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Jack Uldrich: A bridge to budget enlightenment

What makes a marginal project in southwest Minneapolis better than a boondoggle in Alaska? It all adds up.

By JACK ULDRICH

Last update: July 2, 2009 - 5:39 PM

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Last weekend my family and I decided to walk to our local grocery store for a few last-minute items for our evening meal. On a whim, I directed my kids to turn onto Bryant Avenue and informed them that there was a scenic bridge spanning Minnehaha Creek.

When we arrived, I was mildly disappointed to find that the Bryant Avenue pedestrian bridge was closed. A sign informed us that we could cross at either Lyndale Avenue (two blocks to the east) or Dupont Avenue (two blocks to the west). We opted for Lyndale and agreed to cross at Dupont on our return trip.

The following day I stumbled across a small article in our neighborhood newspaper titled "Pedestrian bridge fix-up could begin soon." "Hallelujah," I said.

Then I read the rest of the article, and my point of view changed dramatically.

Due to the actions of the Metropolitan Council, I learned, the bridge is slated to receive $382,000 in federal stimulus money. (The project will receive an additional $95,000 from the city.)

Now, I'm no crank or curmudgeon, and I'd love to see the bridge safely restored, but in its own way, this project is as egregious as the notorious "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. I fully recognize that the latter was projected to cost a mind-boggling $250 million, but this bridge is no less a waste of taxpayer money -- just on a smaller scale.

It would be easy for me to look the other way and say, "What the hell. The $382,000 bill is a mere drop in the ocean of America's debt." Alternatively, I could rationalize away the project by arguing that similar projects of questionable merit litter America's neighborhoods and communities and that it's only fair that southwest Minneapolis receive its share.

But I can't and I won't.

The national debt now stands at a truly staggering $11.3 trillion -- about $37,000 per person, or $148,000 for a family of four. In other words, my family's share of the national debt equates to just less than half the cost of the Bryant Avenue bridge.

The bridge is only symbolic of a much larger problem, but it is time all of us begin making small sacrifices.

In my case, my family and I had to walk two additional blocks to cross the creek at Lyndale. Our return trip via Dupont was only slightly more burdensome: I had to carry my son's bike down some stairs, across a smaller foot bridge, then back up another flight of stairs.

At the time I thought nothing of my actions but, in retrospect, if I have to continue to make such small sacrifices so that my son won't be burdened with even a greater share of this country's national debt, I will gladly do so.

And that, in the end, what this is all about: Every one of us needs to realize that the massive legacy of the national debt is not simply created by other people. It is created by millions of citizens who are either not paying attention, are actively looking the other way or are unwilling to do without things that really aren't vital.

A $250 million "bridge to nowhere" and a questionable $382,000 "stimulus project" are both a waste of taxpayer money, and they are taking this country down a slow road to fiscal oblivion.

That's a path I'd prefer not to take.

Jack Uldrich is an author in southwest Minneapolis. He is also chairman of the Independence Party of Minnesota.

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