Okay, so governments have been hit by dire financial straits. In the midst of cutting back on replacing worn out equipment and cutting back services, they find new ways to spend the money they 'don't have'.
Take Omaha for example. Yeah, I beat up on Omaha quite a bit. That's because I have several friends who live there, so I get to hear about all the stupid things that happen.
So, what's the stupid method Omaha found to spend money it didn't have? Other than the obvious one of building a new convention center and a new baseball field to replace the perfectly good ones they already had.
It popped up on at least one of the local radio stations, and it wasn't even a news story. It was a traffic report. Several traffic reports, actually, scattered over a few weeks. "This traffic report sponsored by the City of Omaha."
I'm pretty sure 'sponsored' means 'paid for'. I don't know how much it costs to sponsor a traffic report – several traffic reports – but it's not something I'd want to do on my retirement pension. Common people have a saying, "Every penny counts." I don't think government heads have heard it.
Why would they sponsor a traffic report? Obviously, as a bit of PR, to show the citizens how much the government cares for their well-being. I see it as a waste of money, because if the city had not sponsored those reports, I'm sure the station would have found a business to do it. So, another example of money wasted on the unnecessary. No wonder governments are in such bad shape. Financially.
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