Hey Buddy, want to buy a dam?

Or have your children or grandchildren pay for it?

That's what Rep Bruce Braley would like to happen. He's all for using federal dollars (confiscated from us, or borrowed from future generations) to assist the Lake Delhi association to rebuilt its dam that was washed away on July 24th.

"My job is to help identify and secure all potential federal resources to assist those individuals and businesses in the 1st District who are eligible to help recover from the recent flooding," Braley said.

He either has no clue where the money comes from or doesn't care.

This dam was privately owned and operated.

The Lake Delhi Recreation Association owned and maintained the dam, which was 88 years old.

Members paid an additional $4 per $1,000 of assessed taxable property valuation to support operation of the structure as well.

Maybe some of that money should have been set aside for repairs. Some reports indicate that one of the floodgates was not working properly. I wonder if a private dam could be insured.

Not everyone agrees with Braley:

But Braley's Republican challenger, Ben Lange, an attorney in Independence, said Monday he didn't think the federal government's functions include assisting rebuilding a privately owned dam.

Private entities and state and local governments should shoulder that responsibility, Lange said.

I disagree that state funding would be used. That comes from my pocket or from my sons' pockets as we now live under Governor Debt Culver's regime.

A privately owned lake and dam would mean they association should pay for it. Maybe if a local utility could get involved to put a few generators in there, that might work. So long as it's their funds and not from the state or feds.

We can't afford this anymore.

Braley, Lange on opposite sides of dam