I’m paraphrasing, but Governor Daniels has apparently suggested to the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana that ignoring federal regulations, to the extent possible, can reduce construction costs for I-69.
Speaking Monday to a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana in Evansville, Daniels said the Indiana Department of Transportation estimate released last week could be trimmed by bypassing some federal highway construction standards.
“Throw away the rule book to the extent the feds will let you do it,†Daniels said he told INDOT officials.
Not like those standards are there for a reason or anything.
Can’t say I see where that’s much of a paraphrase, Doug. I also like the addition that the horrible economy Mitch and his ilk have given us will help reduce costs through increased competition, which, of course, is the opposite of the case; apart from some corner-cutting brigand, the business caught in a downturn needs the profit to stay alive, where in good times it has room to maneuver. Not, of course, that Daniels has any actual economic expertise, aside from managing to wreck a couple.
Haven’t we had enough recent experience about the downsides that cutting corners can cause?
When Mitch was first elected, a graduate student of mine who worked at IDEM came in to talk about an appalling meeting he had with the agency. According to her, Daniels blamed poor economic development results on “silly” federal environmental rules, and basically told IDEM folks to ignore them whenever possible, and to “work with” polluting industries rather than taking punitive measures. Her version of that meeting certainly seems consistent with his recent WSJ diatribe about cap and trade….
@Sheila Kennedy: I’m not surprised to hear that at all. Mitch Daniels and his mighty minions have basically turned the missions of some state agencies backwards and upside down. It is most unfortunate that there was nothing made of that during the campaign season last year.