The bicycle musician

Washington, DC is facing a budget deficit of about $666 million over the next 3 years, which has prompted talk of across the board funding cuts, including libraries, education and transportation. Given this context, you can perhaps imagine my amusement at reading in the local free neighborhood paper yesterday that the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities "has reserved $200,000 in capital funds to install permanent public art" on a sidewalk at an intersection near my house.

The commission planned to spend the money on a sculpture known as the "bicycle musician". As the article says:

The 11.5-foot-tall sculpture depicts a young musician of indeterminate race perched on his bicycle and strumming a guitar. The basket on his bike overflows with fruits and vegetables; nearby, a dachshund looks on.

Apparently neighborhood opinion ended up being fairly divided on the matter and plans for this particular sculpture have been scrapped. And while I agree the proposed sculpture was absurd with no obvious relation to the neighborhood, I am more astounded by the fact the commission was prepared to spend $200,000 on it, which will buy you a decent size house in most parts of the country. But hey, it's other people's money, so why not I suppose...