Allow me to explain how my experience with the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) and the NFS (National Forest Service) informs my view of BBB (Build Back Better) and other Democrat initiatives.  Please bear with me on the background for the next several paragraphs – it’s relevant.  I hope you find these patterns as interesting as I do.

Before I moved to the festering swamps of South Carolina, I lived in the majestic mountains of East Tennessee.  I lived at 3,300 feet, on 56 acres surrounded by National Forest.  There was a National Forest access road that crossed my property for about a mile, and it was the only way into the National Forest for miles in any direction.  So I got to know the National Forest guys – they would need the code to my gate to access their road.  We got along well – really good guys.

About two miles behind my house was a major power right of way, where huge power lines carried electricity from a power plant on one side of the mountain to the Tri-Cities area on the other. The TVA also needed to cross my property to get to their lines.  We had a good relationship as well. Which was good, because the power poles up on top of the mountain were getting old, and there were a lot of power outages, so they had to go up there a lot.

As it turns out, those power poles were rated to last 25 years, and they were over 40 years old.  So the whole system up there needed to be replaced.  Which would be difficult, because this was extremely steep, rocky terrain.  Boulders, cliffs, and rattlesnakes.

So the TVA guy stopped by one day and said, “Hey, look, we need to get some heavy equipment up the mountain.  Big track hoes, D8’s, and huge trucks with big poles on them.  The trail on your property will be widened a bit, and we may tear some stuff up.  We’ll fix it all when we’re done, of course.  But this is big stuff, and you’ll know we’ve been here.  I’m really sorry.”

I said that I wasn’t real excited about that.  He explained about all the power outages in the nearby cities, and how old the equipment was, and that they sort of had to do this – they really didn’t have a choice.  He was very nice about it, and I saw his point, so I said ok.  He again assured me that they would clean up their mess when they were done.  He had always been honest with me in the past, so I agreed.

He then called the National Forest, and explained the same thing to them, that he would be crossing their land on the way to his power right of way.  The National Forest said no.  Heavy equipment is not permitted on a nature preserve (or wildlife refuge, or however it’s classified).  The TVA guy said he understood, but this wasn’t really optional – he had to do this.  The National Forest said no.  They talked repeatedly over the coming months, with no compromise from either side.  The TVA guy had to keep the lights on, and the National Forest guy had rules to follow, so there was really nothing to compromise about.  So there you go.

Meanwhile, the repairs of the lines over the mountain were becoming more frequent and more dangerous.  One day, when the TVA guy was watching one of his men hanging out of a helicopter in a snowstorm trying to fix a power line while trying not to get electrocuted, he decided that he just had to do this.  Somebody was going to get killed if they didn’t just fix the problem.

So when the weather got better, he called me and asked if he could bring his equipment up like we had talked about last year.  I said sure, and gave him my gate code.  He didn’t bother to ask NFS again.  Because he already knew what their answer would be.

The NFS had their own gate, at the back of my property – it was a big metal gate with a protected padlock.  The TVA guys just used their track hoe to lift the whole gate out of the ground, and laid it off to the side, to be replaced later when they were done.

They were very busy for about two months, and I was impressed that they didn’t change my trail too much.  And true to his word, when they left they took dozers and re-sloped the trail, planted grass seed, re-did the drainage ditches, and left it much better than they found it.

The National Forest trail was the same way – it went from a rutted, washed-out mess to a beautiful road with no erosion, due to better drainage and lots of grass seed.  A few months later, you couldn’t even tell they had ever been there, except the trail was in much better shape.

And the lights were on in the cities.  All the time.  And I didn’t see the TVA guys on my property.  There was nothing up there for them to fix anymore.

Nothing happened for a year or two.

Then one day a National Forest guy went up the mountain to check on something, and noticed the beautiful new metal power poles instead of the ancient rickety wooden ones that were there before.

