Pa. Welfare Agency Spends $20K ... on Flag Pole

Maybe it's gold plated with tiny diamonds aligned where the flag goes to shimmer in the sunlight

The state welfare office, huh? Because hungry, homeless people can eat a flagpole.

GJ, PA!

/TOA

Originally posted by The Old American
The state welfare office, huh? Because hungry, homeless people can eat a flagpole.

GJ, PA!

/TOA

Ridiculous right?

I'm sure people will enjoy watching that POLE go up while their bellies are rumbling...

Peace

reply to post by jude11


At first, I thought: $20,000 for a flagpole seems pretty ridiculous!
Then you posted actual costs for a flagpole.

What was left out of the equation?
Labor. Union labor, public union labor, no doubt.

Please correct me if you can prove me wrong.

Originally posted by Oaktree
reply to post by jude11

 

At first, I thought: $20,000 for a flagpole seems pretty ridiculous!
Then you posted actual costs for a flagpole.

What was left out of the equation?
Labor. Union labor, public union labor, no doubt.

Please correct me if you can prove me wrong.

8,922.95 for the grand daddy of POLES so that leaves over 10k to put it in the ground. For that...I'll do it all day long.

Peace

I am thinking that some higher up in the Welfare Agencies' cousin or brother was given the contract to buy and install the flag pole. Of course that cousin or brother will certainly find a way to show his appreciation.

Originally posted by VeniVidi
I am thinking that some higher up in the Welfare Agencies' cousin or brother was given the contract to buy and install the flag pole. Of course that cousin or brother will certainly find a way to show his appreciation.

You're probably more right than you think because...

It's only a POLE!!!

Peace

a elementary grade school drop pout could make a better decision...


im from PA, and this stuff goes on in every county and township i have been through.

my home town has no jobs, the roads are shot, parks aren't maintained, and everyone is on welfare..
but the "borough" police dept have 3 brand new dodge chargers and a new police station for a town of 1,500.

im glad i got outta there

There is an easy solution for this, but unfortunately it would never happen due to these governmental employees doing everything possible to cover their own ass.


The solution: Pass legislation requiring every expenditure to have a cost comparison along the lines of this: Require the heads of all government agencies to be personally financially responsible for the monetary difference of what public monies they spend vs what it would cost a private citizen to have the same work done.

That would fix problems like this literally overnight.

Rodney Dangerfield explained it best why everything costs so much in America.

reply to post by jude11


No, what happened here is they paid Joe contractor an above-average rate to put up a flag pole and pocketed the rest. If you know anything about American history you know this stuff has been happening for a long time.

Ever read about William Tweed and Tammany Hall?

Contractors working for the city – "Ring favorites, most of them – were told to multiply the amount of each bill by five, or ten, or a hundred, after which, with Mayor Hall's 'O. K.' and Connolly's indorsement, it was paid ... through a go-between, who cashed the check, settled the original bill and divided the remainder ... between Tweed, Sweeny, Connolly and Hall".[12]

For example, the construction cost of the New York County Courthouse, begun in 1861, grew to nearly $13 million – about $178 million in today's dollars, and nearly twice the cost of the Alaska Purchase in 1867.[13] "A carpenter was paid $360,751 (roughly $4.9 million today) for one month's labor in a building with very little woodwork ... a plasterer got $133,187 ($1.82 million) for two days' work".

It seems almost ridiculous to believe they actually spent 20k on a freaking flag pole. They've just got a lot better at covering this stuff up and hiding paper trails in our modern times.

They are taking your tax $ and spending it on a new luxury sedan and indoor swimming pools.

reply to post by jude11


20000 means its probably a cell tower desguised as a flag pole. They just put one up few years ago near my father house. They built a park around it to keep people satisfied with the decision.

I just created this thread partially because you just motivated me to make it jude11.

Thanks.

Originally posted by RSF77
I just created this thread partially because you just motivated me to make it jude11.

Thanks.

edit on 4-6-2012 by RSF77 because: (no reason given)

Thanks,

Going to have a look...

Peace

Ok so you got the costs of the flagpole worst case that itself comes to about half. The part you forgot is labor, and even that is dependent on where it is located. let alone the costs of possibly breaking up the concrete digging out the hole for it and then resealing up the concrete at the base of it. I am sorry there is much more to it than just going out buying a pole and standing it on the ground. Labor, materials and equipment are costs you will have. And we haven't even gotten to the permits and research that has to be done to ensure they don't hit gas lines, power lines, sewers and anything else that may be below ground at that site.

Now all that being said, I do agree on principle the Welfare Agency should be focused on getting the $20k to the families that need it instead of wasting it frivolously on a flagpole that does nothing for anyone.

Actually the hole was just dug so that Corbett could hide in his casket from the Sun, then they needed something to put into the hole after his casket was moved and he made it back to H-burg and his lair.

He's be a realm gem for PA. Sorta like Santorum, but w/o all the creepier than Michael Jackson after MJ's nose fell off faces that Santorum makes.

Derek

Originally posted by KeliOnyx
Ok so you got the costs of the flagpole worst case that itself comes to about half. The part you forgot is labor, and even that is dependent on where it is located. let alone the costs of possibly breaking up the concrete digging out the hole for it and then resealing up the concrete at the base of it. I am sorry there is much more to it than just going out buying a pole and standing it on the ground. Labor, materials and equipment are costs you will have. And we haven't even gotten to the permits and research that has to be done to ensure they don't hit gas lines, power lines, sewers and anything else that may be below ground at that site.

Now all that being said, I do agree on principle the Welfare Agency should be focused on getting the $20k to the families that need it instead of wasting it frivolously on a flagpole that does nothing for anyone.

Really?

You can buy a telescoping flagpole kit for under $310 and install it yourself or hire a contractor to do the job for $574. The kit includes a 20-foot telescoping pole with installation sleeve and gold ball top, a 3-foot-by-5-foot flag and swivel rings and harness that allows the flag to fly freely. Another cost is $60 for concrete mix and gravel for its foundation.
www.diyornot.com...

Stretch logic and market/labor value much?

My dad has been an independent contractor and has owned half a dozen companies in his life, you are vastly overestimating the value of setting a flag pole.

Given I'm sure they put in a better flag pole than what is being described here, it doesn't get anywhere near 20k, or 10k, or 5k, or 3k. It's a pole and some concrete, it doesn't cost half the price of a house in the country or anywhere near it. It takes about an hour to do if you screw around.

So where in the hell did that 19k go? I bet it didn't stay in the contractors bank account.