Is Trending the Best Way to Figure Property Tax Values?

Public officials all over Indiana seem totally baffled as to why they cannot get property tax bills out in a timely manner. I hear a lot of excuses (actually all I hear are excuses) about why tax bills are so late, but one point consistently seems to be raised: the computation of "trending" in determining fair market value is causing a lot of problems and delays with the tax bills.


So:

Is Trending Best?
If so, why is it best?
Are there other ways to fix fair market value?
Can the legislature come up with something that is simpler, reasonably fair and will get tax bills out on time?

Frankly, I don't care anymore who is to blame. Let's get the problem of tax bills solved. If trending is one of the impediments then lets find a better way. We are are running the risk of becoming a "failed state" like California and it is about time we set our own house in order.

I would fix the value at time time of sale and then do periodic reassessments, say every 5 years. Can that be so hard? It seems to me the paperwork for that is no harder than when we used "replacement value" for property taxes and for decades we got the bills out on time.

I would like to hear what you think.

Obamacare postponed till September

This appears to be a small success, but for the foes of increased socialized health care the battle will now go to individual districts and town hall meetings.

First, Soren Dayton reported yesterday that there would not be a vote on Obamacare before the recess. Many political observers assumed that the House would indeed vote, and the Senate would wait, now it appears even the very lefty House isn't ready.

Then we got this release from Rep. Mike Pence:

Pence: We Are on the Verge of an Historic Victory for the American Taxpayer

Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, issued the following statement today on the Democrat health care plan:

"House Republicans support health care reform that will lower the cost of health care for every American and in particular that will lower the cost of health insurance to small businesses, family farmers and working families. The Democrat plan for health care reform amounts to a government takeover of health care in this country, paid for with more than a trillion dollars in higher taxes and it must be opposed.

"Under the Democrat plan, according to independent analysis, you'll probably lose your health care and you might just lose your job. House Republicans have led the fight against the Democrats' plan for a government takeover of health care and we will continue to as this debate goes forward.

"But now House Republicans and a handful of Democrats are on the verge of an historic victory for American taxpayers and for the American health care economy.

"But we need your help. Americans who cherish the fundamental free market foundation of our health care economy should call their Congressman today and urge them to oppose the government takeover of health care being moved by this administration and House Democrats.

"We urge every American who cherishes the freedom and free market foundation of our health care economy to join House Republicans and a handful of Democrats in this fight to bring about reform that is billed on the fundamental free market foundation of our health care economy."

One of the biggest reasons I believe in the death penalty

"Sanchez's troubles became apparent to authorities when they found her before dawn Sunday screaming that she had killed her baby. Her 3 1/2-week-old son was dismembered in a scene so gruesome that police were left shaken."AP-07/28/09

Absolutely disgusting and unacceptable. Otty Sanchez dismembered and ATE parts of her three and a half week old son.

I don't even know where to begin. All I can do is look at my cell phone and see the picture of my beautiful son and try to imagine what kind of thoughts must have been going through her head before she CUT HIM INTO PIECES. Supposedly she had both post-partum depression and was schizophrenic and wasn't taking her meds. The father attests to this: "He said although his girlfriend had postpartum depression and told him a week before the killing that she was schizophrenic, she didn't appear unstable." Now, some of you out there may use the argument that because she was "mentally ill" she shouldn't be given the death penalty. However, how far does this line of thinking go? Do you think that she should be allowed to be amongst those of us in society that are decent people (and I use the word decent VERY loosely when talking about this situation)? Do you think she DESERVES to live after SLAUGHTERING HER NEWBORN SON. It would be one thing if perhaps she was mentally retarded, in which case she wouldn't have been allowed to be alone with her son in the first place and would be monitored and given care, etc. etc. However if her boyfriend of six years didn't see it coming, what does that say about her frame of mind? This screams pre-meditation to me. And personally, I would love to be the one to pull that switch and end her miserable life.

"Sanchez told police — who described a scene so horrifying that investigators could barely speak to one another — that the devil made her kill, mutilate and eat parts of her only child."

She ate parts of her newborn child. She chopped him into pieces, mutilated the body, and ATE HER CHILD. I've said it before and I'll say it again: public executions so that I can have a chance to spit on her lifeless body before she rots in Hell. Look at that beautiful baby up above, and tell me it doesn't do one, if not both, of two things: make you want to cry and simultaneously track her down yourself.

'"She killed my son. She should burn in hell," Buchholz, 33, told The Associated Press.'

Well, at least one person agrees with me.

Indiana Privatizes Medicare System; Dems Astonished to Find Waste & Abuse

Recently the State of Indiana, whose Welfare system was described by it's Governor, Mitch Daniels, as "the worst in the country," hired IBM as a private contractor to administer it's Medicare system. And, like any business, the IBM-hired workers started doing things that government has problems with; things like, oh, say . . . verifying eligibility, confirming residency, confirming there's no fraud in the system.

That kind of stuff.

So now the Dems in Indiana are outraged, outraged I say!, when people are getting kicked off Medicare that can't produce the necessary documentation.

Heh. Imagine that. So the Dem response is, "Let's cancel the contract then:

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana welfare officials considering canceling the state's privately run welfare system have no backup plan in place and critics say it will be hard to undo the privatization of 1,500 state case workers more than two years ago.

Anne Murphy, secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration, confirmed last week that the system led by IBM Corp. and Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has so many problems that Indiana could cancel the 10-year, $1.16 billion contract. She asked IBM to submit a "corrective action plan" as part of a process that could result in cancellation of the contract if changes aren't made by the end of September.

However, Murphy told The Associated Press that her agency doesn't have a backup plan for running the welfare system that provides benefits to 1.2 million Indiana residents. Top state officials have started discussing what to do if the vendors' performance doesn't improve, but no plan has been made.

Hmmmmm . . . sort of like what will happen if Obamacare passes? No way out once the Big Changes come through? Certainly something to remember for later . . . meanwhile, get who's complaining . . . and what their complaints are:

Welfare clients, their advocates and lawmakers have harshly criticized the IBM team for lost documents, slow approvals and severed eligibility for Medicaid, food stamps and other benefits. Federal food stamp officials also have requested improvements.

Carmel attorney Scott Severns represented a 33-year-old single mother with one child in a telephone hearing on food stamp eligibility last week. The woman had submitted details on her car registration and loan to ACS months before, but the hearing officer denied her claim because she could not provide updated information, Severns said. He also is appealing the denial of the woman's Medicaid application.

So, in other words, they can only produce one example of a problem; which is obviously a problem with the applicant not being able to provide the correct documentation.

Oh, yeah -- that's a good reason to cancel a multi-billion dollar plan that's already finding problems with documentation. Blame that messenger!

Cross Posted At Alamo City Pundit

~Johnny~

Oh my what to do with $170 million

We've covered this story multiple times here on Porter County Politics, but the Post Tribune brought it up again, so let's delve into a few of the details.

• Porter County sold it's county owned hospital to Community Health
• The new owners committed to building a brand new state of the art hospital, on SR 49 north of Valparaiso. But NIMBY's (those who don't want anything built) are fighting the construction of the new health campus.
  
• In the meantime the county council "agreed" with themselves to keep the money locked up, or at least the principal for five years. They have also decided momentarily to lock up the interest proceeds as well.
  
• During the elections in 2008, county Treasurer Jim Murphy suggested the county use it's interest proceeds to help out cities and towns who were cash starved due to the Auditor and Assessor taking three years to do a year's worth of bills. The county council voted 4-2 against helping the local towns and cities.

