economy

How nice. The Gargoyle Leader’s Ed Board cares about tax payers, now that we are all flat broke

I had to read this editorial twice to make sure, they were saying what I thought they were. I’m shocked!

The allowance to raise property taxes by 3 percent or the rate of inflation each year is just that. An allowance.

It’s not an automatic function that city officials should customarily build into each year’s budget.

Yes, but that is the nature of socialistic, tax and spend, big government Republicans, they don’t care if the average Joe can make ends meet, they only care about their ‘ends’ and ‘behinds’.

As residents continue recovering from the economic downturn, a respite from property tax increases undoubtedly would be well timed.

Indeed, there are times when even in the face of economic downturns it makes sense to spend in ways that take advantage of unique opportunities – such as issuing needed bonds when interest rates are low.

It’s hard to see how automatically raising property taxes fits into this category, though.

Actually, it’s the exact opposite. The 2010 budget offers a unique chance to hold the line on property tax increases.

City officials need to offer a better reason than they’ve stated why Sioux Falls should pass on this opportunity.

You mean, you agree with Staggers for once? Get out!

Monday Night Funnies (kinda, sorta)

krugman_award_photo

Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman was on the Colbert Report tonight, he had this to say (paraphrasing);

“I think the Obama administration understands how bad the economy is, they are smart people, they just are not forceful enough to fix it. I mean, they aren’t crazy or stupid like the previous administration.”

I guess I am not sure which was more? Crazy or stupid.

Anti-babe of the week: Sally Kern

sallykernauntie

Sadly, it’s not rare that a right-wing loony from my home state makes the news.  However, this one has, in addition to taking the cake by saying gays are a bigger threat to America than terrorism, has now officially left reality for some other bizzaro plane of existence.

In her most recent act of outright stupidity, Kern has issued a proclamation for morality, which you can read here. She has also publicly blamed gays and illegitimate children for the current economic mess. It seems fundamentalist nut-jobs like her have moved on from witches, gypsies, and jews to gays, pornographers, and abortionists, whom it’s still OK to hate. I’m not sure what’s sadder, that people like her exist or that they get elected to public office – in a large city no less.

I’d pay good money to see her in a debate with an actual thinking person. Theocrats cannot win such debates, and ultimately must rely on the righteous stupidity and willful ignorance of their supporters to suppress their opposition. For a case study, look at the recent Iranian elections. Theocracy is dying. Hallelujah!

The bright side in all of this is that 90% of the people commenting on the story think Kern is a complete tool with no business in government.

Politicians (mysteriously?) quiet about the dealership closings

Though I couldn’t give two shits about a car dealership closing in Sioux Falls (in case you have not noticed they are like pimples on a teenager’s ass in SF) the affect the major closings across the country will have on our economy and job market in the this country will be staggering. So why haven’t we heard one single freaking word from the politicians in Washington? Because we know who they protect, the execs at big banks not Joe the worker. I have felt that it would have been wiseer to bailout the car companies instead of the banks. The banks don’t employee nearly as many people, and the smaller banks who are not struggling would have divided them up and in essence eliminated the monopolies. It would have been good for everyone involved. Unfortunately for the auto industry, when they fail they have a huge ripple effect. This is just an example of ONE dealership owner;

The Edge of Love video


(CBS) Tammy Darvish owns 18 car dealerships, most of them in Maryland. Two were dropped Thursday and she’s waiting for word on a third. Three hundred people stand to lose their jobs, and 233 local vendors stand to lose business, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.

“It could be a cleaning company, it could be towing companies, companies that we buy our tires from,” Darvish said.

So I ask again? Where is Washington on this crisis? Ironically asleep at the wheel.