You hear a lot of talk about waste in government, especially in the bureaucracies at the federal level. But then you see an investigation by my Independence Institute colleague Todd Shepherd (also the founder of Complete Colorado), and that waste sort of comes to life. It becomes a little less abstract. If the headline doesn't draw you to take a peek, I'm not sure what will: "Excuse me, Homeland Security Department, how do you lose two forklifts?" (H/T Amy Oliver) During one calendar year, the Customs and Border Patrol Agency by itself lost $7.1 million of material, including 171 desktop computers, 28 motion picture cameras, and - yes - 2 forklifts. Check it out for yourself, then do what the Independence Institute did: write members … [Read more...]
Complete Colorado: Mayors Asking for $2.25 Billion in Federal Pork Handouts
Complete Colorado is breaking a story about 10 different Colorado mayors requesting a total of $2.25 billion in federal pork. The biggest ask (go for the gusto, right?) comes from Colorado Springs at $1.25 billion. But the most interesting request hails from the People's Republic:The city of Boulder asked for $6 million to "...[p]rovide funding to convert 60 hybrid electric vehicles to Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles with Vehicle to Grid technology. The cars are part of the City of Boulder, Boulder County, and the University of Colorado fleets." The retrofit of each vehicle, therefore, would cost $100-thousand dollars a piece. I haven't seen a cost-benefit analysis, but how much is really gained by switching to the Plug-In Hybrid Electric … [Read more...]
Amendment 54 Ad Spotlights Remedy for No-Bid Contract Corruption
Colorado's Amendment 54 proponents have taken their case to the airwaves for the first time [Video Updated]: The case of state senator Abel Tapia receiving hundreds of thousands in no-bid government contracts over 10 years was first brought to light by the Denver Post back in April. But as the ad correctly points out, Amendment 54 would create an electronic database of no-bid government contracts searchable by Colorado citizens. You can find the explanation for my endorsement of Amendment 54 and thumbnail explanations of all the measures on my guide to the 2008 Colorado ballot. ^^^^^^^ Most of the HP2-Q01 servicing HP desktops, workstations and notebooks and Cisco 640-553 implementing IOS network security students are … [Read more...]