2009 Tennessee Pork Report

What better way to start this blog than by examining the 2009 Tennessee Pork Report? This annual report is published yearly by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research and raises awareness about costly state projects that waste tax payers money. Let's get started!

• In the past 2 years, Governor Bredesen has spent over $28 million on renovations to the governor's mansion, which was appraised at just over $900K before the renovations began. Expenditures included $321K in upgrading the kitchen, $11K for a wet bar upstairs, and $53K to add accent lighting throughout the house. But, the real cost of this renovation was the 14K sq. foot underground ballroom and entertainment complex which can host 500 guests. The price tag for this night club is already over 10 million and still rising. Wouldn't you love to party there? Too bad, you just get to pay for it. Bredesen recently announced that he plans to lay off 717 state employees. While I'm for reducing the size of our state government, I wonder if he feels a tad guilty considering the cost of his renovations could have paid those employees for another year.
  

• In 2007, TDOT decided to fund a barge service that would ferry passengers across the Tennessee river between Benton and Houston county. Initial costs were over $1 million and it costs $511K to operate every year. TDOT Officials predicted the ferry would transfer 200 cars per day and set a fee of .75 cents per car. Even after 2 years in service, there are less than 17 cars per day transported by this ferry. That means that we are paying $48,000 per car EVERY YEAR to operate this ferry. We could buy all of these people a nice new boat ever year! The worst part is that even after 2 years of this data, a subcommittee recently voted 7-0 this to keep the ferry in service.

• In case you're not aware, the state of Tennessee is in the golf course business. Why does our state need to run golf courses? Who knows. That's like asking why is the White House running GM right now? There is just no logical conclusion. In 2008, these courses operated at a negative $2.3 million dollar loss. The author makes a great point that I have to include here... Unfortunately, state lawmakers continue to defend what most Tennesseans would agree is indefensible spending on golf courses as the state’s poorest residents subsidize vacationing golfers when paying sales tax on a loaf of bread or shoes for their children.
  

In all, the report uncovers over $500 million in wasted spending in the last year. I've highlighted some of the more interesting pork, but there are many in the report. Take some time and read through it. You will enjoy it, but don't eat too much.

http://tennesseepolicy.org/media/2009_Pork_Report.pdf