On April 18 I posted a blog “Lest We Forget”. One of the comments I received came from Kevin Reynen, Director of Institutional Technology at Bradley University. I answered Mr. Reynen on that site but promised him I would go into more detail in a new blog. Mr. Reynen must be new in town; I couldn’t find him listed in the phone book. He evidently doesn’t read the newspapers when he insinuated creative persons like himself and his friends, would leave Peoria if there was “nothing to do” in this community. I suggest he should have read the response to Journal Star editorial writer, Mike Bailey, who upset the riverfront investors. Developer Mike Wisdom wrote a “letter to the editor” signed by most everybody downtown, entitled “Here’s what Dilbert can do Downtown”. Mike and his co-signers listed approximately 11 columnar inches of things you can do downtown including the more than 500 events hosted annually at the Civic Center and 200 events at the riverfront.
Some “creative types” might also enjoy Big Al’s, Fantasyland & Elliott’s. Moving westward and Northwest from the riverfront, we have the libraries, Lakeview Museum, the racetrack, The Shoppes and IMAX and of course Bradley with all their year round activities. Across the river we have the gambling boat, Eastside, the new convention center, ICC, the Barn dinner theatre to name a few. Then we have Peoria Park District with their hundreds of activities spread out over nine thousand acres of parkland. Maybe Mr. Reynen and his friends like physical activities such as tennis (44 courts) the many golf clubs in the area. We offer two major Country Clubs with all kinds of amenities and health clubs by the dozens. Not enough things for you to do? Maybe you’re just not getting around enough. If you’ve been to all these places and done all these things, (did I mention boating, fishing and hunting,) then I guess it’s soon to be goodbye. Too bad, we’ll miss you guys!! The mountains and the desert are great places to live also. I’ve done that.
Mr. Reynen asks me if I’m a fiscal conservative or a “piss on everything” type of guy. Again I’ll excuse his ignorance because as I’ve said, he is evidently new in town. But just to update him, I came to Peoria in 1964 and established a business that still bears my name even though I sold it 13 years ago. I met a payroll for 28 years. Once you have to meet a payroll, Mr. Reynen; it changes your perspective of how your tax dollars are being spent. I am definitely pro the private sector!!
At times I was a major contributor to Bradley; Mr. Reynen could find my name on a plaque in the engineering department honoring me for my contribution. He could even find I even sponsored an award at Bradley for over twenty years until I asked my name be removed last year. In fact, I was Vice-President of the Bradley Chiefs Club
If Mr. Reynen cares to read the approximately 60 blogs I posted since last August and some of my 38 “letters to the editors” the newspapers published in the past 10 years, he might get to know me better. His question of whether I am a fiscal conservative or “piss on everything” person is typically “university speak” these days. Things are either black or white. That I am a fiscal conservative is a given. I’m hardly against bringing new things to town: I brought one to town myself 41 years. However, Mr. Reynen is absolutely entitled to his own opinion of me as we allow free speech in this country. (witness our universities) I appreciate his reading me and would encourage him to join us bloggers so he can get a wider forum for his opinions.
I’ve always been inclusive and transparent in what I say, write or do. But I’m seldom “politically correct”. I do, in order to build up my self esteem, believe I have a modicum of common sense and on many occasion, proved it.
He asks me what I would do to improve Peoria. This blog is already too long but if you really want my opinion, which is pretty representative of the mainstream, keep reading my blogs and visit my archives.
He asks if most bloggers are negative in what they write. No, I think they are voices of concern often never heard, who have found a medium where they can be read and heard; they have the courage to write to the whole world and accept people’s comments on what they write. If not many people read them or comment, so what? At least they get an opportunity to express how they see things or feel about what goes on in the community or the world.
PS. Did I forget biking, hiking and skateboarding (if you can find the skateboard park.) Did I leave out football and hockey? Probably left out a lot of other “activities.” I also forgot to mention the emergency rooms at some of the hospitals where things can get pretty exciting early Saturday and Sunday mornings. I guess it all depends on what each of us would like to see in the community in which we live.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Bill Gates and Education
“Will America Slip From #1?” This is an editorial written by David Gergen, Editor at Large of U.S. News and World Report dated 4/04/05. The article reads, “22 years ago, a national education commission concluded that our schools faced a “rising tide of mediocrity”. Despite all the reforms, including NCLB, we are still showing uneven progress and other nations are moving ahead of us in education our children.” Bill Gates is quoted in this article “When I compare our high schools to what I see traveling abroad, I am terrified for our workforce of tomorrow.” He continues “America’s high schools are obsolete. We should not only be alarmed but ashamed.” Gates continues “in 2001 India graduated a million more students from college with six times as many university students majoring in engineering than the U.S.. He further states that many of those students are staying in India to work, saying “no” to higher paying jobs in the U.S. As a result U.S. based companies are finding it increasingly attractive to build not only their manufacturing plants abroad but their R&D operations as well.
