ready’ was not a term in their lexicon.”
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
Abandoned Train Station Converted Into Museum (Glassboro, NJ) - $1.2 millionImage: Summertime Blues
Taxpayers may not be happy to learn that they are paying for one broken down train station twice. The Glassboro train station was built in 1860 and closed in 1971.45 Unused for nearly 40 years, it now sits boarded up and riddled with graffiti. In 2002, the Borough of Glassboro, New Jersey received nearly a quarter of a million dollars from the U.S. Department of Transportation to purchase the train station from Conrail. At that time, officials hoped to incorporate the station into the regional NJ Transit system. But those plans fell through, and since then local officials have been looking for a way to fund renovations to put the building to some use.
After eight years of failure and further deterioration of the building, the effort has been saved only by the availability of federal stimulus dollars.Local officials lobbied hard for additional stimulus money.They are hoping to spend the more than $1 million for the project “interpreting local history in its proper setting and make it a museum, public meeting space and welcome center.”
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
Ants Talk. Taxpayers Listen (San Francisco, CA) - $1.9 million Image: alka3en via Flickr
The California Academy of Sciences is receiving nearly $2 million to send researchers to the Southwest Indian Ocean Islands and east Africa, to capture, photograph, and analyze thousands of exotic ants. The photographs of the ants – over 3,000 species’ worth, according to the grant proposal – will be posted on AntWeb, a website devoted to organizing and displaying pictures and information on the world’s thousands of ant species.
The project’s goals are, to the lay person, both laudable and arcane: In addition to “foster[ing]…a large pool of ant taxonomists,” it also strives to document “the vast majority of ant species known from [Africa].”“[Ants] give us back the most data on the environment than any other group. Their life cycle is shorter, they change very quickly,” says the project’s Principal Investigator in a promotional article on the Academy’s website. “Everyone has run into ants . . . now we need to listen to them.”
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
Stimulus Project Threatens Pastor’s House (Newark, OH) - $1.8 million Image: Summertime Blues
An Ohio road project received $1.8 million in stimulus funds, despite the threat it poses to the residents of over two dozen homes next to it. Pastor Greg Sheets of Newark, Ohio’s Truth Tabernacle has already lost his front yard to the project, and could lose his entire home.
The house – which has sheltered three generations of Sheetses – has suffered cracks in its foundation and damage to its front porch from the work, Sheets says. His neighbors, some of whom have hired lawyers, have had windows break and walls crack as a result of the construction.
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
Old Abandoned Iron Furnace Gets Facelift after Money Squandered on Same Project Years Before (Fitchburg, KY) – $357,710 Image: Summertime Blues
Once considered ahead of its time, the Fitchburg Furnace in Kentucky was abandoned after just five years in service—it then sat unused for nearly 140 more. Now it is getting a $357,710 makeover to repair stonework on the old structure and allow historians to conduct research. Much of the damage to the structure occurred more than half a century ago when a local moonshiner loaded the structure with dynamite and tried to blow it up. In 2004, however, the federal government provided $661,000 for restoration of the building, though “much of which was lost” due to “bad stewardship of money,” according to Skip Johnson, current treasurer of the Friends of Fitchburg.
The work was performed by the University of Kentucky’s Center for Historic Architecture and
Preservation (CHAP), which has since disbanded, but it did not accomplish much. Remarked Johnson, “They did stabilize that corner and put a roof on it, but that’s about all there is to show for $670,000.” At one point, the director of CHAP asked the Forest Service to consider finding another contractor because it was “without staff suitable for overseeing the project.”
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
Power Plant Construction Won’t Start for at Least Two Years (Kern County, CA) - $308 millionBP may have found itself staring down huge financial losses over the past several months, but executives can take solace knowing that a stimulus windfall will help offset them. On September 28, 2009, Hydrogen Energy California, LLC (HECA), owned largely by BP, was awarded $308 million in stimulus funds to “generate more environmentally friendly electricity by capturing carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.” HECA is a joint venture of BP Alternative Energy North America and Rio Tinto subsidiaries. Stimulus funds “enabled continued development of the HECA project which otherwise would have been cancelled.” Construction is not expected to begin until December 2011, nearly three years after the passage of the Recovery Act, raising serious questions about whether it is anywhere near “shovel-ready.”
