Will 'shutdown' delay installation of $98,670 outhouse?

Critics of the government “shutdown” insist our very lives will be at risk because some projects won't be funded. What I'd like to know is this: Will the following project be cancelled or delayed?

CNSNews.com) – The Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently paid $98,670 for the purchase and installation of an outhouse at the Swede Park Trail Head in Alaska.

The purchase includes a single-vault Romtec 1011 “Aspen Single” prefabricated waterless toilet [pictured at right] and its installation at the parking area for the trail head.

KJ Mushovic of the BLM tells CNSNews.com, “Almost half of it (contract expense) is for the cost of the toilet.”

The Oregon based company Romtec lists the “Aspen Single” model on its website for “as low as $9,999”, but the BLM says the price they paid likely includes shipping to Alaska.

I remember 50 years ago an uncle of mine bought 10 acres of property north of Detroit. Our families would go there on Saturdays during the summer and have fun. It needed an outhouse. So my uncle bought a cheap toilet seat, then scrounged around for some boards, nails and hinges. He and his three sons put it up in an afternoon. They even cut a quarter-moon in the door. It worked fine for at least a decade. Total cost: less than $3 in 1960s money; about $30 today.

If you've ever worked in government, you know it's honeycombed with waste. I've worked for three governments: summer jobs at two local governments, and four years in the U.S. Army. I was a page at the small local library in Wayne, Mich. It was run by an efficient Italian lady who supervised about seven employees. No waste there. But the waste was immense at the Wayne County Road Commission and in the Army.

The “shutdown” is only shutting down waste.