Where do you stand, where would you like to see those dollars used or invested or saved?

My opinion, for what it's worth:

• Open a local "bond bank" for local communities needing to borrow due to assessor and auditor delays. Charge 1% for the monies, less than other lending institutions, but still making the county a pittance. Allow up to the entire $7 million in interest to be used for this purpose. "Bond bank" to be managed by incoming Treasurer Mike Bucko (D) and outgoing Treasurer Jim Murphy (R).
  
• Immediately form a blue ribbon panel to look at county government re-organization. Give them six months to come back with their report. Include members from labor, both parties, business, and charities. Since the Democrats control the county, they should choose the chairperson ... although I would highly recommend Laura Blaney (D)
  
• Drop the resistance to the RDA, since the lion's share of that tax is actually a property tax reduction. Re-seat a board member to represent Porter County, seems like Portage should get that seat perhaps Ross Pangere? If I were the mayor of Portage I'd sure want to see Portage better represented.
  
• Drop the contract with First Source Bank, an out of region bank, and have Centier or some other local entity manage the principal. Continue with the agreement to lock up the principal until the new hospital is open, which appears to be about 4 years out. In the meantime form a blue ribbon "Grow Porter County" panel from both parties and labor and charities, to look at the best way over a ten year period to use those funds. I think we all agree that we need job creation, and that the county sitting on 1/4 Billion Dollars isn't creating any jobs ... unless you count out of town consultants.
  
• Clean out the assessor and auditor positions, we need new people in both positions ... leaders willing to look at re-organization and at new paradigms of management concepts.

Go ahead and disagree, or argue the points, we encourage active engagement here.

Howey reports Dumezich out of Senate race

Update: Dan Dumezich sent me and others a message yesterday that he "is not" out of the race, and is still considering a run. He mentioned it was a misunderstanding between he and Howey.

I have said here on multiple occasions that I would personally much prefer Dan Dumezich (R) from Schererville run against embattled Unites States Representative Visclosky (D-IN 1) instead of going after Senator Bayh.

Today the Howey Report breaks the news that Dumezich says "nope" to running in the Republican primary against Sen. Marlin Stutzman and banker from Richmond Don Bates Jr.

I'll keep my eyes open today for any more news, but it does appear there will be a contested Republican primary, and the monetary advantage for Evan Bayh continues to grow. Other news today suggests that Bayh's wife Susan is on mulitple health care boards, and making a ton of cash.

More today on health care locally.

Patients Stunned They Have to *PAY* for Health Care; Pro-Obama Paper Piles On For Single-Payer

The Gary IN Post-Tribune supports Obamacare. If you doubt that, just read their editorial of last week:

It's not yet time to say that the political debate over this year's effort at health insurance reform has reached its low, since we're sure to hear more hyperbolic charges about socialized medicine, meddlesome government bureaucrats that might replace meddlesome corporate bureaucrats -- and how we shouldn't tax the rich because after all, they create jobs!

The snarky sarcasm fairly drips off the page!

Any sentient person might wonder where all these jobs are, and why this upper-crust, job-creation engine should be spared a tax surcharge to finance insurance coverage for those who do not now have it. But that would be a digression.

What we apparently are supposed to be talking about is when health legislation should be passed -- before the August congressional break? Just after that? Never?

Congress already is moving -- barely moving, and not necessarily to a triumphal finish -- toward expanding coverage, reordering convoluted medical payment systems that breed inefficiency and raise costs, and cleaning up some messes in Medicare created when the Republicans controlled Congress and gave away billions to drug makers and the insurance industry.

Still, Congress is managing a start. And despite whatever distortions you may hear, the House bill now moving through a series of committees is the best of this year's starts.

Apparently they're teaching that sarcasm is interchageable with critical thought and rebuttal speech in journalism school today. I feel like I need a shower after that.

So it shouldn't be surprising that The Post-Tribune has THIS article on how five, count them, FIVE patients were socked with high physician's bills from their local ER:

• Yates said on April 9 her husband, Bruce, a 30-year deputy U.S. marshal, was deathly ill, suffering from end-stage liver cancer. She phoned her family doctor, who urged her to take him directly to Porter hospital's emergency room. "When we checked in nobody mentioned anything about the new ER physicians or any insurance payment problems. "

• "I feel like telling Porter and their ER doctors not to get me in the middle of their fight with Anthem," said (Roberta) Kicinski, a special education teacher who received a similarly unexpected bill. "But that's exactly what they've done. I have no control over the physicians who treat me there. Nobody told me they were out of network. I had no choice. How would I know?"

• Judith Cieslak of rural Valparaiso, a retired employee of the City Colleges of Chicago living on a fixed income, believed she suffered an adverse reaction to her chemotherapy treatment when a friend brought her in to Porter's ER. But nobody told my friend or me that the ER doctors were not in my network. I pay almost $700 per month for Anthem health insurance and this has never happened before. I had no reason to question the network status of the ER doctors. "

• Valparaiso University music professor Linda Ferguson said she went to Porter's ER around 2 a.m. on March 17 for acute appendicitis, had surgery and was released days later."The bill for the ER doctor was bigger than the bill for the surgeon who performed the appendectomy," Ferguson said.

• Rick Hathaway of Valparaiso, a plant engineer at ArcelorMittal's Burns Harbor facility, went to Porter's ER on a Sunday morning with chest pain. "We didn't know there was a problem here and people should have known they should go someplace else if they couldn't afford this. I think people should have been forewarned about this situation."

Why were they hit with big bills? Anthem Blue Cross and The Physician's company couldn't agree on reimbursements:

The pay dispute is between Anthem, the nation's largest Blues plan and the state's biggest health insurer, and Apollo MD, an Atlanta-based physician outsourcing firm that does business as Indiana Physicians Services. Apollo physicians began covering Porter's emergency room Feb. 1, but the group is not a preferred provider in the Anthem network, though Porter hospital is.

Apollo MD has not yet signed a contract with Anthem, saying the billion-dollar insurer is offering unfairly low reimbursements. Anthem said the ER group is seeking too much and a stalemate has resulted, leaving unsuspecting patients with large bills.

What does this have to do with Obamacare? Nothing, really, other than drumming up sad stories to swing public opinion against the status quo health care system we have currently.

And to those readers in Porter County Indiana? How's that "selling-the county-hospital-thing" working out for ya? I don't seem to recall these kind of contract disputes before the County commissioners sold off the hospital to a private owner.

Good luck with that.

