In New York, 84-sq. ft. signs like this one eat up $6-$8,000 a piece in stimulus dough
Believe it or not, New York State is on track to spend close to $1 million of the precious federal dough available under the "stimulus" program passed in February on big road signs (like the one above) beating the drum for the program.
No doubt, the signs are well made but incredibly, each one costs at least $5,000 and with some coming in at a whopping $8,300!
Lest you think this is just a New York extravagance, the feds have "strongly encouraged" this billboarding of road work paid for under the program (no doubt, it's the public's "right to know"), and many other states are doing it, although most are going with smaller, cheaper signs than New York's. Some states (e.g., Texas, Florida and Virginia) have had the good sense to take a pass on this ludicrous waste of money that could easily be better spent.
Now that the media are onto the signs, the public backlash has started (in an online poll by a Syracuse TV station, 93.6% of the respondents call it a waste of money), and state legislators, recently back to "work" after weeks of fighting over the keys to the Senate Chamber, are putting out press releases to grandstand against the signs. Meanwhile, New York's hapless accidental Governor, David Patterson, stepped in doo-doo again by insinuating that the state had no choice but to put up signs required by the feds.
What a bunch of clowns.
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