By Javier Manjarres
Here’s one that’s a sure bet to make the Federal Governmental Waste Hall of Shame.
The project is called the Fort Lauderdale Wave Streetcar Project, and the projecct was just awarded $18 million in funding for the initial phase of the endeavor.
Like a moth to a flame, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz immediately released a statement on her website applauding the funding of a project that she has been tirelessly pandering for working on for seven years.(DWS-release)
Do you think the 2nd Amendment will be destroyed by the Biden Administration?(2)
Likely Wasserman Schultz opponent Karen Harrington tore into Wasserman Schultz and questioned who really benefits from such an obvious pork-barrel project as this one clearly is.
Without a hint of irony, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz states that this project “continues the transformation of Broward County into a “livable community”-
“This is wonderful news for South Florida. The Wave is a critical project because it will create jobs while also increasing transit ridership and spurring economic development. It continues the transformation of Broward County into a “livable community” – one which promotes transit-oriented development by enabling our residents to use a street car in place of single passenger vehicles to travel through the downtown Fort Lauderdale area.-Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Harrington quickly pounced on the statement-
We weren’t aware that Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz believed that Broward county wasn’t a “livable community.” Our understanding was that Broward county is a very livable community, as Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz herself resides in, and raises her young family in this “livable community.”-Karen Harrington
The proposed 2.7 mile “Streetcar project” is said to run through downtown Fort Lauderdale- but where exactly will the streetcar run? I happen to live four miles from downtown Fort Lauderdale, and I can honestly tell you that there isn’t room for such a project, not is it the least bit necessary. Miami-Dade County considered a similar project with its ‘Metro Mover’, but the project has turned out to be nothing less than a bust for the county.
Another point to take into consideration is, who are they going to be shuffling around downtown Fort Lauderdale? While there are a few residential buildings in the downtown area, the vast majority of the buildings are zoned as commercial, and the majority of businesses, including the restaurants and bars are within a few walking distance blocks of each other.
Check out this a satellite map of Fort Lauderdale- the red outline is what is considered ‘downtown Fort Lauderdale.’ The green outline is the the concentrated living and commericial office buildings.
Here is Karen Harrington’s press release from early this morning-
For Immediate Release
June 22, 2012
Contact: Anthony Bustamante
954-358-4861
In what can only be described as an egregious display of wasteful spending, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has announced on her Congressional website that she has been informed that the “$18 million TIGER grant that she has championed for seven years, the Fort Lauderdale Wave Streetcar project, would be funded.”
“This is wonderful news for South Florida. The Wave is a critical project because it will create jobs while also increasing transit ridership and spurring economic development. It continues the transformation of Broward County into a “livable community” – one which promotes transit-oriented development by enabling our residents to use a street car in place of single passenger vehicles to travel through the downtown Fort Lauderdale area.-Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
We weren’t aware that Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz believed that Broward county wasn’t a “livable community.” Our understanding was that Broward county is a very livable community, as Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz herself resides in, and raises her young family in this “livable community.”This ‘Streetcar project’ will only create short term job growth, not the long term growth that is discussed in her posting. After the project is completed, exactly how many ‘support jobs’ will be created?
Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz does not speak of whether or not riders will have to pay to ride on the ‘Streetcar’. From what we gather, this project will solely be subsidized by the taxpayer.
We have some more questions that we would like to ask Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz, in regards to this pet project of hers.
–The posting states that $18 million has been allocated for the ‘first phase”. Who pays for the next phase, and how much will that cost?
–How much will it cost to maintain and who will pay for the maintenance?–Will an additional increase in property taxes be levied to small business to help subsidize this project?
–Who really benefits from this project, the local community, or politicians who are looking to line the pockets of ‘Big Labor’?
–Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz states that she has been working on this for seven years, yet she has only been in Washington for six years?
–Are the needs of the community the same today as they were seven years ago?
This project is yet another one of Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz’s deceptive pork-barrel spending projects that does not explain how much it will eventually cost taxpayers.
It’s time to ‘Fire Debbie’, and get back to fiscal responsibility and government accountability.
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