Microsoft Benefits From Stimulus Funds

(CBS)  Millions of your stimulus tax dollars are already going to work in affluent Redmond, Wash., the home of Microsoft, where unemployment is among the lowest in the nation.

The stimulus money will help build a bridge over Redmond's only freeway, reports CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. It's at a spot that happens to connect Microsoft's east campus to its west campus. The project has been on Microsoft's wish list for years, and includes fancy landscaping, a bike lane and pedestrian walkway.

Mayor John Marchione said the bridge will reduce freeway traffic, saving commuters 10 to 12 minutes, and stimulate growth.

Microsoft originally agreed to pay for 70 percent of the $25 million project, with Redmond picking up the rest. But costs escalated. The city asked Microsoft to pitch in more.

But Microsoft replied, "That this number is fixed," according to Marchione. "We're not budging."

That's when the city decided to try for stimulus funds to fill the gap. They got $11 million tax dollars.

Microsoft wouldn't agree to an interview. Sen. Tom Coburn, who voted against the stimulus bill, argues that tax money shouldn't go to help a company whose own reports say it has $20 billion cash on hand.

"How did we ever get to the point that we decided that we should, the federal taxpayer in Broken Bow, Okla., ought to be paying for a bridge to go between two Microsoft campuses in Washington? I mean, how did we ever get there?" Coburn ased.

The even bigger question, he says, is what's not being funded. Not far from Redmond, on the other side of the county, there's the 76-year-old South Park Bridge, so dilapidated that on the government's 100-point sufficiency scale, it only rates a four.

That's 10 times worse that the Minnesota bridge that collapsed two years ago. The South Park Bridge, in a poor section of the county, carries 20,000 cars a day atop corroded concrete and rotted timber. Fixing it would create hundreds of jobs and eliminate a serious public risk. But so far, the bridge isn't getting a penny.

Why are we funding a brand new project, when there's a bridge up the road that's a real hazard?

"The funding package was tied to economic development, not safety," Marchione said. "I can only play by the rules Congress gives me."

Engineers say the South Park Bridge will have to be shut down next year, if it lasts that long. Groundbreaking for the Redmond bridge is scheduled for June.

[barbaram99]

I think they need to put funds into making all the bridges safer. I do live in Seattle but stay home and Microsoft workers do use the bus they park their cars and bus to work. I walk by the bus that takes them on the way to Safeway. MS won't own the bridge that that will be built. We need to get as many cars off the roads. I know nothing of the South Park Bridge but it is old and needs to be made safe as all bridges must be in this nation. They put too many cars on the roads over the years. We be stuck in rush hour on the bus and it is awful. The answer is not more roads but fewer cars on the roads. We can walk faster when they are stuck at a stand still. MS pays taxes. I use Windows. We ***** at the slow boot of Vista and its flaws. Once it is up and running. Okay. Windows 7 I am reading about that. Vista could have been better. i HATE the slowness of start up and shut down of Vista. When using a notebook pc. At home just put yer Vista machine to sleep and that speeds it up some. i would rather see more busses carrying people over the one person in the car on the roads. Congress funds the projects we get uphappy about. A bridge.
i hate the people's money being used on illegal wars when it it best used right here at home. I do thank the Vets as they follow their orders.
The roads need fixing as well.

[firekeeper09]

Bridges for Billionairs? Why are spending $11M to build a bridge for Microsoft? There is a bridge in Tacoma that is already shutdown because it's in worse shape than the South Park bridge. Microsoft has $20B in the bank. They make more than $11M in 1 month from the interest on that $20B. It is outrageous that we should pay for tree-lined bridge for them when there are so many other needy people and projects. Hey Microsoft, pay for your own bridge! Bill, there is no grey area here. Write the damn check.

[geneonlbk]

Do you know that Bill Gates gives more money each year to AIDS research than the United States?

[Quoi-Monsieur]

This is a very disappointing and biased story. Next time, do your research CBS.

[VTchemist]

Will it make Vista better? :P

[valentin73]

Bill Gates should fond Microsoft by himself...he's got enough money to do so. The government should not allow this to happen.

[Ruggerducky]

Oh, and for those that have asked, the South Park Bridge replacement is "shovel ready". All impact statements have been approved, the replacement plans are in place, the ONLY thing missing is $140 million to rebuild.

[LordOfMictlan]

I've never been a fan of Microsoft, but I think the angle of this story and a number of comments here are off-base. Microsoft benefits from the bridge. The city benefits from the bridge. They are both paying for it. It's not Microsoft's responsibility to pay for public road works beyond local taxes. If anything Microsoft is being generous or at least fair.

If the city has misplaced priorities, then that's a city issue. Stimulus spending as a program is neither good nor bad due to the city's chosen direction of development. The goal of stimulus spending is to pay people to do useful work to keep the economy moving.

[Ruggerducky]

As a former resident of the South Park neighborhood, as well as a former board member of the neighborhood association, I have been working hard to get this bridge funded for several years. The outgoing King County Executive, Ron Sims, who is leaving to take the #2 position with FHA, has ignored the pleas of this poverty-stricken neighborhood for years. The City of Seattle, to which the neighborhood belongs has washed their hands of this issue. No one outside the neighborhood, with the possible exception of County Councilmember Dow Constantine has taken this seriously.

25,000 vehicles + use this bridge daily, including a major amount of the truck traffic from the Port of Seattle (who also refuses to have a stake in the replacement costs of the bridge.) Rated only a 4, it is more than a hazard, it is a direct threat to the residents in this neighborhood.

As one of the few middle-class families in the neighborhood, I have been able to see how clearly this becomes a matter of class-warfare. The poor neighborhood gets nothing, while the elite white rich in Redmond get whatever they desire.

So thank you CBS, for pointing out this inequity and injustice. The residents of South Park are thrilled to have you on our side.

[WITHINMEANS]

What is everyone ranting at Microsoft for? The stimulus money was given to the City of Redmond. Microsoft has already coughed up 25 Million to build a public road. The City of Redmond just had the sense to apply for the funds.

Has anyone checked to see if there has even been an application for stimulus money for the South Park Bridge? Seems to me if the bridge is so bad off someone sould have applied for these funds to replace it. If it is not 'Shovel Ready' I would say that is poor planning on the part of whoever is responsible for a bridge in that poor state.

Micorsoft is not necessarily my friend but how much does a private company have to cough up for the public roads?