(NOTE: CLICK ON ANY OF THE PICTURES BELOW TO GET A LARGER, CRISPER PICTURE)

Wow! After reading Trent Seibert’s amazing report on the cost of remodeling at the State Capitol, I thought we should get a look at the goodies that our hard earned tax dollar purchased.

Gentle reader, you ponder what you, the payer of many taxes, bought? Look no further.
Let’s start with the infamous $21,279 carpet in Speaker Jimmy Naifeh’s suite. Here it is–does it look like $21,279 worth?

You may ask: why such a light color choice? Won’t the light color stain easily or dirty quickly? Well, don’t worry. When it gets dirty, it’s easily replaced. Speaker Naifeh will just order more.
OK. What about the coat hooks…they did need those, didn’t they? But the 118 coat hooks were installed at a total cost of $5,075–that’s $43 each!!! Here’s a couple of links to similar and even better hooks at Home Depot…in the $1.19 to $2.99 each range!

Check out these $43.00 each pegs. (And according to Trent Seibert’s article, “As of last month, 44 [pegs] had been installed but the rest were still in storage, said Lola Potter, spokeswoman for the state Department of Finance and Administration.”

Well, what about the new $210,000 marble security post for state troopers at the Charlotte Ave. entrance to the Capitol? It sure is fancy, don’t you think?

And are the gentle readers curious about $3,600 hi-def 50” flat screen TV in the Senate’s secret meeting room, plus several of the $907 chairs in the secret “cloak room” ?

Well, the Pentagon doesn’t have anything on Lt. Governor Wilder, Speaker Naifeh, and Phil Bredesen. The $62 peephole to see in the Senate’s secret meeting room seems to be a bargain (even though this link has a “door viewer” priced at $3.20.)

Please, I understand that rehab must be done. It’s a fact of life and I don’t think anyone would disagree that our State Capitol and its legislative offices should be kept in good, respectable condition. But I believe that the average man on the street can see the absurdity of $21,279 for carpet in an office and $43.00 for a peg. Surely, tax payers are worthy of more respect.