[Vision2020] pork

[lfalen]

The following is from an article by Stephen Spruiell in the November 7, 2005 issue of National Review. Any typo's are mine.

Rep. Don Young stuffed two bridges in to the highway bill recently passed into law. Combined the bridges will cost taxpayers $454 million just slightly less than the amount Alaska will give away in PFD checks this year. Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) checks are paid to Alaskans out of state'd royalties on oil and gas. This year the state will distribute roughly $510 million to Alaska's 600,000 residents or about $845 apiece. Alaska has no stae personal income tax or sale tax.

On top of this payment they are getting two unneeded bridges. one is designed to connect the town of Ketchikan  (population 8,000) to its airport on nearby Gravina  Island (pop. 50), supplanting a ferry service that currently makes the trip in about seven minutes for a fare of $5 t0 $6. The other is the infamous bridge to nowhere. It is a bridge between Anchorage and a small rural area called Point MacKenzie ( pop. 11). Citizens Against Government Waste ranks Alaska firs in per capita pork spending. 

Here are just a few of the goodies Young and Stevens have steered toward alaska in recent years: $1.8 million for berry research; $1.8 million for sea-otter recovery; $10 million for a pyschiatric treatment facility; $48 millions subsidies for the timber industry; and $500,000 to paint a giant salmon on an Alaska Airlines jetliner. 

A study by Taxpayes for Common Sence revealed that the $285.5 billion highway bill contained 119 special projects for Alaska, totaling almost $1 million. Of the $24 billion worth of pork in the bill Alaska got 4%. Don Young compared it to hunting. " i'm always looking for a bigger Head" He said about Ted Stevens " i'd lkie to be a little oinker, myself. If he's cheif porker i'm upset."

My comment: I thought Robert Byrd was bad. These guys make him look like a piker. Maybe Chris would loke to comment on Alaskan politics

Roger