He called his boss.  His boss called the TVA guy, and asked if he knew anything about those new power poles.  The TVA guy responded, “What?  Somebody put new power poles up there?  You’re not allowed to do that, you know.  Did you get their license plate number?  I’ll bet some idiot rednecks snuck up there one Saturday night with some beer, some fireworks, a team of structural engineers, and fifteen million dollars worth of heavy equipment and redid the whole dang thing!  My God, if I ever lay my hands on those sneaky kids…”

The National Forest guy was unamused, and filed a lawsuit against the TVA.  After all, there are rules.  What else could he do?

I didn’t hear anything about it for several years.  Until one day in my office, I asked a patient what he did for a living.  He said he was an attorney.  I asked what type of law he practiced, and he said that he had spent his entire career so far working for the federal government, on a lawsuit between the TVA and the National Forest Service.  I can’t remember which side he represented.

It had been over 10 years at this point.  He and his legal team had a few other little things come up from time to time, but he said the vast majority of their resources and time were spent on this case.  Year after year.  They knew the opposing attorneys very well, because they had been working on the same case for so long.  Over time, their wives and families became friends, and they often vacationed together.  They had one joint Christmas party every year for both opposing legal offices.

I asked if he was going to win the case.  He looked a little surprised at the question, and then said, “Yeah, well, it’s more of a process…”  I’m not sure what that means, exactly.

I asked if he enjoyed his job, and he said it was a good gig.  Pay was ok, job security was outstanding, he didn’t have to move to bigger and bigger cities, no real pressure, great benefits.

I called the TVA guy that night – he and I had a good relationship.  I asked him about it.  He said that he heard about the lawsuit from time to time, but it wasn’t really part of his world.  His job was to keep the lights on.  He figured that lawsuit would still be going on in a few decades when his replacement had to replace the power poles that he had replaced.

I wondered aloud whether this was the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars.  He just said, “Eh, that’s how the government does things.  Just the cost of doing business, I suppose…   Gotta keep the lights on, right?”

I wonder how much they spent on repairs for the 10-15 years before they replaced those power poles, working on top of a remote mountain in thunderstorms.  I wonder how much they’ve spent on this lawsuit, for the federal government to sue itself over a job that it had no choice but to do?

I wonder what the price of electricity in east Tennessee would be if some woman named Kate was in charge.  Someone who has to balance her own checkbook, someone with a high school education who works two jobs to make the payment on her double-wide, and who has more than a bit of common sense.

Federal bureaucrat:  “Hey, Kate.  We’ve got some extra ‘infrastructure’ money to spend, so we’re going to sue ourselves for environmental destruction that didn’t happen to provide a jobs program for our legal departments.“

Kate:  “No.“

But electricity is expensive because Kate is not in charge.  No one is, really.

A friend mentioned to me the other day how incredible it was, that when he turned on a light switch, the lights came on every time.

I told him that it was even more incredible than he understood.  He just had no idea.  He was probably thinking about electrons.  I was thinking about bureaucrats.

Under President Biden, the federal government is attempting a rapid takeover of as much of the American economy as possible.  When you read the next news story about “Build Back Better” or whatever the program of the day is, think about my story about the TVA and the NFS.

You don’t need to wonder how all those Democrat infrastructure spending bills will work out.  You already know:

A lot of money will get spent on stuff that has nothing to do with infrastructure.  Lots and lots and lots of money.

Much of this money will be paid to people with white-collar government jobs, who are expected to vote Democrat.  Other portions of that money will go to unions, who then donate that very same money back to the Democrat party.  Other portions of that money simply disappear, like fog on a beautiful sunny morning.

Very, very little of that Democrat campaign money will be wasted on anything resembling ‘infrastructure.’  Why would they do that?  That’s not what it’s for.

But despite their best efforts, things may actually sort of work.  The lights may continue to turn on, even in California.  The water may continue to be safe, even in Flint.  The levees may be maintained, even in New Orleans.  Things may actually sort of work.  For a while.

Until they don’t.

But don’t worry.  The government will fix it.

As long as you agree to increase your taxes again to pay for ‘infrastructure’.

So you shouldn’t complain about your taxes.  Your tax dollars are not campaign contributions for the Democrat party.  Remember – your taxes are used for ‘infrastructure.’  All this tax money is being spent on you!  Not the Democrat party!  Really!

I know it’s true – I saw it on CNN…