Leave it to Dixie

"The Naked City" is one of my favorite blogs. The author, Mary Newsom, continually comes up with interesting and original pieces. Here's an excerpt from her most recent post:

S.C: What NOT to do with stimulus $$

Want to know what not to do with your state's stimulus money request?

Friends of the Earth, with data from the Transportation for America Coalition has analyzed the requests from 19 states. While praising Georgia, Massachusetts and California, the report rips South Carolina:

"South Carolina’s DOT wish list is a perfect example of how not to spend stimulus money. The state has requested $3.24 billion from the stimulus package, with 99 percent designated for roads, 80 percent of which is allotted for new road construction. This despite the fact that South Carolina has an abnormally high percentage of bridges that are structurally deficient: 14 percent. And, although eight percent of South Carolinians use public transportation, which is relatively high, less than one percent of the state’s stimulus ask is designated for public transportation."

Here's another fun fact from the article:

In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, the report notes, "building 10 miles of four-lane highway is like putting 46,700 Hummers on the road."

This stimulus should be an opportunity to take a bold new direction. Instead it is looking more like the desperate continuation of failed policies by state governments and DOTs too panicked to think about anything beyond the financial crisis and their next fiscal year, future be damned.

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