Is Muncie Foretelling of What's to Come?

With local funding shortfalls, will our area see consolidations too?

Muncie, Indiana is battling this with fire fighters & stations, but it seems to me that more governmental services could be affected as well. Read this article on Muncie's consolidation plans: http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20090606/NEWS01/906060311

Is Muncie at the forefront of the issues to come here locally soon?

The Hoosier Lottery

This is a very interesting article on the inner-workings of the Hoosier Lottery:
http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20090607/NEWS06/90607006/1002/rss

What ever happened to funding education?!

FYI - Linton City Council Monthly Meeting

The Linton City Council's monthly meeting is scheduled for the first of next week - Monday, May 11th, 2009 @ 7PM. The Board of Works meeting is prior to the Council meeting.

The 2009 Pig Book Arrives!

Well, it's finally the much-dreaded tax day, April 15th. What better way to celebrate it than a publication showing where at least some of all those tax revenues go!

See, each year, the Citizens Against Government Waste releases what is known as the ‘Pig Book’. It highlights what the group deems as various governmental ‘pork barrel’ spending, and the 2009 version has now arrived:

http://www.cagw.org/site/DocServer/Pig_Book_full__April_13_2009_.pdf?docID=3561

Enjoy!

City Council Meeting Tonight

The Linton City Council meeting is scheduled for this evening - Monday, April 13, 2009 @ 7PM. The Board of Works meeting is prior to the Council meeting.

Why Southwestern Indiana Won’t Get Funds

To get federal stimulus funds, a project must be ‘shovel ready’ to be approved.

And while a submission for funds for Greene County, Linton, and other cities & towns was submitted, few, if any, will be funded due to this. As this article explains http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=10153050 projects must be ready to go & complete with design plans done, right-of-ways purchased, and environmental studies completed. As it goes on, this takes time and money – and both are not a reality is this area.

So, look for very few, if any, federal stimulus money coming our way. I’m sure Indianapolis will cash in though; they always do.

Shortfalls & Blame

I was reminded while reading an opinion piece in the IndyStar that the freedom of speech comes with a huge responsibility, namely you must bear a lot of B.S. spewed by folks everywhere. Here’s a prime example:

http://www.indystar.com/article/20090329/OPINION08/903290320/1291/OPINION08

So, in reply, here’s my take:

The shortfalls in funding are due to the sports teams not paying up for their venue, while also apparently not providing enough perceived value that people want to attend the games. Attendance being down in not the fault of the building or the taxpayers. It’s the teams, the team owners, and the players, who bear the duty to get fans in those seats.

I also disagree with the piece on taxation:

What better way to capture revenue from spectators than an (increased) innkeeper’s tax? The same goes with food & beverage taxes. Maybe even a ticket ‘tax’ or fee is in order; however, the rest of the State does not need to generally bail out Indy. The State, as a whole, should not have to bear the burden. Indianapolis is the steward of these facilities for its own people, and it just needs to become a better one.

It’s as simple as that.

Crazy, Foolish Americans

The other day, The Irish Times reported that the United States will provide 730 million euros to the Palestinians toward rebuilding Gaza. That amount is equivalent to almost $1 billion.

Read the story here:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0225/breaking45.htm

Given the economy right now in our own country, it seems we could sure use that money here in our own backyard -- within the U.S.A.!

Being a State Senator is a Good Gig

Maybe I should consider running for Indiana State Senator, if you can conduct pie-eating contests & get paid, especially while much more pressing issues are all around us...

http://www.indystar.com/article/20090122/NEWS05/90122057

Wisdom of the 1800's

According to Wiki, this quote is attributed to Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville (July 29, 1805 – April 16, 1859), who was a French political thinker and historian:

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."

Very interesting.

Mexico is Angry!

Mexican politicians are angry that Mexicans are coming back over the border into Mexico. They blame new laws in Arizona, which penalize employers of illegals, which is forcing Mexican citizens back to their own country. One representative is quoted as saying that they don't know what they're going to do with this influx of people.

I'm sorry, but this is just plain funny. Mexico sees no problem with the U.S. supporting illegals, but they complain when their own people come back to Mexico!

Read more here: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/family/74193

As Easy As 1, 2, 3...

OK, the obvious in this is going to hurt a little, but stay with me…

One, it’s no secret that foreclosure rates are increasing and real estate values are decreasing.

Two, we all know that property tax caps are fully-integrated in 2010.

Three, property taxes are determined by multiplying ‘tax value’ by ‘tax rate’.

With that said, my first question is: see where I’m going with this? If you multiply less by less, you get even less.

Next, the BIG question is: what, if anything, are Greene County officials doing now about this tax revenue cut of tsunami proportions?

Finally, the BIGGEST questions: what (or who) is going to be cut from the budget? Or, what alternative tax will be levied?

Stay tuned.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor…

This op-ed piece really makes a person think:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/opinion/11friedman.html?em

THE ONLY Long-Term Solution

Mandatory financial education in the schools is the ONLY way out of this credit meltdown long-term. Sure, stimulus this and stimulus that may get us out of the doldrums for a while, but until people know what they’re doing, financially-speaking, we as Americans will be set on yet another collision course – perhaps even worse next time!

