Signs of the Times

I was driving through Madisonville, Texas (Population 4,372) today on my way home from my sister's house and two kinds of signs struck me. Many had "Pray for America" signs in their yards. Out in the country and once I got into town, these signs caught my eye despite their sporadic appearances. I couldn't help but also notice some signs that made my heart sink as I drove through the county square: "Store Closing." These signs reminded me of a drive to Houston passing once profitable dealerships that had been closed down after the government took over GM. I hate what is happening in Washington for a lot of ideological reasons, but when I see it really hitting Americans it feels so personal.

Then as I'm surfing tonight I see this article about the stimulus signs painting our countryside in preparation for the November election. Two positives: The insanity made me laugh through my annoyance and ABC reported it. I'm seeing more and more main stream media sources reporting in a way that seems like the good of their reader is at heart again, instead of the interests of their stockholders. I sometimes think this blog gets a little negative...so I'm trying to throw in some upsides when I find them! :)

The article discusses new road signs that are showing up all over the country touting "The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act" and reminding passers-by that the program is "Putting America Back to Work." Have you seen one of these?

From the article:

On the road leading to Dulles Airport outside Washington, DC there's a 10' x 11' road sign touting a runway improvement project funded by the federal stimulus. The project cost nearly $15 million and has created 17 jobs, according to recovery.gov.

However, there's another number that caught the eye of ABC News: $10,000. That's how much money the Washington Airports Authority tells ABC News it spent to make and install the sign – a single sign – announcing that the project is "Funded by The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act" and is "Putting America Back to Work." The money for the sign was taken out of the budget for the runway improvement project.

Looks to me like America has been put to work in the sign making business. And what the WHAT??? How does a $15 million project only create 17 jobs? $882,352.94 per job. S.M.R.T.

I'm not sure if this was defense of the sign spending or not, but Jill Zuckman of the Department of Transportation said, "The best estimate is that states have spent about $5 million of the $28 billion spent on road projects on signs – or less than .02 percent of overall project spending."

Almost sounds like she was rationalizing that as long as the amount spent on the signs was marginal compared to the overall amount of money thrown into the toilet, it's okay that 5 million taxpayer dollars was spent on signs.

So whether I like it or not, I'm funding signs spreading the word about what a great job Obama has done at spreading my money around. All the while I'd rather be buying everyone a "Pray for America" sign. I'm pretty sure the "Pray for America" sign would do a better job of getting rid of the "Store Closing" signs. That's where I'd put my money at least.