Monday, September 15, 2008

DOT spends $85,000 to pat itself on the back

Dan Bice in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the DOT is spending $85,000 to pat itself on the back.

Quantcast“The Marquette Interchange construction is completed,” says the announcer in the TV spot. “We’ve created a safe and easy-to-use interchange. And thanks to your cooperation, it’s done ahead of schedule and under budget. So take a drive through your new Marquette Interchange.”

The commercial shows Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi posing in front of the construction project. Also appearing are a restaurant owner, truck driver, business leader and Milwaukee Brewers staffer Rick Schlesinger.

The five-week ad campaign will air nearly 300 times on the four Milwaukee TV stations, and the radio spot will run more than 350 times.

Total tax dollars spent on the televised note of self-congratulations: $85,000.

It's like a wide receiver who gets up and does a dance because he caught a pass when his team is down 27-0. 

Wow.  Hooray.  We did a government project on time and under budget.   Let's put the government in charge of health care so they can celebrate every time they successfully transplant a kidney.

And I agree with Bice that $85,000 is nothing to sneeze at.  For that kind of money, we could have sent a Doyle cabinet member and his personal assistant to Europe at least twice.