Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
TwitThis
Sunken Costs
Honoring the past is certainly important, which is why many in South Carolina are keen to see the Hunley, an epic Civil War submarine, preserved. The Hunley was raised from its sandy grave off the South Carolina coast in 2000, at a cost of $6 million. Four years later, State Senator Glenn F. McConnell, a Civil War buff, delivered a eulogy -- dressed as a Confederate general -- when the crew's remains were buried in Charleston.But that's the least of his efforts to memorialize the sub. An investigation by The State, South Carolina's largest newspaper, alleged that McConnell has funneled more than $8 million of taxpayer money to Friends of the Hunley, a foundation he established. Among the newspaper's findings: The foundation has paid at least $1 million to a public relations firm to promote the Hunley; the 11 employees of Friends of the Hunley receive a total annual salary of almost $500,000; five employees at the Department of Archives and History, working for the Hunley, together receive over $200,000 a year; and the College of Charleston has four employees devoted to the submarine, at a combined pay of nearly $240,000 a year. Add another $300,000 or so for the Hunley laboratory's annual lease.
So how much is too much to preserve the old sub? Though the initial cost of the project was estimated at $5 million to $10 million, now it seems no one knows just how much will be spent. According to The State's award-winning series on the Hunley, South Carolina taxpayers will eventually shell out a whopping $80 million. (A spokesperson for Friends of the Hunley says that tally is off by "millions" due to "double entries" and "appraisals of assets the state already owned." The newspaper, however, stands by its calculation.)
The Post and Courier, a Charleston newspaper, also reported that "public money spent or currently committed to the submarine projects" adds up to about $32 million. Unlike The State, though, The Post and Courier didn't include proposed spending. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford underscored the financial confusion when The State asked him how much the sub would cost the public. "I don't have a clue," he said.
John Crangle of the watchdog group Common Cause says the Hunley project is a "huge waste of public resources, when money could be better spent on health care, education or transportation."
McConnell calls the Hunley "a tremendously successful project" and disputes the charges of overspending. Still, with a price tag of tens of millions -- which, for all anyone knows, is climbing by the minute -- it's time the taxpayers shut their wallets and demand some answers.
Advertisement 