The article continues, “Our leaders must rally Washington and the country to a revolutionary overhaul of public education. In our founding years, Americans were among the most literate people on earth, and this put us in an upward path. The education of our young has always been a key to our greatness. Will we now rescue the next generation or condemn it to 2nd place?”
The article continues to state “of the kids WHO REACH ninth grade, 32% disappear before high school graduation. Another third finish high school but aren’t ready for college or work. Only the upper third leave high school ready for college, work, and citizenship”.
Another article dated 4/02/05 in the same magazine states that India is turning outcome 82,000 engineering graduates a year, versus about 60,000 in the U.S. A new engineer with top academic credentials earns about $9,000.00 and a senior engineer with eight years experience earns about $20,000.00 a year. “Because innovation tends to follow jobs, key drivers of our economic prosperity could be lost.”
Part of our problems could be solved if administrators and school boards would subscribe to Gate’s advice to a high school class on 11/07/01. I quote Mr. Gates:
Rule 1: Life is not fair – get used to it.
Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will not make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school….nor will you be a corporate-Vice President with a car phone, until you earn both. (Bill was partly wrong on both these counts, the most talented graduates in demand today sometimes start at forty thousand and even those on welfare sometimes have car phones they need to complete their drug deals.)
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents (most, not all) had a different word for burger flipping—they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parent’s fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes; learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. (An article in WSJ on 3/11/05 chided organizations who gave out sports trophies to kids for just showing up. Have we really gotten that socialist? Kids now expect a pat on the back when they haven’t even tried!!) When my dad and mom raised nine kids, we got a kick in the butt if we whined and didn’t try hard; today for disciplining us, my parents would have gotten a visit from DCFS. All nine kids turned out to be good citizens because our parents and teachers disciplined us because THEY CARED. They showed their love for us by their actions; they knew words were cheap.
Rule #9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Rule #10: Television is not REAL life; people actually have to leave the bed and go get jobs.
Rule #11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
Bill was talking to high school graduates; which means the half that made it thru 12 grades. Unfortunately, the other half who don’t make it thru 12 grades should be taught the above rules BEFORE they drop out of school.
Bill should also talk to some teachers. Sometimes when I visit a classroom, the principal introduces me to the teacher who then ignores me and does not introduce me to the class. Some teachers start a class WITH NO OPENING STATEMENT, like, “class, here’s what we are going to learn today and this is why you need to learn it. Some teachers are crossing off the days they have left to teach before they draw their pensions at 55. How can they really teach when they appear “burnt out”? About one half tell me “thanks for visiting, seeing what we often contend with and caring.”
The article continues, “Our leaders must rally Washington and the country to a revolutionary overhaul of public education. In our founding years, Americans were among the most literate people on earth, and this put us in an upward path. The education of our young has always been a key to our greatness. Will we now rescue the next generation or condemn it to 2nd place?”
The article continues to state “of the kids WHO REACH ninth grade, 32% disappear before high school graduation. Another third finish high school but aren’t ready for college or work. Only the upper third leave high school ready for college, work, and citizenship”.
Another article dated 4/02/05 in the same magazine states that India is turning outcome 82,000 engineering graduates a year, versus about 60,000 in the U.S. A new engineer with top academic credentials earns about $9,000.00 and a senior engineer with eight years experience earns about $20,000.00 a year. “Because innovation tends to follow jobs, key drivers of our economic prosperity could be lost.”
Part of our problems could be solved if administrators and school boards would subscribe to Gate’s advice to a high school class on 11/07/01. I quote Mr. Gates:
Rule 1: Life is not fair – get used to it.
Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will not make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school….nor will you be a corporate-Vice President with a car phone, until you earn both. (Bill was partly wrong on both these counts, the most talented graduates in demand today sometimes start at forty thousand and even those on welfare sometimes have car phones they need to complete their drug deals.)
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents (most, not all) had a different word for burger flipping—they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parent’s fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes; learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. (An article in WSJ on 3/11/05 chided organizations who gave out sports trophies to kids for just showing up. Have we really gotten that socialist? Kids now expect a pat on the back when they haven’t even tried!!) When my dad and mom raised nine kids, we got a kick in the butt if we whined and didn’t try hard; today for disciplining us, my parents would have gotten a visit from DCFS. All nine kids turned out to be good citizens because our parents and teachers disciplined us because THEY CARED. They showed their love for us by their actions; they knew words were cheap.
