Obscene Or Simply Poor Taste

Thumbing through today’s Herald Times I couldn’t help but notice two totally contrasting items in the newspaper. One article was titled “Nude concrete statues: Art or obscene?” The story was about a police action in Edinburgh forcing a local business to remove “obscene” concrete statuary from public view along a roadway. This action was required after local authorities received two complaints. Action was taken on behalf of Indiana’s obscenity law, which prohibits the display of nudity where children might see it. This law also stipulates that such material is harmful for minors if, “considered as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors”.

The contrasting item was an advertisement for a lecture at Indiana University, School of Fine Arts by Vivian Green Fryd titled “the ghosting of Incest and Same-Sex Relationships in Harriet Hosmer’s Beatrice Cenci”. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. Now I must admit the potential positive educational value of this lecture is certainly questionable but removing nude concrete statuary from sight, that’s going to far. Strolling down the streets of Florence, Italy one can’t help but appreciate the beauty of the many sculptures and statuary that adorn that city, some clothed and some less clothes. In Edinburgh the only possible offense in this situation is one of questionable taste in having a concrete copy of Venus di Milo in the yard next to a concrete yard gnome. Certainly living in Bloomington is not without its challenges but I must admit, there are more times than not, that I am glad that I live in such a culturally rich community.

Sit Down, Shut Up and Hold On, The Council Is In Session

As I watched Andy Ruff fumble around the legalities of running a public meeting I must admit the entire process was quite amusing. Not only are seven of our City Council Members oblivious to their fiscal responsibilities under law, they are also unaware of time. Several of them took the opportunity to make “brief” statements about their support for the LWO, condemnation of our nations leadership and a host of other non-related city issues. As they rambled on and on all I could think of was I’m glad we didn’t get the long version. I would liken the whole experience to sitting through a bad movie, constantly hoping the plot would change and the movie would somehow get better. Everyone knew how this movie was going to end but for some, that didn’t stop them from watching.

The coverage in the HT Thursday included a description of one individual that spoke up; “Would all of the people that support the living wage ordinance please raise your hand”. I kept waiting for someone to promptly follow that request with; those of you with your hand up, I have some great land in Florida that I would like to sell. I’m quite sure if the announcement were to have been made, the person would have definitely had several takers that evening because as I listened to the supporters of the LWO, the best word I can use to describe them is, naïve. They are truly under the delusion that the LWO is the beginning to the end of all social ills that befall our fair community. They have bought in to the fairy tale that the LWO is not really going to cost anything. One after the other the supporters made their passionate pleas and painted a picture of compassion, benevolence and moral righteousness. All they while, cognitive and clearer thinking individuals were asking pointed questions about who is covered, who is exempt, how many people will it help and how much it’s going to cost? The amazing thing, no one knows the answer to any of these questions. The deputy Mayor admitted he doesn’t know and it’s obvious the Mayor doesn’t have a clue with his enlightened statement, “if the LWO is passed we will just find the funding somewhere, we always have”. Of course they have, they have found it in the pockets of the hard working, taxpaying citizens of this community.

The Council has empowered themselves with the ultimate authority over the LWO by deciding who gets exemptions and who doesn’t. One can only imagine how politically biased and discriminatory those future decisions will be with the partisan politics that was played out Wednesday evening. Without a price tag attached the ordinance should have never been up for a vote. Fundamentally speaking, when was the last time you were able to go car shopping and not be concerned about the cost of your purchase? Ironically the supporters for this ordinance are the very same people that are constantly clamoring about un-funded State and Federal mandates. You and I can’t live that way and yet the City is getting away with it and furthermore, this type of leadership is being encouraged by a few, vocal zealots. In other words, sit down, shut up and hold on.

Have You Had Enough Yet?

The City of Bloomington Utilities has proposed an 11% rate increase in water rates. With the Utilities Service Board painted into a corner they will have little choice but to succumb to demands of the poorly managed utilities department. This increase will supposedly help erase a $2.5 shortfall involving improvements at the Monroe Water Treatment Plant. “This is the second time this board has faced a shortfall,” board president Tom Swafford said this past week at a joint meeting of the board’s finance and engineering subcommittees. He was referring to a shortfall of $2.5 million less than two years ago on the Miller-Showers Park project.

As the City government implodes around itself with absolutely no leadership or direction from the Mayor, the taxpaying citizens will once again be left to pay the piper. While fiscal impotence flourishes within the City government our illustrious Mayor and City Council are ignoring all the warning signs of a major fiscal meltdown as they plunder ahead with yet another costly and totally useless concept, the Living Wage Ordinance. Recently City Council Vice President Chris Sturbaum weighed in on the issue with a HT guest column. His opening statement indicated, “There has been much misinformation regarding the living wage issue”. I will agree with that statement and it has been coming from the likes of Andy Ruff, Mark Kruzan, Milton Fisk, and now Chris Sturbaum. His most reveling statement in his guest column was, “Interestingly, the opponents of the living wage are almost exclusively high wage workers. I kept waiting for an underpaid social worker to plead with us not to force a higher salary on him or her, so as to avoid the loss of government subsidies”. Of course thats not going to happen and the reason is, most of the people that will be affected by the LWO are oblivious to the controversy, so don’t expect them to come forward and speak for or against it.