~Johnny~




Cross Posted At Alamo City Pundit

Decriminalization Makes Cents

Please, everyone, finish reading this post completely before you begin typing out an angry comment.
I don't use illegal drugs, I don't advocate the use of illegal drugs, and I am not an advocate of legalization of marijuana and really I don't even advocate decriminalization, however decriminalization DOES make sense. It pains me to say this (because I know enough zoned out pot heads who don't know where they are half the time) but the United States could make a healthy revenue off of the decriminalization of pot while still keeping it illegal and discouraging people to smoke it. The first thing you have to look at is the amount of time and money it takes to send some kid who picked up a couple of joints off of some dealer and then got caught to jail. The court costs that are racked up because of these stupid kids who made a mistake is staggering. It costs over 7 billion dollars a year to enforce marijuana laws, and good portion of that is wasted on small time recreational users. Now, this is what I propose: When a person gets pulled over and is caught with marijuana, and he is a first time offender, he should receive a hefty fine. Somewhere around the $300 mark would be sufficient. The second time, $600. The third? Jail. This three strike rule would cut down on court costs dramatically and would allow the government to worry more about what the War on Drugs was supposed to be about: going after dealers. The 17 year old kid who did that stupid thing (as a former 17 year old I did my fair share of stupid things and I'm sure everyone out there did as well) shouldn't go to jail but should be driven home and handed over to his parents with a hefty fine. That alone will make many people, when put into a situation with his or her peers, go "Hell no! I can't afford another fine like that."
As I said above, I certainly don't advocate or use marijuana, but when you look at the history of why it became illegal it goes against my fair market beliefs. Pot was made illegal mostly because of lobbyists from three different products: Tobacco, Alcohol, and Rope. Tobacco wanted people to smoke THEIR substance, and quite frankly its harder and more expensive to grow tobacco (and has less rewarding results when smoked). Basically the same with alcohol. Alcohol is a laborous man made process of creating something that makes you feel "messed up", and is once again more expensive than growing pot. The rope people (or more specifically cotton people) wanted to have rope made out of cotton instead of the much stronger (and cheaper, again, to grow) hemp material.
The last part of this, I'm torn. As a social conservative I would whoop my child's butt for smoking pot and I don't agree that pot doesn't kill your brain cells. I know many zoned out pot heads, like I said above, and the evidence is there. Smoke a lot of pot, you get dummer. HOWEVER the argument that it is addictive is bunk. There is no chemical substance that makes you physically addictive, and I don't agree that you would necessarily start using harder drugs because you smoke pot once or twice. BUT if you're driving out to areas where you can buy pot, the odds are about 99% that pot isn't the only drug that the pusher is pushing and probably isn't where he makes his money so that he can afford to purchase and drive around his Cadillac with 20 inch rims. Hes going to tell you, "Hey, you like that stuff? Try this, it will get you higher and will make you higher longer." The stupid kid will probably go "DER, Okay." and purchase it. And that's why I think the War on Drugs could start really working instead of being tied up with small time legal battles to punish kids who just did something stupid. The cops could start focusing on what the War on Drugs is really about: Big time dealers and drug smugglers. If you can stop the dealers and smugglers, the rest will naturally follow anyways.

What the *HECK* is Wrong With Dick Lugar?

"I'm gonna tell!"

With President O'Bummer trotting out to Press Conferences announcing "I won!" like a Fifth Grader who just snatched all the marbles on a playground and the dynamic Duo of Pelosi and Harry Reid locking Conservatives out of Conference comittees or scheduling votes without notification -- you'd think the biggest probelm in Washington would be the hardline Liberals and their "Quick-Ram-It-Through-FAST" Aganda.

Strangely enough, with the Democraps increasingly having problems mustering a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, the biggest problem is actually weak-kneed Republicans who seem to have misplaced their spines. And when you're talking about senior statesmen and former Presidential candidate and frequent gun-rights supporter Richard Lugar (D-IN), it's positively baffling.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate sided with gun control advocates Wednesday by rejecting a measure that would have allowed people with concealed weapons permits to carry those hidden weapons across state borders.

And before anyone panics; this measure would NOT have allowed people to get on airplanes with a concealed weapon. But cab drivers in Connecticut taking a fare to New York would've been able to bring their sidearm, or tourists driving a state away to a national park.

Senators voted for the measure, 58-39, but it fell short of the required 60 votes for approval, based on a procedural agreement between Senate leaders.

It is an unusual setback for the gun rights side, which has been able to muster majorities of Republicans and pro-gun Democrats to move its agenda through both the Bush and Obama administrations.

Opponents say the concealed weapon proposal would force states with tough gun laws to accept gun-carrying visitors from states with weaker laws. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said that was not true and that gun-toters would have to follow the laws of the state they entered.

The gun proposal did not establish national standards for concealed weapons permits and would not have allowed those with permits to carry weapons into Wisconsin and Illinois, the two states that do not have concealed weapons laws.

So it would not have stepped on anybody's toes -- just streamlined the laws that already exist. Where's the problem, Dick?

So far this year gun rights advocates have had some successes in Congress. They attached a provision to a credit card bill signed into law that restores the right to carry loaded firearms in national parks, and coupled a Senate vote giving the District of Columbia a vote in the House with a provision effectively ending the district's tough gun control laws. House Democratic leaders, unable to detach the two issues without losing the support of pro-gun Democrats, abandoned attempts to pass the D.C. vote bill.

Barking Moonbat Early Warning system Blog reports:

Ultimately, the measure was defeated because two veteran Republicans who frequently support gun rights voted against it. Both Indiana’s Richard Lugar and Ohio’s George were surprise “No” votes. Neither has explained their decision.

The Chicago had another surprising defection:o Tribune

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, a pro-gun rights Democrat who faces a primary challenge next year in a state with strong gun control sentiments, also opposed it. "I strongly believe that the gun laws that are right for New York are not necessarily right for South Dakota, and vice versa," she said.."

Those who opposed it, NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre warned, "will see it reflected in support from their constituents."

You may remember that Gillibrand is the winner of Hillary Clinton's old Senate Seat from New York; and raised quite the kerfluffle when it was found out she's a lifetime NRA member and actually sleeps with a gun under her pillow.

Ah well, another day, another hypocritical Democrat. What a surprise. But Richard Lugar -- from the reddest of red states Indiana? I think Governor "My Man Mitch" Daniels needs to seriously think about b-slapping some sense into old man Lugar.

Senator Lugar is up for re-electtion in 2012, by the way. In fact, he's inspired me to create a new tab at the top of this blog - the one titled "2012 Project", which will document the things we need to remember about these RINOs come the next time they're up for re-election. It will also document the seats where actual, honest-to-God conservatives are running for office.

Time to think about stepping down, Dick, if you're going to ignore your constituents like a Democrat.

Cross Posted At Alamo City Pundit

~Johnny~

Should churches pay for fire and police protection?

This will rile almost all readers I'm sure, but I'm curious why non-profit and religious organizations get free fire and police protection? Should they pay a "fee" since they don't pay any property taxes?

Times article on Church Safety in Valparaiso.

Many of our churches are adding new facilities and staff, a great way to stimulate the economy in my mind, but free police and fire? With a significant number of government services being moved to user fees, what would be wrong with a fire protection or public safety fee?

