It’s more than a little ironic that, at a time when the US public (let alone government) seems less than enchanted with the UN, the UN is putting the final touches on a plan to rennovate its 1952 headquarters in New York, for a price tag of $1.3b billion.
The ironic part? They plan to hit up the US government for an interest-free loan to pay for the entire project.
Oh, and they expect New York to fork over a nearby park to build a 30-story “temporary” building to house everyone during the project.
Of course, there’s a certain moral suasion they can bring to bear on this, since the US is still some $800 million in arrears on its dues (the proportion of UN dues paid by the US being a different matter).
Still, it makes you wonder, given the current climate, whether Washington will offer them $1.3 billion for free if they just relocate somewhere else. Paris, for example …
Um. I’d rather have them where we can keep an eye on them, actually.
Oh, I know. I was really just kidding about that part. And in Paris they’d just think they were even more important.
Still …