Sunday, March 20, 2011

BloggeRhythms 3/20/2011

Many recent blogs mentioned how government performs in ways that would never be acceptable in business, and any enterprises managing money so poorly would have long ago been forced into bankruptcy and foreclosure.
So, it wasn't surprising to read this morning that Senators John McCain of Arizona, Mike Lee of Utah and Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah have suggested that the government sell off about 3.3 million acres of land it no longer needs. Senator Lee said the sale of the land alone could generate more than $1 billion and lead to strong economic development.
On the surface, the suggestion certainly sounds like it makes sense and illustrates that there are folks in Congress who use their heads and are actively seeking ways to reduce the national debt.
But then, at the very end of the article, and almost as an afterthought are the words of Robert Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management. He testified before a legislative committee in 2009 that many of the lands that his agency has identified for disposal are isolated or scattered parcels in remote areas with relatively low value, saying "Frequently, there is limited interest in acquiring these lands, and the costs of preparing them for sale may exceed their market value."
So here, once more, we have legislators grabbing headlines and doing their best to show that they have solutions to problems while either having no real information or ignoring facts. And, what's worse is, if a solution like this is actually voted in, the expense of making the land salable will likely be twice what it'll sell for.
That's it for today folks.
Adios

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