Lessons from Mike Mulligan’s Big Dig

The timeless story of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel was a favorite of mine growing up, but only recently, when I began reading it to my sons, did I discover its value as a guide to smart public works spending. The book, written by Virginia Lee Burton, recounts the saga of hardworking construction contractor Mike Mulligan, who after tackling every massive infrastructure project of the last century – from canals to railroads to airports to highways to skyscrapers – finds himself casting about for work. His steam shovel, MaryAnne, is obsolete, but the ever loyal Mike will not abandon her.

They land in the sleepy hamlet called Popperville, somewhere in what seems like the leafy hills of New England. Popperville needs a new town hall and Mike gets the job by guaranteeing a local selectman, Henry B. Swap, that he will dig the cellar for the structure in single a day. He also promises that if he doesn’t meet that goal, he will refuse payment.

Beyond being a nice morality tale highlighting the value of hard work and loyalty in the face of adversity, Mike’s story can be read as a primer on prudent management of local infrastructure projects–one that state and local officials might want to study as they await (and squabble over) their share of the $720 billion stimulus package. Here a few lessons for the–and all Americans–from the book:

1. A contractor’s compensation is contingent upon completing a job in a timely fashion – What a concept! But when Big Dig-style infrastructure projects drag on year after year, why do politicians so rarely dust off this kindergarten-level strategy for getting things done quickly?
2. Mike Mulligan isn’t anyone’s brother-in-law – He has made no political contributions. He wasn’t anyone’s roommate at Harvard. He’s just hungry and has a solid track record of doing good work.
3. The local pols are tough guardians of the public purse – Up until the very last minute, Henry B. Swap was going to withhold payment to Mike for not living up to his end of the digging bargain. It took an arbitrator – a local 8 year old – to bring the two parties to an agreement. In a world of massively overbudget public works projects, too many politicians treat public money as if its purpose was to be squandered.
4. Citizens take an active interest in the town’s big investments – Everyone from Popperville turns out to follow the progress of the town’s biggest infrastructure project. Sure it’s good theater but it’s also rooted in a sense of civic duty. They care. And in doing so, they take an active role in the final agreement with Mike by ratifying it (a voice vote of “Why not?”) and then celebrate the completed project.
5. Innovation and adaptability can save a lot of time (and money) – At the end of the book (spoiler alert!), Mike cannot remove MaryAnne from the newly dug cellar. In his furious concentration on meeting his goal, Mike digs “so fast and so well” that he forgets to create a way out. It is left to our 8-year-old arbitrator to provide a brilliant solution: retrofit MaryAnne as the boiler to heat the new building and offer Mike the job of custodian. So, instead of forcing the contractor to dismantle and remove his steam shovel and thereby delaying the project’s progress, they stay on schedule and save significant money on the boiler installation. And, no doubt, Mike is a bargain as the non-union custodian.

The moral of this story: a “win-win-win” for the elected official, contractor and taxpayers alike. How often does that happen? Not often enough.