Boston's Big Dig project began in 1982 as a government-led attempt to fight the near constant gridlock that drivers experienced downtown while on Interstate 93.
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The original plan called for the replacement of the rusting, elevated "Central Artery" (I-93) and a third harbor tunnel that would enhance access to Logan Airport.
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By 1985, the project had received clearance from environmental regulators and was marketed to taxpayers as a $2.8 billion effort.
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The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA), an organization with a checkered history of waste, graft and fraud, ran the project despite its obvious lack of experience in managing projects the size of "The Big Dig".
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Over two decades, the project incurred numerous cost overruns, criminal arrests, tunnel leaks, a fatal collapse of a ceiling on a driver, significant usage of substandard materials and documented waste on a grandiose scale.
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Instead of $2.8 billion, the Big Dig will cost at least
$22 billion, an 800% overrun. And
taxpayers will be paying the tab until 2038.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivx4v-0ADEHZtLyx3sXztMLamJQDwCRa2uSw0OyjReBB45bOcmN6cW1HCwiocO-0CkOQnmModg03-QLkcGmFTe55QgvcvmyNRo0XddVcwf9oIEn6qZsQ2IV8d7pOCL9HpEzgfpRQ/s400/090208-bigdig-nowhere.jpg)
Consider the Big Dig in the context of the stunningly large "Stimulus" package. Instead of an estimated $2.8 billion for starters, the corpulent government construction tab arrives at over
$100 billion.
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It includes transportation infrastructure, which translates to roadways, bridges, public transportation, and airports; renewable energy projects and energy-efficiency initiatives; and upgrades to water infrastructure (both drinking and waste-water systems) as well as flood-protection projects.
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Given the nebulous nature of many of the projects -- just what encompasses energy-efficiency, for example? -- it's unclear just how much waste and fraud will result. But one thing is certain: it will range from immense to spectacularly huge.
Case in point:
Politico reports today that an Illinois "clean coal" plant called "FutureGen" will receive a
billion dollars in "Stimulus" money. The plant has a long, troubled history involving half a million in Illinois taxpayer funds spent by disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich; and was a pet pork project of both Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama. Put simply, FutureGen is rightfully called the "
Costliest Pork Project in History."
100 similar, wasteful projects (PDF) have been identified by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and represent "egregious examples of stimulus dollars being handed out on the basis of politics rather than merit or need."
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Furthermore, a little publicized
Executive Order rescinded by Barack Obama will result in even more waste and expense.
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Obama's action means that 84% of America's construction workers and 25,000 businesses will be ineligible to participate in any federally funded construction projects. Why?
Because those workers and businesses are non-unionized.
That is precisely why Obama and Democrats in Congress rushed to ram the immense Porkulus package down taxpayers' throats before anyone even had a chance to read it.![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlcA1fu2ZStE_5sFeyaO8E1OI6P-KARx8rIjzlBY5mfKTfT9IexNY1t0gp-YAq1JZx-NfltXwJN_Y5KjuYvaSs72llcZ_oM9z1V-sBgMFUSUSYOwh1jAB5bXDCd2bBubKMEeseA/s400/090208-bigdig-seiu.jpg)
It's called payback to the unions.
Obama's executive order limits federally funded construction spending to union shops. And the "Spendulus" package is heavy in federally funded construction spending.
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The combination is a festival of
waste, fraud and mismanagement, topped off with a wonderful return-on-investment for the union bosses. The Porkulus package was not temporary, was not targeted, and it certainly didn't create any jobs. That's why
even Joe Biden admits that it's a failure. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts
current unemployment (U-6) at a shocking 16.4%.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYOKg84bWPf5dqh55ZZk2hDdmSl2F0QIFSmMBKkhJLhDrxI_Lgiw6S4CD4R5C7bSvrTpasm6tZ0mm1YlBRgN0JnFkXvsnep2cx4NyrQyuMFg_neKNS3lFcks0pFJZ2dp3-vdJsw/s400/090208-bigdig-unions.jpg)
The Stimulus was a payoff to the union bosses. It directly ripped off the U.S. taxpayer in order to redistribute wealth to Democrat cronies. Now that's change we can believe in.
Related reading:
Tom Coburn's list of the worst 100 Stimulus projects,
Wikipedia: Boston's Big Dig and
The Big Dig comes to an End. Maybe.
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