U.S. Spends $10 Million Funded by Taxpayers to Demolish Alaskan Hotel

Congress just gave the city of Fairbanks, Alaska $10 million to tear down its abandoned Polaris Hotel.

The funding came in the form of an earmark from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in the FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

Earmarks were previously banned because of their tendency to promote wasteful spending on pet projects in members’ states and districts. Earmarks were reinstated in 2021 with broad bipartisan support.

The Polaris building was built in 1951 and was renovated as recently as 1996. Serving as a hotel, it became vacant in 2002 and is covered with asbestos, mold, and green fungus, according to KTVF, NBC Fairbanks.

It has been sitting abandoned since. The City of Fairbanks, Mayor Jim Matherly, and a specially formed “Polaris Working Group” have been lobbying for funding to demolish the building for years, according to Anchorage Daily News.

In a press release, Sen. Murkowski claims the building, “poses significant health and safety risks to the Fairbanks community,” and this funding is necessary to make the community safer. But if it’s that much of a safety hazard, why couldn’t the City of Fairbanks foot the bill?

Earmarks are the currency of corruption. They provide a surefire way to get broad consensus for massive spending bills, because every representative and senator goes back to their district or state and brags about the money they brought in for their constituents, while the money goes to pet projects for the well connected.

You can explore Open the Books’ earmark database here.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com