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Malfeasance: Misconduct or wrong-doing, especially by public officials or
governments.
A Canadian corporation, Echo Bay Mines, proposes to mine the McCoy/Cove gold deposit in Nevada. The estimated value of recoverable minerals from that deposit:
$1,448,600,000
That's one BILLION, four hundred and forty-eight MILLION, six hundred THOUSAND dollars -- otherwise called a cool billion and a half.
The McCoy/Cove mineral deposit is located on public lands in Nevada. The United States government will sell the mineral rights to Echo Bay Mines, thus granting Echo Bay the right to extract the gold and other minerals from the site. Echo Bay Mines will then have the right to sell the gold.
The cost for that right? Are you sitting down? The total cost $3,305. That's three thousand, three hundred and five dollars.
The total income for the U.S. government: $3,305. That's three thousand, three hundred and five dollars.
And it's all perfectly legal, based on a law passed in 1872 in which the fee for mineral rights to public lands is substantially less than $5.00 per acre. That law has been unmodified by Congress, in its infinite wisdom, ever since.
Public servants, indeed.
JUST A BIT MORE THAN WE THOUGHT
Under Ronald Reagan, the savings and loan industry in this country was de-regulated amid the standard arguments about the power of the free market. What happened was the regulations had kept the predators in check, but after de-regulation, the predators moved in and ripped us off. And what happened was nobody noticed until the damage was done. What happened was the S&Ls were looted by rip-offs and croney loans. What happened was the bail-out, by the government. What happened, according to the most recent report from the GAO (Government Accounting Office), was it cost:
481 Billion Dollars (That's very close to half a trillion dollars.) Out of your pocket and mine. Is it any wonder there isn't any money for education, health care, infrastructure (see below) reconstruction, environmental repair and cleanup?
THE NATION'S INFRASTRUCTURE
Ordinary physical realities of our world are falling apart. Nearly 4 million miles of roads need repair. Water in many urban areas flows through ancient pipe systems that are bursting and leaking. Ditto sewer lines. Concrete foundations and approaches to bridges are crumbling and the metal in them is rusting: better than 40 percent of the 578,000 bridges in America need work. Modern sewage treatment facilities are lacking for 29 million Americans. City streets are potholed. Emergency response times in many areas are too long.
© 1997, C. Grigsby, All Rights Reserved. 2 Aug 1998
Comments? E-mail to: Channing