John Stossel is back with a new show, this one airing on ReasonTV, and he’s checking out a $2 government project in his home city of New York.
It was nothing luxurious, billed as simply as a “comfort station” (restroom). It’s just a little building with four toilets and four sinks, yet it took nearly a half-decade to build.
Stossel began by asking some passersby “What do you think that new bathroom cost?” A few said $70,000. One said $100,000. One said, “I could build it for $10,000.” In reality, you could’ve added all their answers up and it still wouldn’t have come close to the $2 million it actually cost.
New York City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver says $2 million was a good deal because “New York City is the most expensive place to build.”
He estimates that future bathrooms will cost more than $3 million.
Commissioner Silver argues that this park, on the outskirts of Brooklyn, will get so much use that it must be built to last, and that can be expensive.
Yet privately managed Bryant Park, in the middle of Manhattan, gets much more use and its recent bathroom renovation cost just $271,000.
Since government spends other people’s money, it doesn’t need to worry about cost or speed. Every decision is bogged down by time-wasting “public engagement,” inflated union wages, and productivity-killing work rules.
Two million dollars for a bathroom. That’s your government at work.
H/T Reason
Watch below:
Can you believe this? That’s $2 million for one public restroom.
Is it any wonder New Yorkers think they’re taxed to death?
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