Wasteful State Budget

I see Brian Hatfield sees the capital budget as a ‘jobs bill’. Why aren't voters challenging him on the real function of government, which is NOT to be a taxpayer funded jobs provider, but rather a good steward of limited taxpayer resources?


It's also necessary for citizens to challenge the press, as I do with my frequent contacts. They should actually ask government officials real questions and stop just repeating PR news releases.

Here's one example of the new state budget waste. The TDN reported yesterday ‘Capital projects budget clears path for new $38.5 million LCC building’ http://tdn.com/news/local/capital-projects-budget-clears-path-for-new-lcc-building/article_3f666100-83fb-11e1-a150-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=comments. This is a story about a 70,000 square foot science building. Yet the story doesn’t compare the construction cost of $550 per square foot to the industry norm. Why? According to this website

http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/construction-forecast/news/2009/05/rsmeans-dollars-per-square-foot-construction-costs-four-types-of-college-bu/ the average per square foot cost of construction for a laboratory school building in Seattle is $175.95 in 2009, less so for class rooms. So why then are we paying an average $550? Is the premium going to the ‘green roof’? Then how much is the state paying extra for ‘green roofs’ and is it fiscally responsible?