The worst of both worlds

Once again government is proving it’s self incapable of doing anything both increasing it’s cost. The questions before the general population today is if we should continue with the TIF districts and fund NRP, or let the TIF districts expire next year and return the tax collect authority to the various taxing agencies (ie City, County). If the TIF districts are extended then NRP will get the money earmarked for it, and the city and county will not have the ability to control the funds directly. One idea or the other. It has been an issue of great discussion for sometime now, and has put some elected officials at odds with neighborhood organizations. The answer, since we can get people to agree to either plan let’s go ahead and do both. The legislation backed by the city is to fund NRP and allow both the city and county to open up the tax districts to increases. This is a classic case of getting you coming and going. In a time when Minneapolis has a hard enough time capturing and keeping businesses they decide they want to keep soaking the businesses. Reminds me of the scene from the movie “History of The World part1”. The Roman Senate is debating if they should give tax breaks to the poor, or raise taxes on them. They all agree by stating “_uck the poor”. Well it may not be the poor we are talking about here, but if you own a business in Minneapolis it a case if “_uck the business owners”. Well maybe not, just remember that the businesses normally will pass along increased costs of doing businesses to the customer in the form of higher prices. So, if the “elected” decide to increase the taxes in the TIF districts then the businesses will pass along that increase to you.
We already see the effects of increased taxes to pay for pet projects like the convention center, target center, metrodome, and now the new stadium. These increases, most of the time, have sunset causes in them but they never go away. The question becomes whose is at fault for letting this occur?

Where is the Shadow #4

Last week : Witch's Hat tower in Southeast

I'm not going to make this week easy on you.

Does the money go to what it is meant for?

Hennepin County first raises taxes to pay for the new Twins stadium without going to the voters. Now we find out that they are spending $1.53 million of that money on extended hours for the libraries after bailing out the city run libraries. Government has the responsible for the libraries, and libraries are good, but really now. First it’s taxation without representation (since we didn’t vote on this increase on something that isn’t government’s responsibility), and now they spend it on something that it wasn’t meant for. It’s another example of how government goes on a money control trip and never returns. The Shadow is a big Twins fan and life long supporter (I’m listening to the game as I type this), and they needed a new stadium. It isn’t the responsibility of Government to provide stadiums for professional sports teams, and the taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for the “House that Hennepin Built”. It’s going to be a great stadium and I’ll visit it often, but this isn’t the way to get the job done. On top of that the ones that bring you the stadium deal now bring you extended library hours by using funds that aren’t meant for that purpose. This is why Government continues to cost more than it needs to, and more proof of why it’s time for a new tea party.

Who shows up belongs to politics

I don’t care what side of the political fence you find yourself on, but the one true given is that politics belongs to those who show up. In the common man circles that I travel in people are confounded by how government decisions are made. How in the world could any common sense thinking person come up with this crazy crap they call government policy. Don’t get me wrong here, I believe a lot of good well meaning people get into “service” to our country by running for office and some even get elected. The good well meaning people get into the process and then end up catching the metal disease known as elected official derangement syndrome. This disease is where all common sense is thrown out from between their ears and replaced by reelection mania. They end up listening to all those people they hear from on a daily basis, and forget all about the rest of the gears that keep the world spinning referred to as the silent majority.
This silent majority are the people who do most of the living, earning, working, paying taxes, and dying in and among us. This silent majority is far too busy to raise their hand and even voice an opinion about happenings. They are the people who are dutiful in servicing their families, watching their children grow, living, laughing, loving, crying, and mostly just getting by in life. Ok, so you say you get what you deserve if you don’t speak up, and for the most part that is just. However, these are also people that have become critical and disillusioned by our process because they believe things have gotten too far out of hand. They look around at the elected officials and think to themselves “how would I ever be able to change that craziness”. They decide not to try to do anything, and therefore go unheard. These people are a larger group than most believe. Since the conversance of the web, talk radio, email, and blogs this population have been given more legs to their opinions and given them new voice. This merging of media sources has given these people new life in the political process. This new playground gives this folks a way to express themselves and a voice to their elected officials. However, these tools aren’t going to be enough to get the message across loud and clear to the “elected”. The messagestill needs to be delivered in person and eye to eye with the “elected” to get the message across effectively to make a difference. Events such as tax rallies, protests, and public speaking events go a long way to prove this silent majority is out here. It still requires the personal touch of hand to hand combat with ideas and to be done with vigor. Once this vehicle is found then we can drive our country back into the basic founding that was the original intention. Until then, we keep singing “they are coming to take me away…”.

