A Solution In Search Of A Problem

When taxpayer money is used for so-called community betterment, I tend to want to put my hand over my wallet. Most of these projects are don't solve anything, and actually make matters worse by taking funds from more worthwhile things (like my bank account).

In the span of a couple of hours today I came across two seemingly unrelated items that, upon further review, are completely related. They are both items of community betterment, and they are both publicized as something we citizens should be proud of, but they are also both a waste of taxpayer time and money.

First the more obvious one - middle-of-the-road bicycle lanes. Even though I'm a biker, this has got to be one of the dumbest ideas since new Coke (maybe the best example ever of fixing something that wasn't broken). There is nothing wrong with staying on the right side of the street and sharing the road, or even better, bike lanes along the curb side of the street. But down the middle? One of my favorite bike routes recently added these lanes, as have other parts of Des Moines, and believe me, it does not make biking safer, it makes it more dangerous. Aside from the lack of need, don't forget, taxpayers paid for this lane remarking too! WTF!

Now the less obvious one - new school construction and/or remodeling. I'm all for good physical school facilities, but reading about the summer projects being completed in our suburban school district should make taxpayers cringe. It isn't just the multi-million dollars being spent on over-the-top common rooms and equipment, it's how the district brags about it. "Hey, look at all of this taxpayer money of yours we're spending! It must have been growing on trees because there it was, so we spent it!" I've yet to see any study that directly correlates school building spending with better student-citizens. If the district cares about that, wouldn't they (also wrongly) hire more teachers, or at least keep the ones they have? (Shhhhhh.....don't say anything about school districts here are laying off teachers because the state is running out of money thank you very much worst governor ever Chester Culver.)

When a lot of time and money gets wasted on things that don't do any good, that's a solution in search of a problem. Funny how it usually happens in the governmental, not-for-profit world.