Spiffy new jail too expensive to open

United Press International ^ | March 16 | upi

[george76]

A $59 million jail featuring art and flat screen TVs in Portland, Ore., has been sitting unused for more than a year as the city can't afford to open it.

The Wapato Facility took two years to construct and can house 525 inmates at a cost of $20 million per year, ....

The county spent more than $600,000 on art for the jail, including a sculpture out front by the circular driveway.

There are 30-foot vaulted ceilings and private showers.

"I love coming to an empty $59-million jail," Giusto told the Los Angeles Times. "I get tired of telling people how dumb we are."

[george76]

Art Laffer, the “Father of Supply-Side Economics”.

If you tax people who work and you pay people who don’t work, do not be surprised if you find a lot of people choosing not to work.

[bybybill]

If some one have descibed the situation and then asked where it happened, Portland would be the obvious choice.

[george76]

$600,000 for dead trees and river rocks.

We all could be an artist.

[Psycho_Bunny]

$112,380 Per Inmate to build.

$38,0095 Per Inmate Per Year to run.

Pathetic.

 

 

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Unfortunately it's not just Portland, there is a garbage dunp near Seattle that was forced by code to have a piece of artwork designed for it. Hundreds of thousands of dollars to grace a dump.

Wel, like Clinton said, the 'little people' just 'don't spend the money 'right'.

[goldstategop]

They must have thought they where building a Hilton Hotel. LOL

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[BobS]

Camp Gitmo clients can go there for relief from the stresses of torture!

[Political Junkie Too]

...including a sculpture out front by the circular driveway.

That's obviously not for the prisoners to enjoy.

-PJ

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

A more pessimistic view would be: THE FUTURE WAS YESTERDAY!

[goldstategop]

A gold-plated monument to the insufferable ego of government bureaucrats.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[geezerwheezer]

I think it rains too much in Portland because all of the loonies of the world seem to gravitate to that den of stupidity and get elected or something. I think someone took all the good pieces from their "box of chocolates" and substituted dogsh** in the box. Portland is the only city in the world where being dumb is considered a blessing.

[Political Junkie Too]

Maybe the guards were supposed to use the statue for "shoot the runaway" target practice.

On the other hand, why would anyone want to run away from this place?

-PJ

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

We all could be an artist.

Yeah. I guess we just don't have the 'talent' (= connections). :O)

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

In the little-known movie "Lathe of Heaven", Portland was nuked. Perhaps that wasn't such a bad idea after all. </ fond memories of past battles>

[headstamp]

Looks like a job for a chainsaw and a bulldozer. LOL

[Brian Allen]

<< Isn't Portland, Ore. a people's republic? >>

Worse.

It's a systemically emasculated, feminized and homosexualized, institutionally-fascistic, feminazi fag-hag-people's republic.

[hunter112]

Yes, and Portland is also crying because their schools are underfunded. They're talking about raising taxes to fund gold-plated administrator salaries.

Oh, and the $600K for the "art", well, here in the Northwest we have these goofy little "1% for art" rules that force the taxpayers to fund gawd-awful monstrosities that we all have to stare at. It's a popular pastime among conservatives to guess exactly which illegal drug or combination of drugs the "artiste" was on at the time of the "inspiration" for the alleged art.

[proud_yank]

You have got to be kidding me. Please, please tell me that no federal tax dollars were spent building this monstrosity. This is by far, one of the lamest things that I have ever heard.

[Popman]

...house 525 inmates at a cost of $20 million per year

That's $38,000 plus per year for EACH criminal.

Can someone say privatization?

I'd do it for $20,000 a year per scumbag and make a handsome profit.

[river rat]

Not to worry, we have our own "art" in San Jose..

Ours is to celebrate some ancient bloodthirsty, human sacrifice demanding Mexican Indian "god"...

Interesting - we can have a violent pagan "god" in a city park -- but not a cross..... Go figure.

Locally, it's referred to as that pile of dog shit in the park...... Unfortunately, this pile of shit cost a lot of money....

Semper Fi