Dam Lies, Fish and Politics

To estimate the benefits and costs of dams in the Pacific Northwest, we need to estimate the value of Salmon.  To estimate the value of Salmon, we need to count the Salmon.  To count the Salmon, we need to hire someone that can count fish.  To hire someone that can count fish, we need to pay the fish counters.  To pay the fish counters we need federal money.  To get federal money we need the support of a congressional representative.  To get elected, the congressional representative from the Pacific Northwest needs the support of electricity producers. To get the support of electricity producers the congressional representative needs to up-play the value of dams in the northwest.  To up-play the value of dams the congressional representative needs to downplay the value of fish.  To downplay the value of fish, the congressional representative needs to accuse the fish counters of advocacy and cut their federal funds.  See how that works?