The Mayor is now hallucinating and making up secret minority societies that oppose development in Sioux Falls (FF: 9:30).
I’m not sure who he is talking about. I have been following city politics for over 12 years, and besides a few older citizens that liked things the way they were in 1979, I don’t hear to many people who are opposed to development.
Has there been serious and mindful disagreements about how to accomplish that growth and development? Yes.
Redevelopment of existing core and central neighborhoods and businesses instead constantly buying up cornfields to build strip malls. Which only add to our infrastructure costs and maintenance. I have thought for awhile the redevelopment of Minnesota Avenue to be more bike/pedestrian friendly would spur more private redevelopment. I have lived here since 1991, and it looks the same as it did than (actually worse).
Tax incentives and TIFs are NOT needed to promote development in our community. Most developers, investors and builders in Sioux Falls have done just fine without government’s help. Some ask why we give these incentives? Because they ask for them and our mayor and his minions on the council roll over like an old dog. Besides, it’s not their money they are handing over to developers that may be investing with. End the corporate welfare and the let the free market do it’s job.
Eliminate or reduce regulations for redevelopment to make it more affordable.
More working class homes and apartments and less luxury homes and condos.
More community development loans and grants for individual homeowners.
Stop allowing the Hospital Industrial Complex buy up and eliminate affordable housing in central Sioux Falls.
There may be many disagreements with Mayor Huether on how to intelligently grow and develop our town, but just because we disagree doesn’t mean he is right.
“Stop allowing the Hospital Industrial Complex to buy up and eliminate affordable housing in central Sioux Falls.”
AMEN!
Sounds like he’s being visited by the ghosts of Christmas. It’s not looking good past, present, or future.
But the reason this “Anti-Crowd” has come into play is because most do not see this “economic development” benefiting them anymore. It is trickle-down at best now.
I talked to a former Morrel worker recently who said he was making over $11 a hour back in 1980. Well, that is a hourly wage of over $30 today. When Citibank came to Sioux Falls in 1981, it brought jobs with great benefits and middle class wages. Today, economic development is a high rise hotel/ramp development, which for the most part will create $9.50 a hour bed sheet changing jobs.
This negativity or “Anti-Crowd” is a by-product of the collapsing middle class in this town and our entire country. But to dismiss it as the problem and not a reality of a greater problem is to miss the duty of a political leader or their leadership.
The problem is not the media neither, and its definitely not the “Naysayers” either, rather it is a growing public policy, which is further emboldened by a growing, but minority upper middle class and affluent – who are indifferent, arrogant, and act with an air of entitlement – that is the problem.
Our government no longer works for the people. It merely works for the special interest. Whether it be $ 27 million for BNSF, yet no funds to extend ObamaCare to South Dakota, or economic development that is merely exciting in image or presentation – like naming big name concerts to come to Sioux Falls – but offers no true economic future for the citizens of this town or state, our government or governments in this state have replaced substance with an image, which merely attempts to entertain the depressed mind of stagnant wages, rising housing costs, and no real paying jobs.
No one is against positive change, no one is against true economic development, but the economic development of our time is of limited benefit to the many, but of great benefit to the few. That is why the voices of the “Anti-Crowd” are becoming louder and to dismiss them as a stagnant minority is merely the self-interest of a known minority, who are the only ones who truly benefit from the current economic development mentality.
In 1981 I was journeyman in the building trades. Made $13 an hour. In ’83 I became a government employee. About every 4 to 6 months we got COLA’s along with step increases. When I left in ’06 was making $28 an hour. I assumed, wrongly, the rest of the working class was also staying at or around the inflation numbers for wages. I was wrong. Way wrong. Make no mistake, this all started with reagun and his trickle down bs. It has continued thru today.
“this all started with reagun,” yep, the month was August and the year was 1981, when Ronny fired the air traffic controllers… And we have been going down hill ever since….
It was hard to get through this article with the spelling and grammatical errors…. do better…
I will let the editor and publisher know and have my pay docked.
When comforting a grammar nazi, I always type slowly…
“There, Their, They’re”
Not sure if a grammar nazi is an idiot who does not get the point, or is stupidly trying to hide the point.
Emoluments Clause says:
When Citibank came to town in 1981, it brought jobs with great benefits and middle class wages.
Obviously, EC has never worked for Citibank. I was hired at $5.50 per hour and when I left, 21 Years Later, I was making $12.43 an hour.
The only way I could survive was to work a second (and sometimes a third) part-time job.
The wages I was paid during those 21 years was typical of the majority of Citibank employees.
It will be interesting to see how much difficulty CB has in recruiting workers when they move to their new location. One of the hooks the bank used to retain workers was the company daycare. The daycare will be eliminated when they move.
It’s not so much an anti development crowd as it is an anti socialism crowd. Huether ignored a petition with 6400 signatures. He builds luxury palaces but can’t donate an unused building for a homeless shelter. He continues to fund failures like the Pavilion. He buys railroad yards not suitable for development. The people have no control over these eccentricities. Even Pablo Escobar acknowledged the poor. This Godfather Mayor only entertains the wealthy and makes developers billionaires.
anonymous,
I hear yah, I am not saying all of the jobs at Citi are or were great, but $ 5.50 in 1981 is $15+ plus in today’s money. $ 12.43 in 2002 is equal to $ 17.43 in today’s money.
If an employer came to SF today with the wages being $ 15 or more, I would say that would beat the wage of any bed sheet changing job, however.
Also, before Citi, a lot of employers in town didn’t offer any benefits to their employees.
As much as I have with the issue of getting rid of our usury laws in this state, that a side for a moment, Citi is definitely a better example of positive economic development for all, then a high rise hotel/ramp, which primarily will be used as a great venue for Avera and Sanford’s ambitions, while most of the workers will just change sheets or take parking tokens…
I bet Trump likes “grammar nazis”….. No, I take that back given some of his Tweets…….(Well, some of them)