Abortion: Simply Not Economical

I was at work a few days ago, and I started to think about abortion. For anyone on here that doesn’t know me, let me tell you a little about my thought process and how I come up with post ideas. First, I read everything I can possibly get my hands on. Once I have a grasp on something (in the case of this article, abortion) I think about it for a few days until I come up with a concrete reason why I agree/disagree with the author of that particular book or idea. In the case of this post, I have read several different books from different view points on abortion as well as online articles, however as anybody that is familiar with my writings on here I also have a huge interest in Economics and how capitalism works.
So there I was, thinking about abortion, and the usual arguments against it were running through my mind: lack of personal responsibility, it’s the taking of human life for your own conveniance, against peoples religion, etc. etc. And then I thought: how can I tie this with the Economy? So I did a little research.
First of all, for any capitalist, the ideal way to run the government is to have a high amount of tax revenue coming in while keeping taxes as low as possible for the individual so that he or she will WANT to continue working hard. This of course means more tax revenue for the government and helps keep things rolling along nicely. Now, an average of one and a half million babies are aborted every year in the United States alone (42 million world wide). Just in tax revenue alone, that is a tremendous amount of money that could help to pay off, say, the giant national debt.
Also, and this may sound like a stretch so bear with me, I would imagine that the aborted children would have averaged out to have been a more productive part of our society. My rational is this: Think of the people that have created new money making ideas. Bill Gates came from nothing, John D. Rockefeller, Ozzie Osbourne, J.K. Rowling…the list goes on and on. Now, the most common argument for abortion (besides a woman’s right to choose) is the argument for those who are poor. They can’t AFFORD a child, they say. They already have a hard enough time as it is feeding themselves, they say. And that very well may be true. However, the names mentioned above as well as many many others show that a harder life can make you a stronger person. All of us reading this had grandparents and great grandparents that experienced the great depression. How are they when it comes to money? Do they save a lot? Are they frivolous spenders? I’ll bet that they aren’t. The children that were killed before they had a chance to take that first breathe could have been some of the greatest thinkers. They could have not only contributed to the tax pool, but could have created new industries that could have DOUBLED the tax pool. Instead, they were deemed an inconvenience and snuffed out, leaving only questions of what could have been.
On a different note, abortion also allows those that SHOULDN’T be a part of the economic game a free ride. That nineteen year old dimwitted college partier (not that I’m against a good party) that lays down with anyone and everyone at the Alpha Beta Gama fraternity call out and WHOOPS! is “with child”, has mommy and daddy’s money and can easily get an abortion and continue on through school to get that piece of paper that tells the world that shes a genius (even if she isn’t). Is that girl getting pregnant natures way of weeding out those that shouldn’t continue up that ladder? Is it natural selection? The weak minded and foolish get to continue on simply because they have the money to literally “pay” for their mistakes. Then they get to run businesses that they have no business running, and have little to no consequences on themselves when they screw up.
This may seem a little nihilistic, but think about it. You don’t have to agree with all of the points above, but it’s certainly something that turns the wheels inside the hamster cage in MY head, and hopefully your own as well.

This post is cross posted at www.ktracy.com and linked at www.mattersofopinion.net

Indiana Posts Budget SURPLUS; Our Man Mitch *Increases* Education Funding!

Redstate has the story how, when California is in the hole billions of dollars on it's budget and even the great state of Texas may son run out of enemployment funds, Indiana has a $1.2 billion dollar budget surplus:

Under Mitch Daniels’ leadership the state reported a $1.3b surplus. The State Auditor Tim Berry noted that they even raised school funding:

Berry stood in front of charts Friday that show Indiana increased school funding, avoided a tax hike, and maintained a surplus of about 10%. [...]

“Measures that were taken early on by Governor Mitch Daniels to restrain spending have amounted for a large amount of these fiscal reserves,” Berry said.

The Louisville paper notes that tax revenue was even down $1.2b below projections:

The state had $1.33 billion in its main checking account and reserves when the fiscal year ended June 30. That’s roughly the same as one year ago, even though state taxes brought in $1.2 billion less than originally projected.

How’s that for successful governance? No wonder there is a draft movement for Mitch Daniels for President.

Hey, Palin/Daniels in 2012! The two governors who have state budget surpluses - how's Obama going ot beat that?

~Johnny~

Lake County Republicans on Stimulus Mess

There was a bit of a fracas in Lake County, one that I missed somehow, where a union leader attacked Kim Poland, a Hammond City councilwoman on her comments about the Federal Stimulus Bill.

Here's some of the Times response:

USW Local 1010 President Tom Hargrove and his fellow Democrats are getting desperate.

Recently Hargrove took it upon himself to twist the facts behind Hammond City Councilwoman Kim Poland's no vote on a February 2009 resolution titled "Resolution in Support of President Obama's Economic Stimulus Program."

The resolution had nothing to do with "Buy American." In fact, that provision was stripped from the final stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama.

Her vote was not against a "Buy American" provision but instead against the overall spending of the stimulus proposal. So far she's been proven right. A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 52 percent of respondents believe the stimulus has had no effect on our economy.

We might never know whether Hargrove made these misleading statements of his own accord or received marching orders directly from the Lake County Democratic Party, but his argument is without merit.

Councilwoman Poland encourages everyone to buy American-made products to ensure economic stability in our region. She is a hardworking and dedicated member of the Hammond City Council and will continue to work in the best interests of her constituents even in the face of baseless attacks from Democrats.

First, let me say good for Ms Poland for standing up for herself, and for Americans who are just beginning to see how bad this Stimulus Bill really was for our long term economic recovery. Second, although the Lake County Republican Party may be trying to play nice with the unions, I would go on to suggest the "Buy American" theme is also faulty. How about the "freedom to buy" the best products and services? How about competition is the great equalizer. We have no right bad mouthing other countries for "dumping" when our government is handing our companies cash in the trillions.

The unions in Northwest Indiana should remain focused on positive growth, job creation to actually build and redevelop communities ... but stay away from job protection through international gamesmanship.

Universal Health Care: The End Of Capitalism?

Once again I’m going to avoid going into the ideological aspect of this by avoiding statements/questions like “Why should I pay for some guys health care when he won’t do it for himself?” Or, “We already have Medicare and Medicaid and free clinics, why do we need Universal Health Care?” Mr. Tracy hasn’t limited me to ONLY talking about the Economics side of issues, it’s sort of a challenge to avoid any sort of ideology on my part plus I already cover much of that aspect on different issues on my own site, http://www.mattersofopinion.net/.
With that said, there is a lot of support from people in my age group for a collective health insurance program, and there are quite a few different options that have been mentioned. Once of the most common and most talked about is of course Universal Health Care, where everybody pays extra in taxes and then uses that government run health care pretty much exclusively. It would be similar to Canada and England’s health care programs, and is an idea around the lines of Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. The only problem with this is that by no means is it affordable. Back when the government started the before mentioned government welfare programs, the same arguments were used for why we needed them, and the same idea of people paying into it their entire lives and then collecting their money when they needed it was applied to this reasoning. However the money simply has not been there. The plan seemed to make sense: the baby boomers were expected to baby boom themselves and so on and so on with hopes that the money would continue to pile up to pay for these programs. This obviously isn’t the case since the baby boomers, well, didn’t baby boom like previously projected. Also, they didn’t count on the government (BOTH Republicans and Democrats) to start using these funds for other purposes other than what they were originally created for, so the already dwindling amount of funds were dwindled even more so. Lastly, and this applies more so with Social Security than anything, the supposed “trust funds” that were created ended up being a load of BS. The “trust funds” to back up these programs are nothing more than government IOU’s, and have absolutely no solid monetary backing, period. There are a number of statistics for when these three programs will be bankrupt, but the most optimistic that I have found say that they will be completely bankrupt in 2036, which is closer than a lot of people might think.
The other option that is being talked about, and a bit more realisticly (but only a bit) is a government option similar to the way that Fannie and Freddie were created. The government would create (and perhaps manage, those details have not been entirely clear) a health insurance company, basically, to offer lower “more affordable” rates. This may seem like a very good idea, but if you weigh the secondary effects next to the primary effects they simply do not ballance out. Who can offer lower rates than the government? Nobody. Therefore a number of things would happen. More people would leave their own health care to jump on the government option, and many companies would drop their plan and tell their employees to do just that as well. Insurance companies would begin to go under (especially smaller ones) and then the government would, over time, effectively have their government run Universal Health Care only in a more round-about way. It would be sort of like the domino effect. First they would get the health care, then they would have the power to control doctors pay (since that impacts health care costs as well and would almost be a necessety for the government in order to meat the figures of affordibility that they have projected), and more people would stop becoming doctors since, lets face it, if the pay isn’t there who in their right mind would want to go through that much schooling to learn such a specialty? At that point, since we need doctors, the government would have to start forcing people into the profession.
That is of course a bit of an extreme scenario, however less extreme than I think a lot of people realize. The health care debate and how it is handled has the possibility to destroy this economic system. Will it happen? I don’t know. Could it happen? Of course.
There are other ways out there for handling the health care dilema, and one of my favorites is to have Tort Reform. This means to cut down the number of BS law suites that are filed against doctors every year, driving up the cost of health care. Another is to have Medicaid and Medicare reform, and to real in the huge amount of people that currently qualify for these programs, and to bring two programs that at one time had a lot of promise back into the black. My question is this: Why aren’t these options being pursued first? While it is not an ABSOLUTE that Universal Health Care would be disastrous, the odds are leaning in that direction. So why not at least start with the simpler solution that wouldn’t involve raising taxes or hurting our economy at all? It baffles me. But I guess that’s why I’m not a “genius politician”.