After all, Lord helps us all if we actually teach something so practical in school! With all due respect to those other courses, what is more practical than personal finance for a student? Writing checks, using a credit card, and taking out a home or car loan will probably be in 100% of all of the students' lives at some point in their life.

One teacher is teaching a course in personal finance and the article can be found here:
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090214/NEWS02/902140456/

I was glad to see this article. And yes, it’ll be a slow process, but financial education is the only long-term solution. So, we better get started now!

Ellsworth To Be in Bloomfield

For whatever it's worth to you...

"Congressman Brad Ellsworth is bringing his 3rd Annual Open Door Listening Tour to your community."

When: Monday, February 16 @ 11:00 AM ET

Where: Bloomfield Fire Station @ 75 W Mill Street, Bloomfield, IN

What: Meet Congressman Ellsworth, voice your opinions, and ask questions. Staff will also be available to assist you with federal agencies.

Lucas Oil Stadium: Show Me The Money!

Reportedly, Lucas Oil Stadium has an almost $45 million operational shortfall. Now the question: who’s going to pay?

Interestingly enough, the original proposal would have financed the operational costs into the stadium’s long-term financing. That idea is about as crazy as an individual figuring what s/he will overspend over the next 30 years and getting a 120-year mortgage to make up the difference.

Some smarter politicians are saying that they’ll vote against any broad-based tax because the general public has paid enough for the facility. They are endorsing a user fee or 'ticket tax' of sorts, while also stating they need to have another look at whether other stakeholders, such as the Colts, are paying their fair share too.

I’m reminded of a story I read sometime back in the Indy Star, entitled "Financial terms of team's pact with Indy are among the most lucrative in NFL". Although the title pretty much sums it up, here’s the link: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080824/NEWS05/808240397

WARNING: Your Blood Pressure May Raise After Reading

There’s a good number of Americans who think the government bailouts are a waste of taxpayer money, a reverse Darwinism of sorts. A website purporting to give more transparency to this whole saga can be found here: http://bailoutsleuth.com/

You may want to read this after you take your blood pressure meds though…

U.S. in the Middle East: The REAL Reason

Want to know why the U.S. military is in the Middle East? Well, here’s an interesting conspiracy theory: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHI203A.html

It has everything to do with money & power, according to this website. And where do you get vast money & power these days?

Oil!

Who would have ever thunk a 'US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce' even existed?

Even if you don’t accept the story as true, it’s an interesting read. And there may be more truth to it than any of us really know right now.

Terre Haute Has No Mayor

Wow! Terre Haute is now without a Mayor!

One of my interests is keeping up with current court cases around the State of Indiana, and a truly interesting one was found, which I thought I'd share. In fact, the Court of Appeals opinion was just published earlier today.

It deals with the November 2007 mayoral election in Terre Haute. Duke Bennett beat incumbent Kevin Burke in that election, which Burke then challenged in court. Burke argued that Bennett was ineligible to run for mayor because of his employment as operations director at the Hamilton Center. Since the Hamilton Center receives federal funding for some of its programs, it limits the political activity of employees, his legal team argued.

The Court of Appeals agreed today.

To read the actual court opinion, here is the link:
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/11130801ebb.pdf

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".

5 Years of High School Under Long Thompson?

Jill Long Thompson and Dennie Oxley, the Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, are proposing high school for some Hoosier students go into a fifth year for those who need more time to graduate, saying the plan would improve Indiana's graduation rate.

Yes, it would change the percentages, but I whole-heartedly DISAGREE with this because translated it says we would just be 'lowering the bar' to get more students to pass.

If students are so unmotivated in the first place, how is an extra year going to help? Perhaps they've not found their calling in life yet -- and most high school students haven't -- but what I'm saying is that there be alternative paths to help identify what exactly piques their interests and finds their passion. (Identify & treat the disease, not the symptoms.) After all, schools seem to train students to be good employees, who are all college-bound. That's not always the case.

Some will want to work for themselves. Others will take a vocational route in life, or they will pursue a particular unionized trade. I'm wondering if a poll was taken in the high schools today, could students identify what an electrical, pipefitter, laborer, or iron worker really does? Would they know those unions even exist?

In a related topic, would a poll reveal that they truly understand that geography, work weeks, and willingness to move, live in a big city vs. small town, and work odd hours will directly dictate your happiness in a particular field?

For example, a student wanting to be home every night with their family but has expectations of a long-haul trucking salary may be disappointed later in life. Or, what about an EMT who wants to work 9-5 Monday through Friday? It's probably not going to happen -- at least around small town America. What about a young person, who wants to open and own his or her own restaurant, but has expectations of working only 40 hours a week? Want to be a marine biologist and work in Greene County? Maybe Crane has something available, but I'm guessing that would be limited. It would probably be your only choice of employer too.

Somehow students need more exposure to a variety of jobs and fields, while instructors satisfy the exhaustive curriculum that is required. I'm not sure of the answers here, but a fifth year doesn't appear to be one of them.

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".