Post by Boz on Jul 20, 2009 11:36:44 GMT -5
Anyone spent any time on this site?
I can say, it needs some work, but I'm not sure if the $9M-$16M that they've committed to making it "2.0" is going to address any of my concerns.
I find it really difficult to find out real details on a lot of these projects. You all know I am not fan of the ARRA, so I'm going to be naturally skeptical. But it's really difficult to be reassured when you see a contract for $16M going to Lakeside Foods in Wisconsin and, under the "Description of Work/Services Performed, there are only two words: "CANNED PORK."
Uh, sure, OK. So, how much canned pork are we talking about here? The RedState people had a good laugh the other day when there was a contract for $1.1 million for sliced ham and the description read "2 LB. SLICED HAM." Turns out, this was an honest mistake. The contract was for 800,000 lbs of ham in 2 lb. packages, but that was not clear -- and still has not been corrected on the recovery.gov site.
And then there are the "how in the hell does that cost this much?" projects, like $12M to replace a drain in reservoir at Ft. Drum in NY, or $16M to Panama City, Fla., to "INSTALL LIGHTING." (Please tell me that this does not include black lights or neon; I'm fairly sure Panama City is pretty well set on that front).
There are hundreds of millions for environmental cleanup, which I can support in principle (particularly when it comes to nuclear), but there is so little information about the scope of the projects, it's impossible to determine if the contracts are money well spent.
And then there are the mystery contracts, like $205 million to Brookhaven. Under the description, it merely indicates "$50,000 reserved for energy efficiency project." Well, geez, thanks a bunch for letting me know that, but, ummm, what's the other $204,950,000 for again?
Don't get me wrong. I am not one who thinks the public has a right to know everything. We don't. But when you jam this bill through with no one having read it, when you promise unprecedented levels of transparency, when you put "Sherriff Joe" in charge to make sure nothing gets wasted, and when you put this site out there, you need to have better information than this. As it is, it's really difficult to look at a lot of this and not see tons of typical government waste all over the place.
[snark]
And quite a lot of no-bid contracts too, which I thought were merely an invention of the evil Bush administration.
[/snark]
Tens of millions here. Hundreds of millions there. Even in the ARRA, which runs to three quarters of a trillion dollars, you start putting some of these amounts together and they add up to some big money.
One final point. The enigmatic phrase "jobs created or saved," is rapidly becoming a punchline. They should probably start moving away from that...yesterday.
I can say, it needs some work, but I'm not sure if the $9M-$16M that they've committed to making it "2.0" is going to address any of my concerns.
I find it really difficult to find out real details on a lot of these projects. You all know I am not fan of the ARRA, so I'm going to be naturally skeptical. But it's really difficult to be reassured when you see a contract for $16M going to Lakeside Foods in Wisconsin and, under the "Description of Work/Services Performed, there are only two words: "CANNED PORK."
Uh, sure, OK. So, how much canned pork are we talking about here? The RedState people had a good laugh the other day when there was a contract for $1.1 million for sliced ham and the description read "2 LB. SLICED HAM." Turns out, this was an honest mistake. The contract was for 800,000 lbs of ham in 2 lb. packages, but that was not clear -- and still has not been corrected on the recovery.gov site.
And then there are the "how in the hell does that cost this much?" projects, like $12M to replace a drain in reservoir at Ft. Drum in NY, or $16M to Panama City, Fla., to "INSTALL LIGHTING." (Please tell me that this does not include black lights or neon; I'm fairly sure Panama City is pretty well set on that front).
There are hundreds of millions for environmental cleanup, which I can support in principle (particularly when it comes to nuclear), but there is so little information about the scope of the projects, it's impossible to determine if the contracts are money well spent.
And then there are the mystery contracts, like $205 million to Brookhaven. Under the description, it merely indicates "$50,000 reserved for energy efficiency project." Well, geez, thanks a bunch for letting me know that, but, ummm, what's the other $204,950,000 for again?
Don't get me wrong. I am not one who thinks the public has a right to know everything. We don't. But when you jam this bill through with no one having read it, when you promise unprecedented levels of transparency, when you put "Sherriff Joe" in charge to make sure nothing gets wasted, and when you put this site out there, you need to have better information than this. As it is, it's really difficult to look at a lot of this and not see tons of typical government waste all over the place.
[snark]
And quite a lot of no-bid contracts too, which I thought were merely an invention of the evil Bush administration.
[/snark]
Tens of millions here. Hundreds of millions there. Even in the ARRA, which runs to three quarters of a trillion dollars, you start putting some of these amounts together and they add up to some big money.
One final point. The enigmatic phrase "jobs created or saved," is rapidly becoming a punchline. They should probably start moving away from that...yesterday.
