Jalopnik: government waste

GPS Satellite System In Danger Of Failing

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:30:00 EDT

According to a report in The Guardian, the US Global Positioning System is in such a state of disrepair, it's in danger of rolling blackouts or failure as early as 2010. GPSpocalypse? Paper Mapageddon?

Considering the level to which GPS has been integrated into strategic military operation, not to mention modern life, one might have imagined the US Air Force, which operates the system, would have been a bit more vigilant on its upkeep. Apparently, the combination of government bureaucracy, private sector incompetence, and plain old fashioned bad management have left the network of orbiting satellites in aged and on the brink of failure. Normal system maintenance is to send up a replacement satellite and let the other burn up in the atmosphere, but the $2 billion replacement program has been plagued by delays and overspending. The first replacement was scheduled to launch at the beginning of 2007 but is is scheduled to launch in November of this year, nearly a three year delay.

Granted, the US isn't about to let a system with such utility simply fail, but at this rate, there may be adverse effects in military and civilian applications. The fewer operational satellites sending triangulation data to your satnav, the less accurate your location will be on the map. Soccer moms and UPS drivers everywhere will be left aimlessly wandering the nations streets till they run out of fuel, then seen futilely inputting new destinations, all for naught. Those of us who still use paper maps and remember where things are won't even notice. [Gizmodo]

Federal Highway Trust Fund Could Run Dry This Month

Andrew Stoy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is warning that the Federal Highway Trust Fund could run out of money by the end of this month, reports the AP. The fund is facing an $8.3 billion shortfall in projected revenues, primarily due to high gas prices reducing the amount of fuel purchased by American consumers. The immediate impact would be a delay or reduction in payments for local road and bridge projects the government had agreed to partially fund, likely resulting in a delay or reduction in work by construction crews. While the current recommendation is to borrow from the general fund through the end of the fiscal year, we suggest tapping Detroit automakers for low-interest loans, allowing the transportation department to invest in new highway technology and replace aging stretches of obsolete asphalt.

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: It's football season! Election-year football season, that is, and Team Red and Team Blue are each trying to score voter points by blaming the highway fund shortfall on the others' policy decisions. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oil) claims the shortfall is somehow the fault of democrats not letting him drill in Alaska. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-Spending) says the deficit can be blamed on republicans blocking efforts to increase funding for highway projects. Here's a little friendly advice: It's too late for blame. Shut up and fix it before states have to lay off highway workers and leave half-finished bridge projects abandoned. And, particularly from those of us north of, say, Tennessee: Do it soon, because it's a bitch to get concrete to set when it's 15 degrees and snowing. [New Hampshire Register]

U.S. Government Spent $3.4 Billion On Vehicle Fleet Last Year, Isn't Sure Why

Andrew Stoy — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

The federal government fleet now totals 642,233 vehicles and cost taxpayers $3.4 billion last year, according to the AP by way of the Detroit News. As one might expect, the government doesn't know exactly why it has so many cars and trucks — even within individual agencies, the report states, some vehicles sit unused and one has even disappeared entirely. In other cases, agencies were told to cut their fleets but instead added vehicles. On top of that, high-level officials pay drivers — multiple drivers, in the case of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters — exorbitant salaries. How exorbitant?

Ms. Peters' drivers combined earn about $128,000 per year; at $64,000 apiece, that's not too shabby work if you can get it. We still wonder why she needs two, though — perhaps it's a perk of being Transportation Secretary? On the other hand, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt employs a driver who earns about $90,000 a year. Add to that the cost of fuel, maintenance, and the purchase cost of what is almost certainly a black Suburban, and Mr. Leavitt is costing us about $150,000 per year for driving support staff for a glorified ribbon-cutter. Well, why shouldn't we — what with all the outstanding health and human services we get here. [Detroit News; Photo Credit: Toypost UK]

Border Patrol Exhibits Poor Understanding of Border and Patrol

bwojdyla — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST

What you see above is an International MXT. It is a vehicle that the United States Border Patrol, no doubt through grants from the Department of Homeland Security, has deemed a reasonable vehicle to patrol the highest traffic border crossing between the United States and Canada, the Detroit-Windsor crossing. There are, shall we say, a couple of things wrong here. First, this particular unit was caught outside of Mexican Fiesta in Dearborn during the lunch hour feeding frenzy. To help visualize the distance between said establishment and the nearest border crossing, we've employed the services of Google Earth after the leap.

Now, being Detroiters, we know that Mexican Town, home of marvelous authentic Mexican food, is but a few hundred feet from the bridge crossing, offering far superior fare to the suburban mediocrity of Mexican Fiesta which is over ten miles away. So, one must naturally question the border patrol on their choice of fare to begin with. However, we're all guilty of taking a long lunch in an exotic locale from time to time, so let's not go nuts on that.

The second thing we're going to mention is an easy one to miss if you aren't paying attention. As you can see from the map, Detroit and Canada share a really wet border. In fact, there isn't a bit of rocky terrain or desertous highlands, no steppes, no hogbacks, no Aa lava flows, indeed no dirt is shared at all. This realization raises two points now:

a) Does it make more sense to invest in an International MXT or, oh, I don't know, A BOAT?
b) Assuming that ground transit is needed between cargo inspections and busts of illegal shipments of The Red Green Show DVDs, wouldn't a more practical vehicle make sense? A Ford Expedition, a Dodge Cargo Van... hell, a crew cab Silverado would do EXACTLY what this thing does, at less than half the price to the taxpayer (starting price for an MXT, $89,500).

A wise man once told us that paying attention to the government will only give you ulcers. Where did our blinders go?