Cross posted at http://www.ktracy.com/ and linked at http://www.mattersofopinion.net/

Cap and Trade: Sounds like a rap song, doesn't it?

This isn’t a post about cap and trade and global warming. Not really. I have about a dozen posts on my own site, http://www.mattersofopinion.net/, where I do just that, however as Kevin (or for those of us around the office, Mr. Tracy) noted on his earlier post, I am the Economics guy. Just like Kevin is my foreign policy guy on my own site. And one of the reasons for this is, well, I can’t stand worrying about other countries. Quite frankly, I just don’t care. Callous? Cold hearted? Perhaps. HOWEVER. Economically I look at all of these countries as possible trading partners. I see the household goods such as flat screen TVs that are imported from Japan, I see that great German beer imported from, well, Germany, duh…and I see how the United States puts tariffs on many of these imported goods in order to support American business. The US does this without even considering that some countries rely solely on the US purchasing these goods, not to mention the best way to prevent war is for countries to need each other. But this is just an introduction paragraph, I’ll cover the above in many posts soon to come (unless the boss comes in in one of his “moods”…I swear, he runs the office like a dictator).
But regardless of how you feel about global warming or CO2 levels, the fact is the Waxman-Markey bill (known also as cap and trade) is disguised as a free market approach to solving the worlds problems. The argument for cap and trade goes something like this: companies will start off every year with a certain amount of CO2 that they are allowed to put up into the atmosphere, for statistical reasons I’ll call call the amount a million tons. Once that company has put their allotted amount of CO2 into the atmosphere, they will be allowed to purchase “carbon credits” from their neighboring companies IF that company has extra credits and is willing to sell them to the before mentioned company. Now, lets analyze this step by step. First of all, I’ll assume that larger companies will receive more carbon credits since it wouldn’t make sense to give the Mom and Pop Steel Mill in central Ohio the same amount as, say, US Steel. This is an assumption, since there hasn’t been much said about the divvying up of the credits, but if it is indeed the case this will harm the small business owner tremendously and will not allow Mom and Pop to truly compete with the giant that is US Steel and will impose a governmental monopoly on the corporate giant. IF the credits are not split by the size of the companies, that would be equally detrimental since Mom and Pop could easily bogart the credits and refuse to sell to US Steel, and would eventually either a) push US Steel out of business or b) put the two on a complete and equal playing field (which I personally think is the liberals’ idea in the first place) however it would be a playing field unearned since it is not through good business practices but manipulation of government controls.
Besides the above, most economists will agree that in an economic down turn such as this one you shouldn’t raise taxes because it will actually DECREASE the amount of revenue that the government would be taking in. Estimates show that the budget, because of this bill, will increase roughly between $1.3 trillion and $1.9 trillion between fiscal years 2012 and 2019. That means one of two things: Obama is going to HAVE to raise taxes tremendously OR hes going to have to continue borrowing more and more money. Either way, this (along with universal health care) policy of spend more than you have in your pocket and worry about it later is a huge part of the reason that I think he will only be a one term President.
Lastly, besides the possible increasing of taxes, there is a major reason that everybody reading this and quite frankly anybody that isn’t reading this should be worried about this bill. And it’s a dirty little secret (or, to me, a fun little fact) that a lot of people don’t realize: businesses don’t pay taxes OR eat costs. If businesses have to pay out the nose for carbon credits just to keep running, who is going to suffer? We will, by paying the difference in the cost of whatever good the business is manufacturing, whether its energy or steel or…well, now a days almost EVERYTHING is manufactured. The consumer is the person that ALWAYS suffers because of government meddling in the economic structure. The business is there to make money. Period. If they aren’t making money, they don’t continue to be called A BUSINESS.

Cross posted at www.ktracy.com and linked at www.mattersofopinion.net

What to do with $168 million key question

For a couple years there has been no plan in Porter County for use of the hospital sale funds. Porter County actually sits on roughly $265 million dollars in cash right now, much of that obtained when the county hospital was sold to Community.

That's a quarter billion dollars ... should it be used for "stimulus"? Commissioner Harper seems at the end of this article to be suggesting that possibility but only for a really large opportunity. What kind of opportunity would that be? An employer? But that's growth and we know growth is a bad word in our county right now.

Should the money be returned to the property tax payers, as councilman Poporad has suggested in the past? Or, should the money be used to fund health care, since it was created using health care expenditures by the citizens?

I know many of our readers fancy themselves conservatives, with democrats in Porter County commenting regularly that they are acting more conservative than Republicans ... ok, then what should be done with a quarter billion in cash?

A roundup of articles - Northwest Indiana July 14th

I know many of you are reading the same papers I am, so I'll try to include a couple links to articles you may have missed this morning:

Illiana Expressway report released, with a west leg only so far. This seems to have those in southern Porter County most against the tollway calmed, but what about those in southern Lake County?

The City of Valparaiso pools over $700,000 for sidewalk replacement. Here's a question, what is the city paying to install these sidewalks? In the past it was quite evident that concrete and construction companies were pillaging cities and towns by over-charging, with the construction labor market weak these prices should be even less now right?

Crown Point and Winfield are preparing for the new I-65 interchange, still no plans though in Porter County for the increase in traffic or growth?

Opinion piece calls for City of Gary officials to attend Local Government Academy, first problem there is no Local Government Academy anymore and secondly who is going to pay?

A report from the Young Republicans National Convention in Indianapolis over the weekend, with some disappointing election problems, and lots of comments about YR's. One of our authors here is the local YR chair, and I hope he'll be writing his own update for our readers soon.

More on City of Gary trash dispute, while trash continues to pile up and neither the city nor GSD is picking it up.

And from LaPorte County, where the assessing and auditing function are having even more problems than Porter County these days, this public notice which eerily suggests that the DLGF is having to do the job for the county officers:

Notice of Public Hearing

on Department of Local Government Finance’s Performance of Annual Adjustment for 2009 pay 2010 property taxes in LaPorte County

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (“Department”) has determined that LaPorte County has not made annual adjustments to assessed valuations required by 50 IAC 21 for 2009 pay 2010 property taxes. By law, when a county fails to make an annual adjustment to assessed valuations, the Department must perform that task for the county.

Pursuant to Indiana law, certified notice is hereby given that on Monday, July 20, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. (CDT), in Conference Room 2 of the LaPorte County Complex Annex Building, 809 State Street, La Porte, Indiana, the Department will hold a public hearing concerning its performance of the annual adjustment on real property.

