The Ground Zero Scandal

Why is it that monies, into the form of Liberty Bonds, are being spent on projects other than at Ground Zero? The Bank of America has received money from Liberty Bonds and they are building in midtown Manhattan, miles away from Ground Zero,. So is Goldman Sachs, as is the Museum of the American Indian. An editorial in the New York Sun, delves into to this scandal.

"Meanwhile, those organizing the memorial to those killed at ground zero are being asked to resort to private fundraising. It's a scandal - downtown rebuilding money for Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, the Museum of the American Indian, and the South Ferry subway station, but Larry Silverstein, who bought a 99-year lease to the trade center site fair and square, is being forced to practically beg for rebuilding money he needs, and the families of victims are being asked to raise money privately for a memorial.

This story is more about the dangers of throwing around large quantities of federal tax dollars than about anything else. The availability of so much "free" money - at least free to the politicians themselves, although certainly not to the taxpayers who elect them - has distorted and delayed the debate over ground zero. That debate, in turn, has led to a delay of years, not months, in redeveloping ground zero itself. Mr. Silverstein likes to note that while ground zero has been mired in bureaucratic strife, he is ready to sign leases on 7 World Trade Center, a site across the street that was also destroyed but that the private sector, in the person of Mr. Silverstein, has already succeeded in building. Yet Mr. Silverstein's is not the only private-sector vision for Lower Manhattan; private developers are already realizing the mayor's dream of a 24/7 residential neighborhood around Lower Manhattan by converting obsolete office space into apartments."

When the Feds throw out monies like this, there needs to be some oversight. After all, politicians of any party will try and curry favor, using Fed dollars, if and when they can. - Sailor