While many salivate over the impending stimulus money distribution in our state, we should consider the requirements of accepting, as well as the ultimate responsibility of ownership of the funds and projects that we have . Today’s local fish wrap proclaims that we have not been ignored by our federal spendthrifts, and the earmarks are on their way to our region.*
TRAVERSE CITY — Susan Miller is ecstatic.
She runs the fledgling Benzie Bus system and finds herself in line to receive $190,000 in federal funding to buy new buses or build a bus garage
But I should point out that as we are creating our own history, we can observe through legend and lessons of the past how flawed our particular current solutions might become.
A white elephant is a valuable possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) exceeds its usefulness.
The term derives from the sacred white elephants kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. To possess a white elephant was regarded (and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma) as a sign that the monarch was ruling with justice and the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity.
[1] The tradition derives from tales in the scriptures which associate a white elephant with the birth of Buddha, as his mother was reputed to have dreamed of a white elephant presenting her with a lotus flower, a symbol of wisdom and purity, on the eve of giving birth.
[2] Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant from a monarch was both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch’s favour, and a curse because the animal had to be kept and could not be put to practical use to offset the cost of maintaining it.
What Wiki does not go into, (although it does provide a few examples of modern day “white elephants”) is the legend of the white elephant, which as a story mirrors our own current events and is the actual basis for (if I can recall this correctly) :
The monarch of an eastern kingdom was once given a white elephant as a gift by the ruler of a rival nation which could not defeat it on the battle fields. So excited and honored to have such a rare and blessed creature. He assigned twenty men specially to care for his prize.
As time passed the elephant was, and appeared to be healthy, but did not seem as majestic as it had, somehow. The king asked his adviser what should be done. The man said the king was not honoring the godly beast enough, nor was it properly cared for. Further, the king should request the elephant be given ten bowls of fresh and exotic fruit every day for its health. But since it was a holy animal, it could have only the finest, and It must be fed from bowls crafted with gold. So the king commissioned these bowls, and executed the order that the beast feast on mango and papaya and banana and pineapple each day. And five more men were required for this task.
This went on until the elephant began to look droopy once again. The wise man then recommended twenty bowls of the finest grain be fed to the white animal each day. And again, the bowls must be gold, to reverence the creature properly. More men were added to service the elephant, it was hand bathed in blessed waters as well. This went on for years. Bowls of freshest berries, corn, a new thing each time, all in golden containers. The king could no longer truly afford the upkeep of this animal, and subsequently was unable to afford to provide for the defense of his people. But it was such an honor to possess a white elephant he could not just let it go. To do so would displease the gods whose creature this was, and dishonor his kingdom.
Of course.. this is merely legend, and any similarity to current events is purely coincidental.
Thus we return to the BUS SYSTEM for Benzie county.. if we finance (even though this is a “small” amount) this public transportation effort, we pretend that it might someday become self sustaining; a logical enterprise. In this case however, one merely has to look at the population (16,000 is a high estimate – year round might be closer to 6,000) of Benzie county (860 square miles) in relation to its land mass to know that such a system is a complete loser when looking at cost and benefit. A visit to Benzie county (which is stunningly beautiful) would also enlighten one to the practicality (or lack thereof) of public transportation there.
Soon the Benzie bus system, through the same process of government takings that the Traverse City based BATA has used will extract from taxpayers even more because it CANNOT provide through fares the needed revenue to support its ongoing services. And because it is “holy,” public transportation will further weaken our spendable resources. BATA interfered in the legitimate purchase of a commercial dealing by using local government to block a sale so it could buy its current station at a lower price. In the meantime, we have through “democratic” process elected to further fund this monstrosity even though it still is apparently running deficits.
Our white elephants demand more Exotic Fruit Michigan! Be sure to gild the bowls, and more servants are needed to care for the holy beasts for certain. ..