Using data permitted by 50 IAC 21-12-1, the Department proposes to apply the following adjustment factors to assessed real property values in LaPorte County for 2009 pay 2010 property taxes:

Vacant Industrial 100%

Improved Industrial 101%

Vacant Commercial 100%

Improved Commercial 101%

Vacant Residential 100%

Improved Residential 97%

The hearing is open to the public. Anyone interested in participating in the public hearing is encouraged to attend and may speak or submit written statements expressing his concerns. Written comments may be submitted in advance to Brian E. Bailey, General Counsel, Department of Local Government Finance, Indiana Government Center North, 100 N. Senate Ave., Rm. N1058, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204.

Signed this 2nd day of July, 2009.

Timothy J. Rushenberg, Commissioner

Department of Local Government Finance

Gary Mayor suggests council needs to step up

We tend to cover Porter County more than the whole region, but for the rest of our Northwest Indiana readers the battle over trash pick up in the City of Gary has become quite the circus.

Last week the City Council voted against a contract to out-source trash pick-up. The problem is that the cities trash pick-up department was disbanded already and now no one is legally able to charge for trash pick up in Gary.

Mayor Clay is suggesting that it's time for the Gary city council to step up and say what it is they want. (via Times)

Hitching to a Broken Wagon: Portage’s Mayor Olga-Velasquez Plays Party over People.

Traditionally a libertarian position, local Democrats have historically opposed projects ranging from building hospitals (which would cost the County literally nothing) to an extension of the controversial South Shore Line. Porter County Democrats even oppose repairing roads for which hard-fought Federal funds lie dormant. They justify this agenda by proclaiming themselves representatives of the people in opposing all taxes, while squandering millions of local tax dollars wallowing in their own utter incompetence by failing to get tax bills out on time. What is troubling most recently is the subject of this article: Portage Mayor should work for Portage

As Mayor of Portage, a Third Class City in Indiana, Mayor Velasquez’s charge is to find solutions to problems within her City’s limits. Unfortunately, however, she is allowing the partisanship of the local Democrats to control her agenda both in and outside her City. As a voting member of the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC), Mayor Velasquez has an opportunity to work with other regional and community leaders to make a positive difference for Northwest Indiana. It appears, however, that she has chosen instead to give in to Bob Harper and the CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) agenda of her local party.

This is troubling for three (3) reasons. First, as alluded to above, a mayor’s job is to identify problems and provide solutions. Rarely should ideology enter into this equation. Rather, it entails the bricks and mortar of everyday life. One such problem Portage faces is the massive unemployment other communities such as Valparaiso are also dealing with. The ChicaGo Dash provides a much needed link to Chicago, the Region’s greatest economic engine in which many depend for daily transportation to and from work. Mayor Velasquez missed a major opportunity to provide daily transportation to Chicago for her residents. Instead of inquiring how to jump onboard and include the citizens of Portage in the ChicaGo Dash route, she instead chose to simply vote against it.

Second, with this vote Mayor Velasquez simply appeased Bob Harper and the anti-everything county Democrats. How can a mayor, with her unique understanding and advocacy of her city’s priorities, crumble to the intimidation Commissioner Harper is known for exerting and still provide for her City? To perform effectively, any mayor (or any legal advocate for that matter) must be prepared to stand up against any opposition in or outside of her party in order to preserve the maximum opportunity for the constituents that she represents. She failed as mayor here in allowing her party to dominate her decision.

Third, and most troubling, the ramifications of this decision will likely impinge upon opportunities for the City of Portage in the future. Voting down proposals made by other municipality-members of NIRPC will likely result in these municipalities voting down her own initiatives that could significantly benefit the residents of Portage.

Mayor Velasquez, your City has a well-established history of reaching across party lines to do what is right for your residents and to benefit the Region as a whole. I urge you not to continue down this path of partisanship and division—the very self-fulfilling prophesy that causes Indianapolis to look Northwest and laugh.

Surprise Sen. Bayh cares about property taxes

STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN JOHN CURLEY (Lake County)

ON SENATOR EVAN BAYH’S PROPERTY TAX PLAN



Senator Bayh can smell a tough re-election challenge coming. Just months after voting for President Obama’s massive stimulus bill that has yet to result in any measurable increase in jobs in the Hoosier State, Bayh is proposing to make a federal income tax deduction on property taxes permanent.



The timing of this recent push is intriguing considering the 2010 campaign is right around the corner. Residents of Lake County have long been hard hit by property tax increases and Senator Bayh has yet to support Governor Daniels’ wishes to make caps permanent. Instead of stumping around the state in a desperate push to up his re-election chances, Bayh should convince his fellow Democrats in the Indiana Legislature to allow an up-or-down vote on property tax legislation as soon they next convene. Even then it would be long overdue.

The Noose Tightens; Murtha/Visclosky Donor Charged With Kickbacks in Federal Court

The Murtha/Visclosky Corruption and Kickback Scandal has begun to draw blood, as the Gary Post-Tribune notes today:

PITTSBURGH -- The former chief executive for a defense contractor with ties to Reps. Pete Visclosky and John Murtha has been charged with taking about $200,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor.

Richard Ianieri, of Doylestown, Pa., was charged in a one-count criminal information filed Monday in Pittsburgh. He is accused of accepting two kickbacks of about $100,000 each from a subcontractor -- identified only as "K" -- while he was an officer of Coherent Systems International Corp.

Point of Order here: when the indictment refuses to directly identify the subcontractor, that means the subcontractor is cooperating with the authorities. When the CEO is only charged with a single count of the indictment -- that means he's cooperating too, and has cut a deal already.

Already looking bad for our boy Peter.

Ianieri donated at least $9,200 to Visclosky's campaign and political action committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. A spokesman for Visclosky's campaign didn't return calls for comment. Visclosky's offices were subpoenaed in May as part of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the defunct Virginia lobbying firm The PMA Group. The firm was one of the congressman's top campaign donors.

In an April 2006 news release, Murtha announced that Coherent and Kuchera Defense Systems were working "virtually as one company" on 14 contracts worth $30 million to develop high-tech military gear. At the time, both companies had offices in Windber, near Murtha's home base of Johnstown.

Kuchera, which has given ten of thousands of dollars to Murtha's campaign and political action committee, has been under scrutiny in recent months. The company, owned by brothers William and Ronald Kuchera, has received $14.7 million in Murtha earmarks in the past two years. It and another company, Kuchera Industries Inc., have received $53 million in federal contracts in this decade alone.

In January, FBI agents and Pentagon investigators raided Kuchera Defense Systems' offices.

Ianieri was president and chief executive officer of Coherent until it was sold to Fairfax, Va.-based Argon ST in August 2007, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ianieri was charged via a federal criminal information, which typically indicates that a defendant is cooperating with prosecutors.

Argon's CEO, Terry Collins, said in a statement that the company cannot comment on the criminal allegations because the actions happened before Argon purchased most of the assets of Coherent in August 2007. Though Ianieri continued working for Argon after the acquisition, he left that company in October, Collins said.

In April, the Navy suspended the Kucheras and their companies for "alleged fraud" including multiple instances of incorrect charges, along with allegations of defective pricing and ethical violations. Kuchera is appealing the suspension.

And we wish them the best of luck with that. Really. Although at the rate the tine men are falling around Murtha and Visclosky. you have to wonder which crooked Democrap will turn on the other one first.

Heh. Couldn't happen to nicer guys.

