[Nibbles]

I am starting a topic about the untouchable topic, it seems, in FIRST: Politics (DUN dun DUN).
This topic is being spun off of the replies to my post regarding government funding: Re: Sponsor Criticized by Newspaper

First I want to make it very clear that I never called anything "pork barrel projects" or anything similar in the thread I reference, because I will be doing so in this thread.

This started when a $100 000 contribution to a regional was listed in a newspaper article scrutinizing a handful of state funded programs in a June 9th 2008 article, "Port or not? Member items getting new scrutiny:"

Let New York's governor warn that tax revenues have "fallen off a cliff" and steep budget deficits lie ahead. Long Island's lawmakers say that's all the more reason for them to use the $25 million in discretionary local grants they are awarding this year, commonly known as member items.

FRC is a wonderful program, anyone should have the option of wanting to be in it, there is no reason that it should not be an option for all students in the country. It is my opinion that it is impractical for FRC to have a 100% saturation of schools in a large area, e.g. a few million people. There is a certain limit to how many volunteer hours and money you can get, though I don't think we are anywhere as close in most all areas, I have a feeling RI will be feeling the pressure of their goal not so far away from now.

This plays into politics: Where do we get money. Large contributions awarded to a very small percentage of people, and involved only one or two politicians, which is more or less the contribution to the regional, is a pork project.

Some people may want you to think otherwise, but the whole concept of America, the American dream, is that with hard work and dedication and you can strike it rich in capitalism helping people in a way that only government in other countries would do. For example, in Germany you can get a fixed rate electrical bill for installing solar panels on your house, funded by the government. In the United States, however, there is any number of companies that will install solar panels on your (flat) roof and do the maintenance and operation for you. Immigration and the infamous textile mills, similar concept (if with a lack of employee protection laws).

FIRST does a decent job of generating revenue, they own the whole building they operate in (according to their audited financial report from 2007 fiscal year, which ends June 30th for them) which they received from the city of Manchester, as long as they could establish and maintain the SEE science center/museum in a portion of it. FIRST makes about half a million a year from leasing the unused space to private owners. The building across from FIRST contains Vertical Dreams (the best indoor rock climbing facility ever by the way, if anyone wants to go), and have teamed up with them to provide a summer camp. My larger point is government can be good, in the same way corporate sponsors can, if you can establish a two way relationship with them that works for everyone's benefit. Manchester's help is obviously not pork, and the efforts by RI and how HI are not either. Shelling out money is however, and simply by the fact that the NY regional is Friday through Sunday and the only competition on the last week of competitions, it doesn't look like they are doing much to help in other ways (this of course could be a great misunderstanding on my part, idk, but whoever is providing the venue, it appears that that there is real resistance to choosing a more flexible option, so someone is probably donating it on their terms).

Regarding my story, it is relevant because we were having a difficult time with our district, who are politicians too (they are elected, paid with tax money, make policies, no difference). This is directly relevant to the homework that year (by chance, I was planning on doing it regardless), for all the same reasons Dean keeps saying it is: If people truly know what FIRST is, they will (hopefully) support it in whatever way they can. It doesn't have to be money or donations, knowing why we need the software installed and why we cannot use the district's content management system (against the rules for website award), that is what is going to help us just as much.

Oh, and the Big Dig is hardly a pork project, it benefits an entire region of the US. You know it when you see the difference (even if it costs $4 billion per mile, eek!). The insane amount of money it costs is why you live in RI or south NH (preferably NH), and commute to Taxachusetts