The Bloomington City Council hasn’t learned any lessons.
This week the City Council rushed through a summer project for juvenile offenders with no measurements to judge success or failure. Next August or September, a kid or two will appear before the Council and rave about how the program changed his life, then a permanent program will be arranged. Hopefully the churches will look elsewhere for funding, instead of feeding off the public trough. Why does Bloomington need funded pensions and good roads, those projects don’t feel good.
Bloomington should have learned a lesson when Julie Crowe filled a lawsuit against the city for denying her a taxi license. If you don’t remember the case, see the details here: http://reason.com/archives/2012/03/18/one-woman-is-fighting-back-against-bloom
The City didn’t want to upset all the current licensed owners, so they denied Julie – thinking she would just go away. Citizens shouldn’t expect the right to start a business in a free society! Julie didn’t go away. The case goes to court next week. How much will this one cost the taxpayers?
Doing the job government was designed to do, like protecting the rights of citizens, isn’t glamorous. Instead of maintaining good roads, funding pensions, and then getting out of the way so citizens can prosper – government now steps in to create their version of prospering. Economic Development groups used to keep government in check so a good business climate could be achieved. Low taxes and few regulations plus good infrastructure draws businesses.
But now things are different. The local Economic Development people want government spending to create jobs. They openly campaigned for who they wanted on the City Councils of Bloomington and Normal. Members of the City Council are even on their boards.
Bloomington only has 2 Council members who understand the role of government as established by the Constitution, Judy Stearns and Kevin Lower. They are vilified by the much louder voices wanting government spending and anything that feels good. These voices found government at every level an easy mark. Conservatives are the silent majority who work hard and start businesses. They haven’t taken the time to get involved in politics. Somehow they believed the elected were people of honor and would do what’s best for all citizens.
They were wrong. How do you think the country got close to $17 Trillion in debt? Why can’t Illinois pay it’s bills? Why are property taxes so high? Why do you think most of the Bloomington City Council think Downtown Bloomington should be a destination?
The answers are simple. Big spenders hang out with other big spenders. They feed off each other. They are the ones who show up at committee meetings with propositions. The local bike club is a small percentage of the population, but they convinced the Regional Planning Commission to plan bike lanes on busy roads. Since they are the only voices heard, they win. It’s a nice racket. They win – you lose because you will pay for their folly.
The citizens of Bloomington will continue to lose property rights as the Council decides what rights you are entitled to. Judy Stearns and Kevin Lower are fighting for the silent majority. They need support, or they will continue to be painted as opposing everything and stopping progress.
The problem is: the big spenders want progress. The “Progress”, however, is never defined. If progress creates problems, then they need more progress to solve them.
If you don’t start voicing your opinions, the next progress will be a new downtown. Read what they have in mind: http://blnnews.com/2013/05/30/bloomington-this-is-what-most-of-the-council-wants/
If this is okay with you stay silent.
“The crisis is imminent,” Schiff said. “I don’t think Obama is going to finish his second term without the bottom dropping out. And stock market investors are oblivious to the problems.”
“We’re broke, Schiff added. “We owe trillions. Look at our budget deficit; look at the debt to GDP ratio, the unfunded liabilities. If we were in the Eurozone, they would kick us out.”
Schiff points out that the market gains experienced recently, with the Dow first topping 14,000 on its way to setting record highs, are giving investors a false sense of security.
“It’s not that the stock market is gaining value… it’s that our money is losing value. And so if you have a debased currency… a devalued currency, the price of everything goes up. Stocks are no exception,” he said.
“The Fed knows that the U.S. economy is not recovering,” he noted. “It simply is being kept from collapse by artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing. As that support goes, the economy will implode.”
The above reflects recent statement made by Peter Schiff. Although his comments are strikingly spot on, it is the second sentence which quite well describes the city council and staff regarding their ideals of utopia for “their” little town that they “,,,are oblivious to the problems.”
This council has NO clue what the downtown plan will cost, nor after state or federal promised taxpayer (give backs with strings attached) of what the cost will be. No clue, no care. The rubber stamper legacy will be egg on their fantasy land smiling faces.
This “pilot project” sounds like something right out of Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals book. Let me get this strait, using our tax dollars to reward juveniles so they will not do crimes. Thank God we at least have two councilman with some “brains” to see through this!