I saw a story in The News & Observer this morning that has me puzzled.:
Approval was given Tuesday to tear down several old buildings at the State Fairgrounds, although most fairgoers will probably not notice much immediate difference at the fair this fall.
The Council of State gave approval to remove the structures that houses the turkey shoot, the rabbit barn, the Hobbies and Crafts building and two geodesic domes. The action was taken without discussion.
“These buildings are for the most part 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s buildings,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “They are at the point where they are not worth renovating. Three of these structures in particular are choke points for fair goers coming from the lower part of the fairgrounds up to the Expo Building and the Jim Graham Building.”
First of all, with state government facing a $3 billion-plus shortfall this year, why are we spending money to tear down perfectly serviceable buildings? Troxler says they’ll only be torn down as money becomes available, but he clearly sees that availability coming before the next state fair. Is it likely that the state will be out of its financial straits in that short amount of time. I doubt it. These buildings were perfectly serviceable only three months ago. Why the sudden rush to tear them down? Those geodesic domes have been ugly for years. Let them be ugly for a few more.
And you can bet that once they are torn down, constituencies will lobby for replacements so that their traditional activities, such as turkey shooting, for instance, can be held in them. You can count on it. Then we will be faced with spending extra money to replace servicable buildings we tore down for no good reason.
If governments at all levels are so strapped for cash, why do they keep spending money on things that can easily await more flush times? Families sacrifice and wait for better times before spending money on important items. Government, however, never does. Which is the problem.
