An unwelcome welcome center

Capitol Hill's new visitor center opens today in DC almost four years behind schedule and hundreds of millions of dollars over budget. Yes, hundreds of millions of dollars over budget. The initial cost was estimated to be $71 million. The final price: $621 million.

Are you kidding me? $621 million for a welcome center? Does this welcome center include universal healthcare? Can I include one more question mark in this paragraph before it gets annoying?

Apparently, since 9/11, the scope of the project changed due to an increase in security measures, says Spokesperson Sharon Gang. But according to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the outrageous costs were also due to, surprise surprise, wasteful contracts and a lack of congressional oversight. Sounds familiar.

It reminds me of how awkward I feel when I see grand, ornate churches that were built by the poor, for a religion that is supposed to take care of the poor. Is that what god really wants? Would Jesus care if the nails in his hands are made of gold? He might prefer some sort of foam, actually.

Recently, I visited the NASA Goddard Space & Flight Center in Maryland and I was initially shocked the campus was so ugly and drab. I felt like I was at the Los Angeles Community College or something. I expected NASA to look really futuristic and sleek, with bathroom faucets that turn on when you put your hands under it. Wait, that's not that cool. They have those at the movie theaters now. But then I actually felt relieved that our tax dollars weren't going to expensive, beautiful buildings or marble floors imported from some remote village in Italy where only donkeys can carry the marble from the top of the mountain to the lowlands.

A $621 million Capitol Hill visitor center is the kind of thing that makes an ordinary tax payer feel confused and hopeless. Oh, and by the way, the opening ceremony? Closed to the public.