http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/signs-stimulus/story?id=11163180
Signs of the Stimulus
Some Call it Transparency, Others Another Example of Government Waste
By JONATHAN KARL and GREGORY SIMMONS
July 14, 2010
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As the midterm election season approaches, new road signs are popping up everywhere – millions of dollars worth of signs touting “The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act” and reminding passers-by that the program is “Putting America Back to Work.”
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So why are we surprised that the politicians and bureaucrats waste our money?
Every time I see one of those signs, I think: “Now where is the broken window?” What worthwhile project has been crowded out by this boondoggle. It could have been the cure for cancer or as something as a toy that gives joy to a child or as nice as some taxpayer taking his family to the beach today or as trivial as buying oneself and extra slice of pizza.
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The parable of the broken window was created by Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay Ce qu’on voit et ce qu’on ne voit pas (That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Unseen) to illuminate the notion of hidden costs associated with destroying property of others.
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