Out of Control

Randal O'Toole has the latest on Portland's increasingly costly aerial tram proposal:

Last week, Portland's city council was debating about how to pay for its share of an aerial tram that was originally supposed to cost $15 million but whose cost had tripled to $45 million. Now the cost is up to $55 million. "Everyone is tired of reaching for the checkbook", says another article in The Oregonian.

Maybe they should stop throwing good money after bad. The Oregonian has endorsed the tram no matter what the cost. But it turns out that the newspaper's editorial page editor just happens to be married to the public relations director for the Oregon Health Sciences University, which is the hospital that is promoting (and paying for most of) the tram.