By: Diane Benjamin
Jim Fruin proved economics is way beyond his abilities last night. In his farewell statement Jim said he plans to attend Council meetings, but only sit by positive people.
Some people are positive Bloomington needs to keep making ‘progress’.
Others are positive we are witnessing the destruction of the jewel Bloomington used to be.
Jim is positive government should spend on their vision for your life.
When government seizes control of more and more of the economy, friends of government profit while everybody else sees any wealth they have taken away to pay for it.
Easy example: Downtown Business Association. The City agreed to fund them for a specific period of time years ago. The end date came and went but the funding stayed because the City chooses to keep subsidizing them. Why should the downtown businesses participate in their success when the City pays the DBA dues for them?
Almost every new development crawls to the City for funding now. The rich get richer from tax subsidies – everybody else gets poorer paying for it.
Career jobs are becoming more scarce unless you apply to work with some form of government. It is likely you won’t get hired without “connections” – government jobs are only for those who support big government. Again, the minority profits through higher than average salaries, pensions most others will never enjoy, and lavish benefits.
With spending accelerating at alarming rates, the middle class is shrinking while the poor are forced to spend more on essential City services. Businesses subsidized by government have an unfair advantage over competitors. No aaccountability is required. At last nights meeting the City lawyer from Springfield had to explain the agenda items didn’t match the packet information. One item had to be pulled because it was in the packet, but not on the agenda. Who was responsible? It should have been the City Clerk, but there aren’t any penalties for messing up a meeting. Hales and Renner went out of their way to praise her at the end of the meeting for her community involvement. The Council likes to think they are the Board of Directors. The private sector would be axing whoever messed up the meeting, government never does.
Proper documentation for meetings isn’t a high priority since Council members think everything is a great idea. They are programmed to say yes to everything because independent thoughts don’t exist. The new Council will be even more compliant. PROGRESS! There will be NO members who ask: Why is this government’s job? Priority based budgeting only means “do we do it this year or next?”
During the meeting, slides were shown of what the BCPA might become. The City bought 4 parking lots as they dream of an expanded cultural district most people can’t afford or don’t care about. Coliseum 2.0 (maybe it’s 3.0) is coming, entertaining you isn’t government’s job – they just think it is. How much of our money will they take before we are considered ‘properly entertained’?
Be positive Jim, when the local economy completely collapses because of government overreach I wonder who will get the blame? I bet it won’t be the people in government who wasted our hard-earned paychecks. Simple economic history proves over and over that government is not a solution to problems – it causes them. Evidently the Council skipped history.
Jim ended with “none of them serve for the money”. Obviously Jim, power and the euphoria of spending other people’s money trumps a salary. Free food doesn’t hurt either.
Just hit play to hear Fruin’s comments:
Both councils in BloNo are now fully programmed for group think of the socialist i.e. communist agenda. A wealth redistribution scheme to continue the progressives path of destruction for the middle class and this “Republic for which it stands.” As Margaret Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other peoples money.” Born and raised here, can’t wait to retire somewhere else.
What I see here compared to Champaign is vast difference in the attitude of the business people and the amount economic activity of the area. You have to step out of this town and start talking to people in order to really understand the malaise that has set in here. We are at the beginning of a serious and almost unstoppable economic decline. Governments role should be to help bring in real new businesses (not hot dog stands and car companies who need their grass cut). The waste and misdirection of money by both city governments is just making the situation worse. They are adding to the problems that we are headed for instead of charting a course that will help us get through the difficult years ahead. Essentially our leadership is operating in an alternative reality that is not connected to April 2017. All of downstate Illinois is in a recession that is really the beginning of a general economic decline and we are worried about bike paths and cultural districts? And we keep raising taxes to pay for silly projects while ignoring infrastructure spending? Our leadership is living in lollypop land while 2017 beats our citizens to death and our cities decline. Shame on them…..
There is only one person who used inappropriate language and behavior during public comment. As I recall, others were respectful although obviously frustrated while presenting opposing viewpoints. I would like to know who does “grandstanding” or “gotcha.” Both Renner & Black call commenters “naysayers.” When citizens are happy with their government, they generally do not go to meetings to make comments. The comment period is for citizens to express their concerns and grievances.