Comments on: It’s the Spending Stupid! http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/ Life. Liberty. Property. Defending individual freedom and liberty, one post at a time. Fri, 17 May 2013 18:49:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: UCrawford http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34413 UCrawford Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:36:16 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34413 Bush just shot down the Democrats’ attempt to get a gas tax hike by saying it’s their fault for misspending highway dollars:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/09/bush.newser.ap/index.html

If I’d known that it would take a Democratic Congress to turn Bush into a fiscal conservative, I’d have voted Democratic in 2002 :)

]]> By: Stephen Littau http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34357 Stephen Littau Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:54:38 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34357 In response to VRB’s inquiry, here is a link to CAGW’s “Piglet Book” for Minnesota. I haven’t had a chance to read through it yet but I bet there’s some choice cuts of pork to be found.

http://www.taxpayersleague.org/pdf/2006PigletBook.pdf

]]> By: trumpetbob15 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34354 trumpetbob15 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:39:07 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34354 VRB,

The money was spent by the federal government in Illinois rather than in Minnesota. The post illustrated how the federal government has money, but spends it unwisely. It would be interesting to know how Minnesota has spent its gas tax money and also how the federal funds given to the state were spent. Without any evidence, my gut is telling me that like in everywhere else, Minnesota has gotten a few new buildings or roads or bridges named after some politician. I would be pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong, but knowing government, not very likely to happen.

]]> By: UCrawford http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34353 UCrawford Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:38:15 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34353 VRB,

I think Stephen was referring to the politicians in the federal government saying they should raise taxes, not Minnesota’s government.

]]> By: VRB http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34352 VRB Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:29:43 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34352 Therefore what happens in Illinois is true for Minnesota? Did you actually look up the expenditures of the Minnesota’s government or any article regarding it?

]]> By: UCrawford http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34349 UCrawford Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:52:34 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34349 Although it looks like the city’s going to chip in about 17% of the budget for rehabilitating the place (roughly $60 million). So that’s basically 30 years worth of maintenance costs. Of course, there would probably be a bit of tax revenue generated by the property since it will have over a million square feet of residential and commercial properties. Oh well, at least it gets the property off the federal government’s books so it’s Chicago’s problem now.

]]> By: UCrawford http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34347 UCrawford Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:38:04 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34347 Trumpetbob,

I’ll bet you’re right…the city planning commission also had to hack off on whatever improvements were made and who knows how much hassle that eventually became. Plus, consider just how much it’s going to cost to remove and properly dispose of asbestos from a 2.5 million square foot facility, reconstruct the inside so as not to violate the historical status of the building, and still turn a profit. I can see why it took ten years to get rid of the place. The mock up that the company did on the new structure looked pretty sweet though, and it’s not like downtown Chicago (or most metropolitan areas) couldn’t use more housing.

]]> By: trumpetbob15 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34346 trumpetbob15 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:29:44 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34346 I wonder if the federal government couldn’t find a buyer because the red tape involved would strangle even the most determined of buyers. Plus, with this being Chicago, who knows how many city regulations might have prevented the sale as well. I remember a few years ago when New York and Pennsylvania lost power how more taxes were needed to upgrade the electric system. Needless to say, no one paid attention to the many electric companies jumping at the chance that just couldn’t make it a worthwhile investment once the EPA got involved. Government failure upon government failure? Definately time for more government intervention.

]]> By: UCrawford http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34345 UCrawford Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:26:40 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34345 On the plus side, the lack of development over the last ten years did allow the post office to be used for shooting on the two newest Batman movies :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_post_office

]]> By: UCrawford http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34344 UCrawford Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:22:27 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/08/08/it%e2%80%99s-the-spending-stupid/#comment-34344 Looked at on its face, each piece of wasteful spending isn’t much compared to the federal budget. But when you start adding up the nickels and dimes, it adds up to a lot.

I did a little checking on the Old Chicago Post Office, though, and it appears that the problem has been finding a buyer who would do something with the property…apparently that’s been an issue for a long time. Fortunately it looks like that may be coming to an end:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=24666&seenIt=1

I imagine the reasons the feds were holding onto the property was because the city and state didn’t want to accept the costs for maintenance and liability (such as asbestos) of an abandoned historical building so the federal government got stuck with it.

]]>