SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

If it’s one thing that gets Democrats and Republicans working together (a good thing) it’s pork (a not so good thing)! To wit - the joint press conference with our Senators. Did you notice how very disciplined it was? First Tim spoke, then John, then Tim, etc. It took several years to get the highway spending reauthorized and it seems that in past years we just couldn’t enough extra spending for everyone to get the votes to agree for passage.

U. S. House of Representatives Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young not only got a $230 million for a bridge across an inlet in Anchorage that will be named Don Young’s Way, but about $250 million for one of the biggest bridges in the United States, a mile long, 200 foot high span that will connect Ketchikan, a town with fewer than 8,000 people to an island that has 50 residents and a small airport. Just as a little extra the bill also includes another $3 million to produce a documentary film about infrastructure that demonstrates advancements in Alaska, “the last frontier.”

Hello – is anyone concerned in the least about the deficit.

I favor public works projects of many kinds and understand a little bit how these laws are made but I question the federal government’s role in moving local rail yards and for that matter increasing from two lanes to four lanes highways that don’t have sufficient traffic counts. (I do support an events center in Sioux Falls and one that if possible is downtown also. The Meridian Bridge in Yankton is worthy of help – it has traffic and needs repairs)

Transportation infrastructure is important and yes construction of these projects provides jobs and is good for our economy, but both utility and economic efficiency must also be considered. There should be a real need for these projects not just politics. Consider the new bridges that were built in Vermillion or Springfield South Dakota in the past decade. Was it the role of the federal government to build these? Did their construction and maintenance cost meet any reasonable cost benefit analysis? The bridge in Vermillion is nice but consider the State of Nebraska had to build a road 5 miles to reach the new Tim Johnson Hometown Bridge.

When the Springfield – Niobrara Bridge was dedicated, then Governor Bill Janklow who was at the dedication ceremonies said, “Look at this bridge - it’s Pork, but it’s our pork!” – The crowd of about 3000 people roared and applauded enthusiastically.

We are all happy about this spending and the improvement to our neighborhoods and I know our children and their children will thank us when they have to pay the bill we are leaving them.

Our elected Representatives vote to fund these projects because their constituents we want them. If the constituents were more concerned about what they are doing to the future this hog wild spending might not be tolerated. Until the people speak up we will keep building these bridges to nowhere.