That "Adopt a Highway" sign might be a sham

[RobertSeattle]

I've always assumed when I see a "Adopt a Highway" sign that meant the organization or company in question had their OWN members or employees voluntarily do the clean up, but possibly No:

www.adoptahighway.com

[whistle]

1. Not exactly, they have their OWN members and employees who...

...voluntarily take your money!

[markus]

2. So, is it still wrong to empty all of my car gabage out the window

when I pass the two miles adopted by the Clay County (MN) Republican Party?

[JHB]

3. I never thought that, except for the occasional Boy Scout troop...

...I always figured it was a way around signage limitations or just for PR effect: the company (or whoever) pays X dollars to whoever actually maintains it, effectively picking up the maintenance tab for a particular stretch of road (an expense they can deduct from taxes, naturally).

[Newsjock]

4. This is why I'm a lousy entrepreneur

... and not fit to serve in this "ownership society." I'd never thought of such a thing, but it's apparently been going on for years, judging from the press releases at the company's website.

It all makes sense, though. Out in the Mojave Desert, one small radio station group has a virtual lock on all the adopt-a-highway signs along I-15 and I-40. Logically, sure, there's no way a tiny radio station in Barstow can singlehandedly clean up 200 miles of freeway. But since you can't put billboards out there (gee, how long till this administration undoes that rule?), it's very effective advertising for these stations that run about 94 minutes of Las Vegas commercials each hour.