The Journal Times Online - Racine, Wisconsin

I doubt it. I would think they'd have to have some pretty hefty insurance to cover kids running around the middle of Green Bay Road with lawn mowers. They're probably going to get two weeks of training on "How to pick up trash with a stick that has a nail glued to the end of it."

LOL - I hope the jobs are actually something will will "engage Racine" and "enrich our earth".

Sadly, picking up trash with a stick does kinda fit though...

I have another brilliant idea!!! Put colored stones or bricks where the grass is. That way...no upkeep. I like the brickwork along Ohio St. What do you think?

Sassa- I concur. A low or no maintenance median would be a smart move. They'll probably spend millions to do it too. The only consolation is it would pay itself off in 2 or 3 hundred years. lol
Gov't makes no sense anymore whether city, county, state or fed. Oi !

How much money did you [my fellow readers] cost the tax payer when you went looking, found a job and got hired? My guess is it didn't cost anything at all to the tax payer or the gov't. So here we have this program for 200 youths. They have a total of $550,000. The kids will work 4 hours a day Mon-Thurs (20 hours) and training on Fri @ $7.25 an hour. Since they didn't say how long on Fri they would be training so I picked 5 hours as a high average just to prove a point here. So thats 25 hours a week @ $7.25 an hour which comes to $181.25 per week [and I'll bet taxes will be taken out of that too!]. The program lasts 6 weeks. So six weeks times $181.25 comes to $1,087.50. Now multiply that times 200 youths and you get a grand total of $217,500. Even with pay for whomever is going to be instructing or participating on that end of the program.....and I'm guessing these folks won't make a total of $332,500 that's left over after you account for the youth's pay in the program. So where does the extra $332,500 go? Any ideas? Did I not figure something right? Cost of materials? A couple booklets and a pencil/pen or something?
Just doesn't add up to me.
The travesty here is; when I was in school we learned "critical thinking, resume writing and money management as well as presentation skills, among many others necessary to prepare them to be ready for work." Do they not teach this in the schools anymore? If so, why not?
The whole thing reeks of a boondoggle in the name of helping the children who should be learning to help themselves not depend on a gov't program to get a job. Go back to teaching this stuff in the schools and stop wasting $$$$.

I just read the new article on the home page. I like how they classify "youths" as 14-24 year olds. Since when is anyone over 18 a "youth"?

Why not put prisoners to work...

no pay...community service!

Ok - Hang on to your panties folk. I had to laugh thursday at the water plant we paid to have a guy on a riding lawn mower, a kid trimming, and edging the full area. It took them from 9 am till past noon to finish the top area. We can not afford to clean up other areas but, we can make sure the smelly water plants both areas people old area and new look great! Ask our new Mayor about the one.
Our spending on crazy items has just gotten out of hand. I have watched a full size city dump pulling a trailer with a small lawn mower on the back. What a joke talk about wasting fuel and tax dollars. I can not wait to hear the next cut. Does the new mayor care what we want?? We did not want the train system and they did that one. Their big corporate buddies wanted it. Are they funding it? No we are.
Does the city government take any heat for the bad choices they have made this year. Watch the city workers and how the keep the vehicles running and how much time is wasted.
Mayor you should take a drive and see how sad our city is looking. How your staff is not holding accountable all employees and all staff.
Our mayor and head of department in Racine have made excuses time and time again. When are we going to let them know they work for us and it is enough? Can we stand together and let them know this is our town. We are not puppets to them we are the voters. Maybe we should visit our new mayor and let him know how we feel. I heard allot of promises and knowing he works for the people. He did not hear us on the train issue let him hear us now. I would like to see everyone at city hall to let our mayor know we are tired of the bad spending and not give the people what they have been screaming about for the last two months!