Previous Entries on The Visclosky corruption Scandal:

Visclosky Corruption Details Emerge; Continues to Refuse to Resign Committee Chairmanship

GOP Lawmaker Demands Visclosky Step Aside as Committee Chair

Democrap “Most Ethical Congress Ever” People Having Trouble Living Up To The Hype

More Democrat Corruption?: Visclosky Tied to Earmark Contributor FBI Raids; Murtha Connection Revealed

Northwest Indiana Moonbats Eat Their Own

Cross Posted At Alamo City Pundit

~Johnny~

Eyes on LaPorte County - are we next?

This week's portion of the story can be seen in the Times article today, where the state has threatened legal action against the new LaPorte County auditor.

Here's a little more of the story, and feel free to add details if you know them:

• Assessors, similar to Porter County, had a hard time keeping up using the new trending system. Thus the entire assessment was thrown out by a court and they are having to go back a few years and start over. In Porter County the assessment was not thrown out but more than 1,000 properties are in appeal.
  
• The auditor in Laporte County does not want to sign off on the assessments, perhaps believing that they are still quite wrong?
  
• Now the state is ordering the auditor to sign off on the assessments or be prosecuted. An interesting challenge to our obviously antiquated system of running county government.
  

This just points out again the strong need for reorganization of county government statewide. The three commissioners stand idly by, since it's not their job to assess or audit. The Treasurer watches from the sidelines since he/she just sends out checks. The auditor can't tell the assessor what to do, or vice versa. And the council has no legislative authority, all they can do is withhold funds from the other county offices.

My opinion, it's time to look at totally changing the way county government is organized in the State of Indiana. A proposal:

• Elect one county executive, who runs the county departments like a mayor runs a city.
• Expand the county council in number (would propose one councilman per township in Porter County plus an extra in any township with a Class 3 or higher city), and give them the same legislative authority that a city or town council holds. I think in Porter County this would result in 14 council members. The county administrator would act as tie breaker only. The council would internally elect their own council president as they do now.
  
• Those who feel that township government is the closest to the people, should appreciate that in essence each of those township trustees could run for this new council seat and stay close to the people. I have yet to talk to a trustee who is dying to perform poor relief for the rest of their lives.
  
• An interesting side note, this would give greater incentive to forming a City of Duneland combining Chesterton, Burns Harbor and Porter. They could pick up a council seat and expand the council to 15.
  
• Now here's a tough one, I would propose hiring not electing a county financial officer who would be responsible for assessments, auditing, bookeeping and payments. This would resemble the current system used by larger cities where the financial operations are conducted by an employee of the mayor.
  
• Move sheriff to appointed by the county administrator, I can't see why this should be political
• Eliminate township governments, rolling fire service to closest town or city (or districts), getting out of the cemetery and parks business, and elect a county trustee to provide poor relief from a central location in concert with other state and federal assistance programs. Electing the trustee should help those still concerned that budget problems could affect an appointed trustee. Although the funds would still have to be appropriated from the council, allowing some checks and balances.

Just a thought, and I'm sure from the commenting activity we've had this week, we'll get some vehement objection ... that's fine the debate is worthy and honorable.

A few things that have caught my eye that could make for good discussion...

I don't really have much as far as long articles or opinion pieces, but here a few things that have caught my eye that I think could get some good discussion going.

Sarah Palin: QUITTING?! WHAT?! Sarah, I liked your policies (not so much your stage presence, but that's a whole nother thing...) but to quite in the middle of your term as Governor? I'm sorry, but you might as well have tied a noose around the neck of your political career.

A second stimulus?! I don't even need to type out a long explanation. Let me put it this way: Harry Reid says its not a good idea. Mr. Lets Destroy the Housing Industry.

Michael Jackson is dead. He was more than likely a child molester, at the very least had strangers' children sleep in his bed with him, bleached his skin and had a white sperm donor as the father of his kids because he was (in my opinion) ashamed of his race, and named one of his children Blanket. Do we need to be putting this guy in such a positive light?

I've read several editorials in the Post-Tribune by are people talking bad about those of us with tattoos. What ever happened to "Don't judge a person by the color of his skin?" Full disclosure: I have a lot of tattoos, there fore I may be biased on this.

Al Franken was sworn in today. God help us.

Post Tribune editorial

Somehow I missed this editorial last week, and though much argument back and forth on the RDA and RTA here on this site recently, I was surprised at the intensity of the opinion. One interesting thought voiced by many of our readers has been a challenge to Valparaiso to offer a pick up in Portage.

Porter County Commissioner Bob Harper, who seems bent on stopping most progress in the county, has now turned to meddling with individual communities.

Not content to halt forward movement at the county level, he's been pushing the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission -- successfully so far -- to stop money for Valparaiso's ChicaGo bus service.

The money would pay for buses that run between Valparaiso and Chicago each day.

Harper's concern isn't about county money, since none of it will be used to pay for the buses. All of the money comes from federal and Valparaiso sources

But Harper has concocted a future scenario where county residents will have to pay a tax to support the system, something that hasn't happened and in all probability will never happen.

And while Harper meddles in Valparaiso:

* The county fails to get out tax bills on time, blaming the state.

* The county has to buy more software for auditing and tax bills, blaming the previous software system.

* The county has failed to spend $1 million secured by Rep. Peter Visclosky to fix County Road 100 South to make it safer for residents.

* The county has thus far failed to find a money manager for the proceeds of the sale of Porter hospital.

Somehow, Harper has time to worry about something that hasn't yet happened in Valparaiso while county government has a dismal record over the last several years.

What's next? Will he find a way for Portage to stop paving roads? Will he end any efforts in Chesterton to add electrical power?

Or will he stop meddling and do his job at the county?

Economic Bill of Rights

The TEA Party in Valpo on the 4th was a great event, and once again a good turn out and a fun time. I spoke, as some on here may know, at that TEA Party, and the video is on my site, www.mattersofopinion.net. During that speech I talk about an Economic Bill of Rights, and as promised, I will elaborate. This is right out of the book "Common Sense Economics" by James Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, and Dwight R. Lee.

a. No government shall use its regulatory powers to take private property, either partially or in its entirety, for public use without paying the owner the full market value of the property taken.

In recent years state and local governments in particular have used regulations to take or control private property without compensation, even though the property owner had violated the rights of no one. The courts have generally allowed them to do so as long as a legislative body deemed that the action was "in the public interest" or that the taking did not deny the owner all uses of his or her property. This is an open door to abuse that must be closed.

b. The rights of individuals to compete in a business or profession and/or buy and sell legally tradable goods and services at mutually acceptable terms shall not be infringed by Congress or any of the States.

The freedom of individuals to compete in business and engage in voluntary exchange activities is a cornerstone of both economic freedom and progress. Price controls, business and occupational entry restraints, laws restricting the exchange of goods and services across state boundaries, and other government regulations that restrain trade should be prohibited.

c. Congress shall not levy taxes or impose quotas on either imports or exports.

The U.S. Constitution already prohibits the imposition of these trade restraints on exports. This prohibition should also be extended to imports. The freedom to trade is a basic human right, just like freedom of speech and freedom of religion. There is no reason why Americans should no be permitted to buy from and sell to whomever will give them the best deal, even if the trading partner lives in another country.

d. A 3/4ths approval of both Houses of Congress shall be required for all expenditure programs of the federal government. At least 2/3rds approval of the legislative branches of state government shall be required for the approval of expenditures by state governnments.

Remember, if a project is really productive, there will always be a method of finance that will result in everyone gaining. Thus, the super majority provisions need not eliminate projects that truly increase wealth. They will, however, make it more difficult for special interests to use government as a tool for plunder. They will also help keep the spending activities of governments as the local level where competition among governments provides a stronger incentive to serve the interests of all citizens.

e. A 3/4ths approval of both Houses of Congress shall be required before the federal government is permitted to borrow any funds to finance a deficit in its annual budget.

