After gobbling up federal funding through the COVID-era American Rescue Plan, Brookline, Massachusetts will be using the leftover pandemic aid money to purchase 10 fiberglass turkey statues and hire artists to paint them.
Though the city plans to pay each artist $1,000 for painting the turkeys, the fact that the artist applications have a space for applicants to list their budgets suggests that the proposal may not have an upper limit with regards to spending.
To remind, the American Rescue Plan, passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden, was a tax-funded, $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill meant to help struggling Americans and businesses cope with mandatory shutdowns and the economic devastation they wrought. On top of sending out checks to millions of Americans, the bill also allocated $350 billion in funding to state and local governments supposedly to help their communities weather the financial disaster.
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But apparently, Brookline thinks buying nearly a dozen fake turkeys is better.
“These painted turkeys contribute to the vitality of the urban streetscape and reflect the diverse people, ideas, histories, and futures of Brookline,” a survey regarding the turkeys says, going on to add that the project will “add a touch of whimsy and charm to Brookline's commercial areas.”
I’m sure that the residents of Brookline will be relieved that their local government is wasting money on “whimsy and charm.”
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