Crash: Hope and Change Comes Home

by swede


This intersection 1/4 mile from my house in S. Atlanta was providentially blessed with a benevolent gift from you – O kind and generous taxpayer! Thank you so much. [For reference, it’s about 7 miles south of Hartsfield International] Last fall an inspiring green and orange “American Recovery and Reinvestment” sign appeared as if from heaven and hope and change came to our humble crossroad! A tingle of “Yes We Can” began to pervade the community! Or maybe it was a flu virus…



At any rate, you may notice the critical “safety upgrade” consisted of 8 spiffy, state of the art pedestrian lights, wheelchair ramps, decorative brickwork and cross-walks…at an intersection where there are no sidewalks and absolutely no pedestrians – as in zero. Ever. Never. My neighbor has lived here thirty years and has never seen a pedestrian on this highway. The same upgrade was done at the next intersection toward the airport. From the Google Earth arials, the benefit of this awesome Hopey-Changiness becomes clear! Now, should you so desire you can push the cross walk button, walk across the highway – then pivot 90 degrees and repeat the process – then two more times to return to your starting position. If you enjoyed the experience, you can repeat it as many times as you like! Even reverse direction, if you’re daring enough! I also get a huge thrill from watching grass grow and listening to the faucet drip – But I digress…

Failing to follow my better judgment – and mind my blood pressure – I went to Recovery.Gov to see if I could find our little piece of the “American Dream/Nightmare” and…. Thar she blooooooows!!!

TRAFFIC SIGNAL UPGRADES
Fayette (GA)
Georgia Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. FEDERAL PROJECT YADA YADA, FAYETTE COUNTY. TRAFFIC SIGNAL UPGRADES AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS ON SR 314. (E) FEBRUARY 28, 2010 COMPLETION DATE.
Estimated Value: $506,310
Estimated Jobs: N/A - Congressional Budget Office
As compared with 2 - White House Council of Economic Advisors

Just north of $1/2 million utterly wasted on absolutely absurd projects within spittin’ distance of my front door – and it did not create one stinking job! Al told, Georgia got $6.8 billion – so far. Guess how much CA got? You can look up your own local economic rape of future generations at http://www.recovery.org/ if you’ve got the stomach for it. The most egregious and bizarre “Wreck-overy” projects are already legendary:

Via spendingcrisis

• $1 billion for the “FutureGen” not-ready-for-primetime near zero emission plant in Illinois (The IL power authority has no plans to open the plant.)
• $300 million for “green” cars for federal employees
• $5 million to create a geothermal energy system at a shopping mall in Tennessee that has been losing tenants for years and is mostly empty.”
• $144,541 to Wake Forest University for a project to “see how monkeys react under the influence of cocaine.”
• $762,372 for a Georgia Tech assistant professor to “study improvised music” and “hopefully also create satisfying works of art.”

It’s only a few but you get the picture. The immensity and absurdity of what these people are doing with my grandchildren’s future defies the imagination – and makes me crazy! I do not think even most conservatives are really grasping the scope of this – nor the long term damage it will do to this nation. God help us.

Time for a Gin & Tonic. Nite.