Waste of the Day: This Land Is Yours For $110,000

Topline: The song “This Land Is Your Land” celebrates America’s golden valleys and diamond deserts — which, notably, are natural and free of charge.

This Land Is Your Land – but what about that bill?

But taxpayers in Oklahoma were billed $110,000 for a new “musical road” that rumbles a melody resembling the classic Woody Guthrie tune. The state contributed $90,000, and local taxes from the City of Tulsa funded another $20,000, according to the Tulsa Flyer.

Key facts: Oklahoma installed almost 3,000 tiny speed bumps along a section of Route 66 to achieve the musical effect. When a car travels east at exactly 35 miles per hour, the vibrations sound like a 19-second snippet from the chorus of “This Land Is Your Land.”

Most of the money went to the private company Route 66 Musical Roads. Traffic control, labor and signage cost $15,000, the Tulsa Flyer reported.

Some online critics have mocked the choice of song. Though “This Land Is Your Land” has evolved into a patriotic tune, it was originally written sarcastically to protest inequality.

Background: Route 66 Musical Roads previously installed a similar road in New Mexico in 2014 that plays “America The Beautiful.” It was funded by National Geographic and Nationwide Insurance at no cost to taxpayers. Erosion has already destroyed it, and New Mexico lawmakers have said it would be too expensive to repair.

Federal taxpayers will soon fund a musical road in all eight states that Route 66 traverses. Congress commissioned the company to celebrate the road’s 100th anniversary this year.

47 infrastructure projects

Oklahoma’s state-run Route 66 Commission has spent $22 million on 47 infrastructure projects since it was created in 2022. That includes $1 million for Tulsa’s upcoming “Capital Cruise” on May 30, which will seek to break a Guiness World Record by lining up more than 2,500 classic cars for a parade that will also feature “farmers’ markets, concerts, and a Route 66-themed drone finale.”

Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Summary: As government spending continues to rise across the country, perhaps it’s fitting that Oklahoma’s display of patriotism costs almost $5,800 per second.

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This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.