This will reduce the inclination of Congress to spend beyond its means.

f. A 3/4ths approval of both Houses of Congress shall be required for the federal government to mandate any expenditures by either State governments or private business firms.

If this provision is no included, Congress will use mandated expenditures to escape the prior spending and borrowing limitations.

g. The function of the Federal Reserve System (FED) is to maintain the value of currency and establish a stable price level. If the price level either increases or decreases by more than four percent annually during two consecutive years, all Governors of the FED shall be required to submit their resignations.

This provision would make it clear what the FED is supposed to do. If the FED establishes monetary stability, it is doing its part to promote economic stability and progress.


Now, I'm not foolish enough to believe that this would actually be PASSED. But it should be, and if it could be, we wouldn't find ourselves in near the kind of messes we have been in economically, including today.

Declaration of Independence

Although not my favorite actors, they do a fine job on material they can't revise and adapt.

Disciples of No vs. Cities of Opportunity

During the last few election cycles there has been a terrific amount of talk and analysis at the state and national level. Much of that analysis focuses on labels ... Red vs. Blue ... Conservative vs. Liberal ... Republican vs. Democrat.

A few thoughts, and obviously a debate for those that disagree:

• Porter County is predominantly conservative. Many of our residents left Chicago or Lake County Indiana to get away from government largess and hyper taxation. The fraud and outright criminality of those former hometowns haunts many a local resident still.
  
• Porter County residents are not extremely political. Where other regions may feature citizens actively engaged in party fighting, Porter County tends to feature moderate approaches and the political parties working together. I can remember being asked why Valparaiso wasn't fighting harder to get the Bass Pro Shops location ... and Mayor Costas calmly saying something about not wanting to derail a good project in Portage by stepping in and messing things up.
  
• Porter County features lower property taxes than Lake County, but the tax caps passed two years ago will bring everyone to about the same level. Porter County did not have to cut as much from spending though since they were a lot closer.

So why all this banter about the Regional Development Authority? Why does this one issue bring about such intense debate and acrimony?

I have a theory: Although most of us are conservative, the rural residents of Porter County have very different positions on a vision for this county than do the municipal citizens. For further research see Disciples of No from rural resident Bob Wichlinski and A Man for No Seasons from Valpo Mayor Costas. Frankly the D.O.N of Porter County (Commissioner Harper) has run this county for 6 years and has an iron grip on fear. The fear of change, the fear of progress, the fear of growth leading to "them people." This fear plays well in a county where many residents moved from such political messes as Cook County Illinois.

If the cities of Portage and Valparaiso vote in the next couple months to retain the Regional Development Authority, to continue to collecting the tax which invests in the RDA $3.5 million a year but also reduces our property taxes, and overrules the county council ... we will see in glaring lights the problem and the opportunity. I applaud both Mayors for standing up for a great opportunity in the RDA, knowing full well that many outside the cities and towns disagree, but also knowing that they rely almost entirely on those same cities and towns for their economic well being.

The theory of "balance of powers" in the American experiment has been a constant tension for the last 230 years. When we don't like what the President does, we hope for the Congress to overule him. When we don't like what the Congress does we hope for the states to stand up to them. When bad laws get passed, we hope for the Supreme Court to strike them down. There is no shame in this tension, it is what makes our nation great.

Keep debating though, don't let anyone tell you to "hush" these are the debates that make us great. Happy Independence Day Porter County!

Top 50 twitter members in Northwest Indiana

50 tweeps to follow in NW Indiana

My July 4th #followFriday

It seems we all love a list, and twitter is like no other for making us want to rank and list. Here is my own list of Top 50 #nwindiana tweeps to follow. Obviously you can follow me too @daltonsbriefs

Go ahead and comment on who you think is missing, who should be included when I update the list next week. I did not purposely skip anyone, but I'm sure I missed some obvious important people from the region. Are you following them all? Have you gone to their blogs to subscribe so you can keep track of important posts? The order is random, but I did list number of followers.

Lastly, you'll note only one politician. Although a few have profiles they hold, none really use them to engage or retweet or even post links. Hopefully this will change next year.

1. @kathysipple 1,703 followers, organizer of first #nwitweetup
   
2. @davewoodson 2,103 followers, the one and only Mad Mortgage Machine
   
3. @fftmortgage 72 followers #mortgage broker
   
4. @safrin 495 followers #realestate
   
5. @kissmyaster 1,734 followers blogger Kiss My Aster
   
6. @bill_mitch 151 followers and a weather report for #valpo every morning
   
7. @nwiblogs 246 followers, sponsor of first NW Indiana blogger meetup
   
8. @nwi 1,605 followers, breaking news from NWI Times
   
9. @posttrib 323 followers, breaking news from the Post Tribune
   
10. @richschmidt 307 followers the Valpo Rev
    
11. @evelynbaycoffee 536 followers and first #nwitweetup
    
12. @aaronsimac 47 followers #insurance
13. @passtimes 257 followers and everyone's favorite neighborhood pub
    
14. @cendercompany 231 followers, municipal consultant
15. @chucklehman 542 followers, landscape architect
    
16. @mbstockdale 1,227 followers, Suncrest Christian Church
    
17. @allynpaul 1,078 followers, landscaper and blogger
    
18. @jonathonwthomas 788 followers tech/SEO fellow Blog Indiana 2008 attendee
19. @natfinn 2,225 followers
20. @chris_hedges 1,941 followers #attorney and original #nwindiana blog carnival
21. @myCMPS 3,462 followers, #mortgage broker (James Barath)
22. @iamfiction 127 followers
    
23. @livemercial 1,438 followers, many of the staff have profiles as well
    
24. @coachlee 2,135 followers
    
25. @tudorrestores 131 followers
    
26. @loan_guy 265 followers, #mortgage broker (Scott Swinford)
    
27. @lakenetnwi 223 followers featuring Lakenet NW Indiana
    
28. @cameronbanga 326 followers
    
29. @silcottshoes 1,576 followers and uses tweets for biz quite well
    
30. @finucane 315 followers
    
31. @nwireconnect 462 followers and local ning site NW Indiana Reconnect
    
32. @nwitweetup 203 followers this profile used to announce tweet ups
    
33. @cartronix 560 followers wireless services
    
34. @ValpoLife 543 followers, #valpo portal
    
35. @Valpocity 200 followers ... but they arent following anyone ... a mistake
    
36. @PorterGOP 179 followers, Joyce Webster County GOP Chair and Portage Trustee
    
37. @prayeramedic 951 followers, active long form blogger
    
38. @lybolt 528 followers, Joshua Lybolt head of NW Indiana SBDC
    
39. @bargainjane 162 followers
    
40. @bantafeedss 102 followers
    
41. @indianadunes 486 followers
    
42. @indiana_sbdc 484 followers
    
43. @goldentech 26 followers, host of first #nwindiana blogger meetup
44. @emc440 33 followers
    
45. @ktracycom 130 followers, probably biggest blogger by traffic in region
46. @mattsaliga 46 followers, Hammond focus
47. @wendeburbridge 104 followers, Lakeshore Public TV
48. @nwihomes4sale 28 followers, #realestate (Valarie Kubacki)
49. @railcats 211 followers, official profile for Gary Railcats Baseball
50. @primerealestate 107 followers, Mags Lybolt #realestate broker