appropriations

LibertyWeek 51: Watch for Falling Rupees

by Richard Morrison on July 14, 2009

in CEI Projects, Podcast

Your host Richard Morrison brings you Episode 51 of the LibertyWeek podcast, along with special guest co-host Jeremy Lott and Fellow in Regulatory Studies Ryan Young. We start with Judge Sotomayor in the Senate hot seat, a privacy threat from “smart” passports and why Rep. Dan Lipinski has decided your suitcase is too big. The discussion continues with Rep. John Murtha’s expanding corruption scandal, beer news from the Beaver State and the arrival of Wal-Mart in India. We wrap up with this week’s dose of brothel-themed Olympic News.

Palaces For The Bureaucrats

by Jonathan Tolman on February 3, 2009 · 3 comments

in Economy, Politics as Usual, Stimulus to Nowhere, Zeitgeist

Included in the massive stimulus bill that passed in the House of Representatives are several line items appropriations to renovate federal buildings in Washington.  Included is $150 million to renovate a Smithsonian museum, $500 million for a new National Institutes of Health building, and $400 million for renovating a Social Security Administration building.  For the renovation of the Social Security building, the agency estimates that the renovation will create 400 jobs.  In other words, it will cost $1 million dollars for each job created.

If you think that is an exorbitant sum for each job, keep in mind that last year the Secretary of Interior renovated the bathroom next too his office on fifth floor of the main Interior Department building.  The total cost — $235,000, including  a shower, refrigerator, freezer, and monogrammed towels.  Also included in the massive stimulus bill is $44 million to renovate the headquarters of the Agriculture Department. Apparently the Secretary of Agriculture feels he needs a new bathroom as well.