Mayor Marty’s Dubious Bailout

Sometimes I wonder if Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez is serious. Hopefully, Congress does not take him very seriously with regard to his latest scheme to expand government, this time at the expense of federal taxpayers rather than just local taxpayers. The key to this scheme is that he won’t have to build public support for his projects and no one will have to vote on the plan. I’m referring, of course, to his plan for Congress to “bail out” Albuquerque to the tune of $1.6 billion.
As outlined in the New Mexico Business Weekly, Chavez’s wish list includes:

A concentrating solar plant at Double Eagle airport for $532 million, a wind farm for $140 million, a small business energy audit and retrofit program for $5 million and a solar array on the Albuquerque International Sunport with a price tag of $34.5 million.

Of course, no list of Mayor Marty’s would be complete without money for his beloved streetcar down Central Avenue for which he’d like $90 million. Apparently, the voices of City Council and Albuquerque voters have no bearing on Mayor Marty’s dreams. He wants a streetcar and by golly he’s trying to get it even if taxpayers in Des Moines have to pay for it.
The fact is that Congress has at least temporarily rejected the bailout for the Big Three Automakers. Hopefully, this move will put a stop to the bailout bonanza once and for all and Mayor Marty will be unable to force his useless streetcar on us by begging for money from Washington.