… the United Nations proposes to spend 1.9 billion on renovations:
Detractors in the city, state, and federal governments allege that the project – a complete renovation of the U.N.’s Turtle Bay headquarters, initially projected to cost $1.2 billion before its estimated price tag soared to $1.9 billion in November – is exorbitant and lacks transparency and accountability, especially in light of recent U.N. scandals, particularly the oil-for-food fiasco.The $100.5 million request for “design and preconstruction phases” of the Capital Master Plan, as the U.N. calls the project, comes on top of $33.1 million already spent and $51.3 million already appropriated for preconstruction work between 2001 and 2005, according to a November U.N. document.
It also comes before any signal that the United Nations has officially decided on one of the four strategies for refurbishment proposed in November by Secretary-General Annan.
What should be done about the continued boondoggles at the UN? This blog long ago called for total online transparency for the international organization. As citizens of the world – the taxpayers who support it – we should demand no less.
And the $2 billion is only a start.
There is no defensible reason why the UN needs to be in New York, and lots of reasons for them to be somewhere else.
Pick a stretch of land near an airport somewhere – a piece of desert near the new Denver airport for example – and build them a headquarters there for a few million bucks. That saves tons of money and also reduces the incentive for layabout types to get a UN position just to live in New York while not doing work of any consequence.
Even Denver is not as isolated as I think would be optimal. If the UN were in some isolated spot in Mexico or Siberia, we would find out how many of these “diplomats” really care about world affairs and how many of them just want to leave their third-world dunghole for the delights of a leading first-world city.
$1.9 billion In Jerusalem would allow them to see thier handy work up close, and give Palestians jobs so they could earn thier way out of thier problems. And it would gaurentee busy work for them for years to come.
If the EU Parliament met only in Brussels, instead of Brussels and Strasbourg,
the UN could buy the current Strasbourg EU Parliament building for probably less than the $2b,
the UN diplomats would be within hitting distance of Paris’s amenities and the darlings of their Human Rights Commission in Geneva,
the EU parlamentarians wouldn’t have to work (ehem) 3 days here/three days there,
the French would still have a major international institution (which they hold in high esteem) in their corruption-friendly soil,
the hoteliers and restaurateurs of Strasbourg would not lose clientele,
there would be prime NYC real estate available for development (by The Donald, maybe?),
and the rate of NYC parking ticket collection would go up.
A win-win situation!
Of such stuff are my dreams made of.
Indeed, lets put this to a vote of the American people. I bet a clear majority would ask them to leave, destination: who cares?.
Just be sure to count the silverware.
Sigh.
I wonder if this is how the Europeans (individuals in individual countries) feel about Belgium regulation, the EU Constitution, and “tax leveling proposals?”
I mean, they have no voice in determining, supporting, or rebutting policy decisions that affect their lives.
In our case, we contribute approximately 24% of the U.N. budget, we are constantly vilified for not adequately consulting with and getting the backing of the U.N. yet when we wait for them to act, supposedly only our, and the world’s behalf – atrocity after atrocity; scandal after scandal; and failure after failure occurs.
What voice have we? What action can be taken to correct this ongoing train wreck? What distance can we get from it if it truly must continue?
What would be effective?
John Lynch:
My only thought on what to do is to try a two track approach. The U.N. will not change until it is forced to do so. The only leverage we have is money. Withold it, and try to organize a coalition of the reasonable and realistic until the U.N. wakes up to try to achieve the things we have to get done in the world. The endless negotiations, that lead to no action and allow the thugs of the world use the U.N. to stall any concrete action and allow them to continue their destructive actions will never change until the U.N. is forced into real reform, not half measures that do little to nothing. I am not very hopeful. The U.N. has become an expensive tool that is worn out and does very little. And the one thing that it does well is maintain the inneffective and corrupt status qou.
Trump saw these plans and said the work could be done for half what the UN says.He’s probably right.These grafters/grifters aren’t going to stop until somebody stops them.Any volunteers?
I think I know the perfect contractor for the job… Plenty of experience in the field, and they’ll surely require a lot less than 1.2 billion for the job…
http://www.controlled-demolition.com/
Internet Transparency is a great idea.
The real irony would be that the citizens in the countries sure to be seated in the new Human Rights organization in the UN won’t be able to access the data due to censorship.
We have to stop writing checks to these people.