More White Elephants on the Riverfront?

After spending most of the day talking with and to [people, reading and listening, I believe within 10-15 years we have better than average possibility of 7 relatively large "white elephants" on the riverfront, some of which have not been built yet.

Who will they be? Depends how long this depression lasts and the more competitive the work place becomes. Also on rising taxes on people who can't afford them. Did you notice the want ads in the JS offering jobs? Least amount, about one full page, that I have ever seen in the 45 years I've been paying attention.

That Cat would leave Peoria because the public wouldn't demand they build a Visitors Center? No, that might be an excuse they would leave while they are shifting more work out of the area than at any time in my memory. And the community would be stuck with a $78,000,000.00 million building costing from $4.2 - $8,000,000.00 in 20 years and probably owned by the County and probably operated by the Peoria Park District, both PROPERTY tax collecting bodies.

More taxes and potential taxes are the last thing we need right now. That and a lot less potholes that are approaching new record highs. Or should I say "new depths".

I keep hearing from a "no" tax supporter that the museum should be free to poverty level and below.

Wow. Who is going to pay the operating costs of from $4.2 million a year growing to eventually $8 million a year when most of us will be able to get in free?

Maybe the new "educator" #150 hires to run an $160,000,000.00 budget. Or all these people we needlessly help throw their lives away by easy incarceration and our failed drug control system.. Read today's Parade and fell good about that. But then, I've only been "ranting" about this "worse than China" system for the last 10 years.

Don't worry, a new museum built for the upper class and their do-bees will keep these people out of the court system and they will automatically drop their drug habits. Sure, and sows ears will turn into silk garments for all.

And the border between Mexico and Arizona will be lined with poor people supported by ex-drug lords selling other people's wives, daughters, sisters and mothers along with, say lemonade. Well, the Obama Gang is trying to make Sheriff Joe into a housemother, aren't they?

And $90 million lost if the PRM and CVC weren't built? I think not. I could list two pages of places where all this money could go that would make this a better community. Maybe Peoria would become a place where people actually came and STAYED. Population growth for the whole county, not counting the "migrants" and homeless averages about 300 a year.

All for the want of shiny new things for a petulant upper society and a struggling major employer?

Gosh, 'm glad I got that out of my system and can go out and make more door to door calls to see how the poorer people, many of them chanting "We want to be like Cincinnattee" and many of who won't be able to pay the Imax, Galeria. parking fees and admittance fees, feel about more taxes; especially sales taxes.

When some of the "yes" voters get around to finding out they have to "pay to park and see", expect a lot of nasty "letter to the editors". Reverend Brown was saying in church today, that more people ought to be reading to stay informed. I believe most who bother to read even me, agree.