The clean coal power plant would convert raw materials into a gas that would be scrubbed for pollutants like sulfur and carbon dioxide. The leftover gas would be used to power turbines that create electricity. Any leftover carbon dioxide would be transported via pipeline to the Elk Hills oil field approximately four miles away from the power plant for underground storage and enhanced oil recovery. Originally, the project was to be located at BP’s Carson refinery, but was moved to Occidental Petroleum’s Elk Hills enhanced recovery site. Notably, in 2005, the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California won a record $81 million settlement from BP, which regulators had “accused of illegally spewing toxic gases from its Carson refinery for nearly a decade.”
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
Town Replaces New Sidewalks With Newer Sidewalks That Lead to Ditch (Boynton, OK) - $89,298 Image: Summertime Blues
People around Boynton, Oklahoma were left scratching their heads after the town was awarded nearly $90,00096 to replace a quarter-mile stretch of sidewalk that was replaced only five years ago.
One longtime resident of Boynton, Ray Allen, said the project “had been the talk of the town recently, and none of it positive,” because it is “100 percent a waste of money.” Another resident, Mike Lance, noted that “the best indication of the absurdity of the project is what the contractor did with a section of sidewalk at the north end of town – one that fronts no homes or businesses, and leads directly into a ditch.” Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation defended the project as necessary to bring the sidewalk into conformity with federal guidelines.
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
#11-20Image: Summertime Blues
11. Upgraded Office Space and Indoor Parking for Kansas Politicians (Topeka, Kansas) - $39.7 million plus: “The school finance crisis in Kansas continues with no end in sight,” announced the Lawrence Journal- World, but that has not stopped Kansas lawmakers from directing federal stimulus funds towards the cost of renovating and upgrading their own offices and the statehouse.
12. Agency Under a Cloud Keeps Pool Open for the Summer at No Charge (Youngstown, OH) -
$450,950
13. Project Costs Jobs, Drastically Reduces Shopping Center Business (Normandy Park, WA) -
$3.8 million
14. Mohegan Sun Casino Owner Uses Funds for WNBA Practice Facility (Connecticut) - $54
million
15. Tree Planting and Urban Forest Creation (NV, SC, PA, GA) – $2.6 million
16. Restoration of One of Nation’s Least Visited Parks, Located on Remote Island (Key West,
FL) - $13.3 million
17. Firm Gets No-Bid Environmental Cleanup Contract – for a Mess It Helped Make (Simi
Valley, CA) - $15.8 million
18. Jamming for Dollars (Atlanta, GA) - $762,372
19. Nevada Prison’s Biomass Plant Too Expensive to Operate (Carson City, NV) - $620,000
20. Monkey and Chimpanzee Responses to Inequity (Atlanta, GA) - $677,462
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
#21-3021. Quit Smoking, Get a New Phone (Washington, D.C.) - $497,893 : Whether they use the patch, the gum, or go cold turkey, millions of Americans try to quit smoking every year for their own health. Now, Uncle Sam will give them an additional reason to quit: a taxpayer- funded smartphone.
22. Streetscaping Project Costs Jobs, Threatens Local Businesses (Twin Lakes, WI) - $899,853
23. Helping Siberians Lobby Russian Policymakers (San Francisco, CA) - $199,862
24. Ship Museum Averaging 30 Visitors A Day (Toledo, OH) - $200,000
25. Weather Predictions for Other Planets (San Antonio, TX) - $298,543
26. Shoddy Weatherization Contractor Promises Changes (Houston, TX) - $11.2 million
27. Army Corps of Engineers Gets Its Due With Museum Exhibits (St. Louis, MO) - $430,695
28. Monkeys Get High for Science (Winston-Salem, NC) - $144,541
29. Field Trip Reimbursements and Inflated Job Numbers (Oakland, CA) - $3.1 million
30. Two Riders an Hour Get Brand New Buses (Winter Haven, FL) - $2.4 million230
Source: Report - Summertime Blues
