UPDATE - Convention Center expansion - a fraud by our feudal lords? Yes Im being somewhat tongue in cheek regarding my analogy that Spokane is run by feudal lords who rob the serfs to fund their own self-dealing special interest public/private projects. On the other hand Forbes magazine has deemed Spokane, Fraud: Scam Capital of America. forbes/forbes/2009/0525/106-investment-guide-09-scam-capital-of-america.html By hyperbole Im trying to raise the taxpayer awareness of the real danger of bankrupting our regions governments when these projects do not achieve their touted economic benefits and go bust leaving the public holding the bag. For example I cite: the RPS Bond Scandals and the death of Jo Ellen Savage, Stockton, CAs public improvements and Wenatchee PFDs Toyota Center. girlfromhotsprings/ nation.time/2013/07/25/the-wages-of-bankruptcy-stocktons-cautionary-tale-for-detroit/ wenatcheeworld/news/2013/nov/04/town-toyota-center-agrees-settle-federal-sec-investigation/ Mr. X IMO is quite right that these projects need to be well scrutinized to ensure they are worthwhile expenditures of public funds. The S-R, this regions paper of record, has a poor track record of doing this scrutiny as its owners can be argued are the leaders of our feudal lords or more appropriately the legacy wealth holders trying to maintain the status quo. There are several examples where the S-R editorial opinions have been nothing more than PR pieces for these projects (See the Camas Magazine reporting archives) camasmagazine/ Quote - Mr. X: We should evaluate local projects objectively – rather than by appearance – using, if possible, their own goals to determine if they are successful or not. Lawrence Krauter, the Executive Director of the SIA, who I shared Mr. Xs work, had this following clarification of using SIA passenger data as a direct measure of these regions economy health. I will share more of Mr. Krauters clarification if he gives me permission to to so: Quote - Mr. Krauter: . . . the actual demand for air travel is being artificially impacted in a negative way by the market behavior of the airlines, who are flying fewer seats into our local market despite overwhelming evidence that we can fill up more airplanes. This is why passenger activity cannot be depended on any more as an indicator of economic growth (or contraction). Mr. X respects and agrees with Mr. Krauters clarification and replied: Quote - Mr. X: I agree with Mr Krauter and respect his methods, as I have said before, including in emails with him. But - what are the objective metrics for evaluating project success? That is the main point of the blog post and applies to numerous local projects. I agree there have been significant changes in the airline industry to use smaller numbers of larger seat aircraft in many cases, resulting in fewer aircraft operations. But then what is the objective measure of project success for on going expansion projects? It seems that our measure of success is we successfully pour concrete rather than look at increase usage or other measure of ROI. I subscribe to this truism: Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty (Thomas Jefferson) When the cons have run their sting leaving the marks holding the empty bag, law enforcement seldom if ever can recover the stolen money. We have no one to blame but ourselves when we fall prey to a hustle. I would also add that organized crime cant exist without co-opted and or corrupt law enforcement. Ask why its taken so long to restore police accountability in Spokane? Is there a benefit to the legacy wealth holders in maintaining inept law enforcement leadership that lack professional ethics who condone and or cover-up serious cases of police abuse and misconduct? See CFJs Tim Connors new report: Civilian Oversight of the Spokane Police Department, A Timeline cforjustice.org/2013/08/09/the-long-journey-to-reform/ We are a Nation of laws and not men (John Adams). No one is above the law including the law enforcers.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:47:31 +0000
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