I was reading an article in the LA Times about the mismanagement and wasteful spending by the LA community college school district. Voters approved a $5.7 billion bond offering to renovate the local schools. There are lots of wtf moments in the article, bought this one in particular irked me: "(the district) hired an expert in feng shui, for $250 an hour, to give advice on harmonizing new buildings with their surroundings." ...holy crap. Anyone who wants to read the full article, it's here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-build1-20110227,0,1763444.story?page=1
The voters keep passing the bond measure bills. That's the problem. Los Angeles is a good example of how not to do things, or an example of how to become a 3rd world basket-case quickly.
I have no issue with the measure being passed. If you read the article you'll see it starts off by acknowledging the schools were falling apart. It was a good idea that wasn't executed as efficiently as it should have been.
The government's track record on efficiently implementing what are good intentions is so horrible that we should never trust these people to do anything, let alone educate young people. They need to do away with public education in this country, and either come up with some voucher scheme or privatize it all completely. The whole paying property-taxes and then sending your kid to a private school cost penalty needs to end.
agreed, the answer is ALWAYS no to new taxes on the ballot. Current funds are not appropriately spent. The government always funnels shortages to heart strings like schools and fire departments to vote in more taxes.
I hear you and agree with your basic premise: government is often very inefficient at spending money and getting stuff done. That's why I was Republican for most of my life. But now I realize that the bottom line is: there are certain things that simply won't get done at all unless the government does it. The problem is oversight on these projects. There is no oversight. The government should hire the best and brightest who know wtf they are doing, and have them in place to oversee these big projects. Reminds me of the situation here in California recently, where Jerry Brown had to axe the lady in charge of overseeing the stimulus spending for the state. You know that's going to be a clusterfu%$
more details: "...The overrun forced cancellation of the $92-million athletics center, a $34-million theater complex and a $47-million maintenance building and parking garage. By then, the district had spent $39 million designing the projects and starting construction." ....$39 million down the freaking drain. ...nothing to show for it
"The opening of a new health and science center at Los Angeles Valley College should have been cause for celebration. The complex included the first new classroom building on the campus in more than three decades. There were chemistry and biology labs, a greenhouse, an aviary, even mock hospital rooms for nurse training. But when students and professors poured through the doors, excitement quickly turned to dismay. Ceiling panels and floor tiles were askew. Crooked cabinet doors would not shut. Hot water ran through cold water pipes, cold water through hot. Hot, dirty water flowed at emergency eyewash stations, making them useless. Spigots at some sinks were misaligned, pointing water straight onto lab counters. Wild temperature swings left students roasting or freezing. A deep chill killed lizards in a biology lab. An imbalance in air pressure created a wind-tunnel effect, and it took a herculean effort to open or close classroom doors. The problems at the Allied Health and Science Center went well beyond comfort or convenience. Exit signs and fire extinguishers were missing. Hanging pipes and light fixtures were not securely attached to ceilings. Chemistry professor Elizabeth Friedman was appalled at the builders' work. "I wouldn't let them build an outhouse for me," she said. The Los Angeles Community College District, which paid a contractor more than $48 million to build the science center, had to pay other firms at least $3.5 million more to fix and complete it. The district and the original contractor, FTR International of Irvine, are embroiled in a court fight, with each seeking to recover money from the other....." http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-build2-20110301,0,1960046.story