There was also mention that opponents are almost exclusively coming from “high wage workers”, excuse me, what about the likes of Milton Fisk and his Coalition, aren’t most of them from also in that “high wage workers” category, why choose to listen to them? Local governments or should I say local taxpayers cannot make up for the fact that the Federal Minimum Wage may be set too low or that Federal subsidies are being cut. This ordinance is nothing more than socialism, didn't work then, won't work now. Our democrat controlled City Council has ignored several highly educated constituents of the community that have made far better arguments than their own. Whether you like it or not, they are going to show you what’s best for you. Its obvious, they quit listening to reason along time ago.

Voter Reform, It's About Time!

Isn’t it ironic that the democrats won virtually every local race in the past election and yet they’re still clamoring about voter fraud? They can’t seem to adjust to the fact that fortunately for the rest of us, the republicans took everything else, including the Presidential race, the Governors race and the Congressional race in the 9th district. The democrats want their followers to believe in a great conspiracy theory that voting machine malfunction caused votes to be wrongly applied to the republican ticket. There are several key issues to be addressed about potential voter fraud but obviously the most important legislation to echo through the halls of the State house include HB 1439 which requires picture identification prior to casting your vote at the polls.

Representative Pierce and other democrats have come out in opposition to this legislation with the argument that it will disenfranchise the elderly and poor voters. Third world countries require identification prior to voting however, in Indiana we let virtually anyone that can identify him or herself with a registered name, past or present, to vote without question. Just prior to the last election republican Chairman, John Shean announced that he was considering posting individuals at the polls to contest any suspicious voters. Local democrats used a media blitz just after Shean’s announcement to rally their “poor and homeless” disenfranchised voter base. I’m sorry, but honestly I fail to see their reasoning.

Any logically thinking individual can see the advantage of picture ID. With such strong democrat opposition to the voter reform it really gives reason for concern and makes one wonder, just what are they hiding? Various polls, including the Indystar.com, indicate an overwhelming support for picture ID legislation; at last count over 80% of the respondents were in favor. Voter apathy could be markedly improved when voters know full well that their vote does count and there are no games being played. If credibility were even an issue with voting, why would this legislation even be questioned? It takes a photo ID to cash a check in most establishments, and you cannot get on a plane without photo ID these days, so what is the big deal? The poor and elderly voters of Monroe county should be insulted by the comments of the likes of Matt Pierce and other democrats who are suggesting they are too stupid or too lazy to acquire a picture ID. Maybe they know the gig is up and all of those students that have registered over the years that no longer live here will soon be ineligible to vote. Who knows, maybe the republicans will even have a chance to win a city election next time around. Yes, we too have our conspiracy theories however; with the new voter ID legislation in place we will eliminate this long-standing source of voter fraud and we will have to find another basis for our conspiracy theories.

Living Wage Ordinance, Listen To Reason

Local democrats took the opportunity last week to blast President Bush’s 2006 proposed budget, which included funding cuts to the Community Development Block Grant programs. It was reported “Bloomington alone has received $126,000 less this year in federal block grant dollars than in 2002, when it got $1.086 million”. Ironically, it is this same group of democrats that is hell bent on instituting a Living Wage Ordinance that could cost the Monroe County United Ministries nearly that same amount of funding in its first year under the new ordinance.

Meri Reinhold, executive director, Monroe County United Ministries has warned that if the LWO is enacted, the cost to MCUM “could be as high as $109,000 per year, which is far beyond the funding levels available to us from the city, even if they do assist us with transition funds (such assistance, if any, is not clearly defined). Therefore, we would have to reduce our services either due to increased costs or to accommodate the loss of city funding because of our ineligibility. Reducing our services means that fewer children can come to our program, fewer children means that reductions in staff are required. Whichever course we choose, children lose, our employees lose, and in our opinion, we all lose”.

IUPUI economics professor Martin Spechler and fellow economics professors, Lloyd Orr and Gerhard Glomm, conducted a one-hour seminar on the LWO, labeled “unintended consequences” Friday afternoon at the Monroe County Public Library. Spechler called the living-wage idea “a fad” that will do more harm than good. All three suggested the city council could do more with the money by subsidizing health, housing and food programs for the poor that don’t raise their taxable incomes or decrease their eligibility for other benefits.

Now, several of the supporters, including the Mayor are attempting to salvage the ordinance by watering it down with exclusions and exceptions. Face it, this is a lousy ordinance, let it go, get over it. The people that can least afford it will suffer the most under this ordinance and frankly it’s not worth the cost just to be able to put up a billboard stating “Bloomington, the first city in Indiana with a living wage”. We can only hope that Mark Kruzan and Andy Ruff listen to reason and pull the plug on the LWO before it goes to the Council for a vote.