NOAA and Alcatraz Remain in the Sailing News

It’s hard to believe that turning Alcatraz into a prison or defunding NOAA could be anything but inefficient. Rebuilding and operating Alcatraz as a prison in the middle of San Francisco Bay would likely make it one of the most expensive prisons in the world. Reducing funding to NOAA would also potentially increase the cost of weather disasters for people and insurance companies. Regardless, the current administration continues to explore both bad ideas.

Yesterday, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum took a taxpayer-funded junket to the island to continue evaluating it as a possible prison.

Sailors know the expense of maintaining boats in the often-harsh marine environment. US taxpayers already bear the cost of the largest per capita prison population in the world. We are 4% of the world’s population but hold and pay for 20% of the world’s prisoners. And prisoners are expensive. Additionally, California is an expensive place and already holds the dubious title of the state with the highest cost per prisoner of all 50 states. It’s hard to imagine Alcatraz being cheaper than the already-overpriced prisons in California. As a federal prison, Alcatraz would shift from being a visitor center collecting money from foreign tourists to another budget-busting federal expense. Could it really win a competitive bidding process for housing prisoners?

The New York Times reported on the visit, in which both Bondi and Burgum came away with a positive feeling for turning it back into a prison.

Cutting NOAA’s budget also sounds like a way to turn a short-term gain into a long-term loss. Farmers, fishermen, shipping companies, insurance companies, sailors and all citizens rely on NOAA to prepare for weather disasters. One of the ways the cost of disasters shows up is as a hidden tax in everyone’s rising insurance rates. The hurricanes that plague the southeastern and Gulf states like Florida and Texas raise the cost of insurance for everyone.

According to Wikipedia, the National Weather Service was established by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1870. Now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is facing cuts that threaten the ability of sailors and all citizens to get accurate and cost-effective weather information. PBS News reports that much of the cost-cutting would result in the privatization of weather to corporations that would fund their efforts by charging citizens for their forecasts. Naturally, people with the ability to pay more would receive better forecasts.

We’re on board with the idea of efficiency. We’re happy to efficiently sail to the next windward mark or efficiently maintain our boat, but we are also cautious when it comes to being penny wise and pound foolish. It’s easy to feel that these proposals dreamed up by the Department of Government Inefficiency (DOGI) could save money now while the long-term costs are in the future and almost impossible to predict.

We work on improving efficiency daily in our own lives, and like everyone, we often make dumb mistakes. We also appreciate when our own inefficiencies are pointed out by helpful friends. It’s always valuable for individuals, government agencies, or any entity to be open minded about improving. But too much of that makes us just want to escape to the Bay for a sail.

Hope to see you out there.