Government Waste, Bandwagons, and a Need for Sharing

Abstract

The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia recently bet the governor of Kansas that Virginia Tech would beat Kansas in the Orange Bowl. The wager included the promise to send the Kansas governor a Virginia ham if Kansas won. On the same day that I heard that the Virginia governor was using pork to lure the Kansas governor into a wager, I also received a report from Congressman Rick Boucher informing his constituency that he had obtained federal grants, better termed pork, for the town of Pulaski. There are lots of empty buildings in Pulaski, primarily because the furniture industry has exited the area in favor of overseas operations. The pork that Congressman Boucher discussed was in the form of two grants in the total amount of $272,500 for ‘‘the planning of a nanotechnology business park in the town of Pulaski.’’ I live in Pulaski County, go to church in the town of Pulaski, and would love to see the empty buildings transformed into vibrant commercial centers... but a nanotechnology park? Congressman Boucher is jumping on the nanotechnology ‘‘bandwagon,’’ and because of his jump over a quarter million dollars will be used to provide ‘‘an analysis of the infrastructure in Pulaski, as well as a study of existing structures.’’ Virginia politicians are no different than the politicians from other areas, with pork being part of their daily diet. They gather pork, swap pork with other politicians, serve pork to the public, and even used government funds to notify their constituency that pork is on the way. The notice I received from the Congressman said, ‘‘This mailing was prepared, published, and mailed at taxpayers’ expense.’’ A constant pork diet is not healthy! Stuffing pork into depressed regions almost always results in failure, and as failure analysts we should call for a change. However, before we call for a change in other organizations we must be willing to experience change ourselves. Each year there are numerous conferences, seminars, and symposia that have the theme of failure analysis and prevention. Each year numerous presentations at these public forums will go unpublished, and each year many presentations will be repeated at several forums. We love to talk, argue, and demonstrate technical expertise but often find it difficult to do the work necessary to actually develop a paper and provide a finished, well-referenced technical report to our peers. Just as the politicians love to serve pork and jump on the latest technology bandwagon, failure analysts and many other scientists and engineers often serve ‘‘half baked’’ work by jumping on the public forum bandwagon. It is easy to make a presentation but hard to provide the supporting documentation that can transform a presentation into a document with lasting value. It is easy to modify a presentation and stand on another stage presenting essentially the same work a second or even a third time. However, it is hard to join with our peers, remake the presentation, and share a document that presents the fundamental scientific underpinning that transforms the presentation into a document that actually educates the reader. Politicians are well known for taking the easy road and serving pork sandwiches but floundering when real progress is necessary. I am concerned that the rest of the world is not much better. The town of Pulaski will munch on the nanotechnology sandwich and, most likely, realize that the sandwich would be better with some mustard, lettuce, and tomato, and ask for another government grant to provide the condiments. It is unlikely that a successful nanotechnology park will ever exist in Pulaski because virtually M. R. Louthan (&) Box 623, Radford, VA 24143, USA e-mail: macfran61louthan@yahoo.com