Sometimes a street car is just a street…. Ok plain waste of money

The relationship between the Mayor and the “silly” council is sort of like that cartoon of the guy with the puppy. The little puppy follows the guy around everywhere jumping, barking, and running around in circles. That puppy follows the man blindly everywhere he goes, even if it’s over a cliff. The Mayor said he harkens back to the good old streetcar days in Minneapolis, and the puppy follows right behind him creating plans to make it happen. Good grief Mayor and Council Members don’t we have better things to do with our time and resources? How about spending a bit more wisely to give the taxpayers a break. The council is all for that as long as they get to control the money from NRP. The key word there is control! Have you ever heard of the city government sun setting or rolling back taxes? I’ve not! How about making sure that the cops are getting enough funding to staff up to the needed levels to maybe prevent a murder like the one yesterday. Maybe if you elected officials acted like representatives for once and didn’t spend your way through everything in sight you’d be able to keep your own library house in order and not require a county bailout. Maybe if you would learn economics 101 you wouldn’t have pension funding problems.
Instead of funding all the projects on the planet you wouldn’t have to raise taxes and fees on the residents and business owners. I hate to keep writing on this topic all of the time, but the spending habits of the drunken sailors known as the city council is at the very foundation of the city woes.

Over the last few years we have heard from various publications how great Minneapolis is, and what an affordable place to live it is. The key points missing from these ratings are the facts.
Fact: Anything called affordable housing has some government backing to it. Folks that means it costs us taxpayers more.
Fact: The school district is very poor and has little true hope for the type of improvement needed. Folks that means that costs you and your kids.
Fact: Minnesota is one of the highest taxed states in the country, and Minneapolis the highest taxed identity within it. Folks that means you Minneapolisites are the highest taxed.
Summary: Cost of living is high, schools stink, crime is high, and businesses are leaving. At least we will have streetcars and garden rooftops.

Dedicated to … raising the cost of doing business in Minneapolis

Instead of making easier and less expensive to do business and living in a city overrun with taxes and fees, the “silly” council is into creating new fees. This time it’s the Park Dedicated Fee resolution authored by Paul Ostrow. This is a fee up to $2,000 charged against newly constructed residential property which will be dedicated to new park needs. This is a step closer to allowing the city to charge fees for commercial and industrial to be dedicated for bike paths and other trails.
For this Council Member Ostrow gets the “boo” of the week. The Shadow is very proud of our park system, but we must not keep raising the costs of doing business and living in Minneapolis. As we discussed last week, get more money in the system and then you can pay for new parks and bike trails. Lower taxes and you will collect more money.
Can we blame poor Paul for not understanding basic economics? I think not, he hasn’t spent enough time working in the real world to recognize some of the basic fundamental principles that the rest of us working stiffs know all too well. Go ahead and pass this resolution and make it law. It gives the rest of us more reason not to invest in the city Minneapolis. Go head and charge businesses more money for operating in Minneapolis. You will keep scaring well meaning business owners into the suburbs, at least until the suburbs catch up. This type of policy making is like a disease, and can spend to the area surrounding the infected areas. So, for all of you suburban types who like to poke fun at Minneapolis, just remember… they are coming for you too.

Sunday Visit #3

This week we covered how the “Silly” Council and the Mayor replace good solid policies with costly grandiose master plans. We covered a number of good examples, but one that really exposes the full extent of the problem is the East Phillips proposal. This plan called for a $6.1 million cultural and community center. I think centers such as this can be a good thing for a neighborhood, but when you need to go to both the Federal and State governments for the funding with a price tag that is this high you are not managing priorities. Keep in mind that this city council blames it’s financial woes on the lack of state funding. The reason we don’t have enough cops is the lack of state funding. Ok, no community center and all the taxpayers in Minnesota fund the needed cops in Minneapolis. How’s that for a trade off? Why should the Federal and State governments fund a community center in East Phillips?

Common Sense steps for fixing government ills .. follow the bread crumbs
1. Our government needs to get back to the basics across all levels. Fund the expenditures that each level is really responsible for.
2. Without the huge money grab we would start to get truer representation.
3. Less professional politicians and more true representatives.
4. More truer representation more common sense policy.
5. More common sense policy less bureaucracy.
6. Less bureaucracy the less government will cost.
7. The less government costs the more money available in the system.
8. The more money available in the system the more easily funding will be available for the community centers of the world.

In short, Minneapolis get out of your own way of getting the community center built.