John Stossel
Townhall.com
July 28, 2017
Did you see the $2 million dollar bathroom? That’s what New York City government spent to build a “comfort station” in a park.
I went to look at it.
There were no gold-plated fixtures. It’s just a little building with four toilets and four sinks.
I asked park users, “What do you think that new bathroom cost?”
A few said $70,000. One said $100,000. One said, “I could build it for $10,000.”
They were shocked when I told them what the city spent.
No park bathroom needs to cost $2 million. An entire six-bedroom house nearby was for sale for $539,000.
Everything costs more when government builds it.
“Government always pays above-average prices for below-average work,” says my friend who makes a living privatizing government activities.
–Obamacare’s website was supposed to cost $464 million. It cost $834 million and still crashed.
–Washington, D.C.’s Visitor Center rose in cost from $265 million to $621 million.
–The Veterans Affairs medical center being built near Denver was projected to cost $590 million. Now they estimate $1.7 billion.
Government spends more because every decision is tied up in endless rules. Rigid specs. Affirmative action. Minority outreach. Wheelchair access. “The process is designed to prevent any human from using judgment, or adapting to unforeseen circumstances,” says Philip Howard of the government reform group Common Good, adding, “The idea of a commercial relationship, based on norms of reasonableness and reciprocity, is anathema.”
But New York City’s bureaucrats are unapologetic about their $2 million toilet. The Parks Department even put out a statement saying, “Our current estimate to build a new comfort station with minimal site work is $3 million.”
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
“$3 million?!” I said to New York City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver,…