Earlier this year, The Drill Down reported on how transportation is going “woke” in an article titled ‘Woke-ification’: Transportation Sec. Buttigieg Out to Make Roads Racially Equitable. Here are a few choice quotes in the article from Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg.
“There is racism physically built into some of our highways,” Buttigieg said while discussing the Reconnecting Communities program that was funded by the infrastructure boondoggle.
“Transportation can connect us to jobs, services and loved ones, but we’ve also seen countless cases around the country where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or a community because of how it was built,” Buttigieg says.
“This is a forward-looking vision. Our focus isn’t about assigning blame. It isn’t about getting caught up in guilt. It’s about fixing a problem. It’s about mending what has been broken, especially when the damage was done with taxpayer dollars.”
“Fixing a problem,” you say? Okay, what did you have in mind, Mr. Buttigieg? Because according to a recent DOT press release, it sounds like a lot of money is going toward woke waste.
In fact, $1.5 billion dollars are ready for such projects. From the press release…
The DOT is “encouraging applicants to consider how their projects can address climate change, ensure racial equity, and remove barriers to opportunity,” the department said. “The Department also intends to use the RAISE program to support wealth creation and the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union, the incorporation of strong labor standards, and training and placement programs, especially registered apprenticeships.”
“The historic investments the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing today will help communities across the country modernize their transportation,” said Buttigieg. “After decades of underinvestment in America’s infrastructure, we are supporting projects that help people and goods get where they need to go more safely, efficiently, and affordably.”
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson is no fan of the grants.
“It’s rather quite sad that we would use this excuse to funnel money in for their pet projects; the Christmas wishlist of the woke left,” Carson told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity. “And singling out racial favorites: that doesn’t really do anything.”
What say you, Mr. Buttigieg?
