Our Cost of Living

 

 

 

 

"I could say this was all mucked up, but that would be way too polite..."

First, let us talk about the real world. You have having a major project done in your house. The contractor finds out half way through the job he made a error. Guess what? The contractor eats the cost and moves forward with the project. On the other hand, if half way through the project you decide you don't like the color of the tile, the contractor can change in for you. Only if you choose to do so, you will have to absorb the cost of the change.

Two stories caught my eye over the past day or so on how NOT to control costs. First the now famous (soon to be infamous) Obamacare web portal. Now that the tide is going out, we are finding out all sorts of fascinating things about this cluster. First the cost. It was budgeted to cost something less than $100M. Right now it is over $630M and climbing. Second, it was no where near ready for prime time. Rather than hire web experts who know how to develop and stress test high volume web sites, we turned the Obamacare web force into an IT version of the TSA. In other words, it was a work program for the hard to employ in Washington. Finally, we can't forget the ARROGANCE factor. The war lords in HHS were warned the site was not ready and should be delayed. Just like when Captain Smith of the Titanic heard about the ice alert in the Northern Atlantic, HHS said "Lets stretch her legs boys! The site will be fine!" Oops.

By the way, is there one beating heart that does not live by the Potomac right now that believes this entitlement program will not cost an order of magnitude more than forecasted? POTUS said he would scrap the idea if this behemoth added "one dime to the debt". Well right now, the most conservative estimate is it will add $1.5T to the debt over the next ten years. And no doubt, that number will grow, and grow, and grow.

Closer to home, how about that Viking stadium. We were told if we sign into this blended deal with the Wilfs at a cost of almost $1B, we would have "the stadium for the ages". Oops again. It seems like the money agreed to will not be enough to build all that was promised. Just like the pull tabs, most on this Dayton picked panel do not seem to understand math or negotiations. One of the casualties of this financial screw up will be parking. A four story parking ramp will not be built. That is okay - everyone LOVES coming downtown for a sporting event. Parking six blocks away paying $15 should be fine with Joe Six Pack. NOT!

Even though the Tea Party is seen by the lap dog media as the villain of the government shut down, lets first remember what they stand for - RESPONSIBLE and FAIR taxation. Getting the best bang for the tax payer buck. As with many in middle America, I also stand with the Tea Party, as I think we are Taxed Enough Already!

Keep you eye on what is going on in our Emerald City. The next two weeks should be very, very interesting...