Rule #9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Rule #10: Television is not REAL life; people actually have to leave the bed and go get jobs.
Rule #11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
Bill was talking to high school graduates; which means the half that made it thru 12 grades. Unfortunately, the other half who don’t make it thru 12 grades should be taught the above rules BEFORE they drop out of school.
Bill should also talk to some teachers. Sometimes when I visit a classroom, the principal introduces me to the teacher who then ignores me and does not introduce me to the class. Some teachers start a class WITH NO OPENING STATEMENT, like, “class, here’s what we are going to learn today and this is why you need to learn it. Some teachers are crossing off the days they have left to teach before they draw their pensions at 55. How can they really teach when they appear “burnt out”? About one half tell me “thanks for visiting, seeing what we often contend with and caring.”
Monday, April 25, 2005
School Daze #2
Yesterday I said I would be back to tell you what I see right or wrong about testing and the No Child Left Behind Act. Just to reconfirm what I’ve known since I left the teaching field many years ago, I visited two classes at a District #150 Edison School today. I observed first hand a large percentage of kids who have already been left behind, some will not make it to high school and if they do, they will not be prepared. One older teacher ignored the interruptions of the kids and taught the few kids that were paying attention and the younger teacher spent 20% of her valuable time trying to get the classroom settled down. Both teachers were trying hard to get the class to pay attention and quit talking, but it was like a “wave” at a sporting event. When some were settled down, other started up again and that’s the way it was during most of the classroom period. The younger teacher said she is so exhausted some days she just goes home and goes to bed. It was exhausting to me just to watch how disrespectful many of the kids were. In the older teacher’s class, one kid had to stay out in the hall because he didn’t bring his books to class. Did he stay in the hall? No, in fact he kept coming in and strolled around the classroom, interrupting all he could and even used the telephone until the teacher finally took the phone away from him. Then he looked thru the hall door window or opened and closed the door trying to call attention to him-self. Some kids did not participate in the learning experience. Either just sitting there or throwing paper wads when the teacher was distracted or constantly getting up and moving around. At almost any given time, some kid was trying to distract!! Do any adults in charge of these kids ever come to visit a class to see the disrespect shown by their own kids? I am told these kids are disrespectful at home and carry that attitude into the school building.
I said yesterday, these disruptive students along with kids with high truancy rates, one with 61 absences as of April 19, will all be tested and the class judged by the results of all who took the test. A fair way to test kids in the NCLB? I think not.
I’ve visited enough public schools over the past number of years to see what’s happening and it continues to make me sad and mad. Those supposedly responsible (and there are responsible adults of parents) for their kids, transfer to Edison Schools because they think they are moving from an undesirable school to one where their kid will do better. In actuality, my observation is that many of the kids just transferred the problem to Edison holding back the ones that came to Edison to learn. To change Mr. Henry’s observation from college to grade school, “if students reflected a national boom in love of learning and a prevalent yen for self improvement, America’s investment in the classroom might make sense”.
I read today that 900 new inmates enter our prison systems each day and our prison population is now over 2,100,000. I could probably tag as could most teachers the ones that will be incarcerated at some time in their lives and the ones that will be pregnant, on welfare or both. The kids and the adults responsible for them will blame the “system”.
I’m now quoting from a book I read “Why do so many immigrants succeed? They enter our country detached from a larger society; not hearing the negative messages such as so many Afro-Americans hear – they come with values and goals strong enough to turn their menial jobs into liberation, not servitude. History teaches that energy and inventiveness have with centuries of toil cleared the ground & nurtured the growth of prosperity – what kindles the spirit that conjures up prosperity? The answer is culture, values and beliefs, not economics – poverty is the result of society, not of poor people given more subsidies; the more subsidies, the more reliant people will become”. Why do I bring Afro-Americans into this equation – because 60% of all the kids attending District #150 are Afro-American and approximately 70% are classified as poverty level or below?
Like all professions, some involved in educating our youth do a better job than others. But all are challenged by what they have to work with. It is no picnic to be a school teacher in the public school sector of Peoria. I applaud all teachers and wish I had the ability and “the fire in my belly” to help more with those teaching and working in the educational field in and all those involved in trying to save the public school systems in Peoria. We will always need public schools in Peoria because many of the kids I observe would not be accepted into a private school due to their lack of discipline, a work ethic and a poor attitude toward learning.
How did we get in the predicament we are in? Read William Henry and Myron Magnet. There are hundreds of books, many with different theories touting successes, failures and solutions but these two writers are best in defining the problems with attainable solutions.
If the workplace is where many of these kids are going to learn how to make it in society, someone must teach them to have at least a respectful attitude, to accept discipline, have a work ethic and integrity. That burden by default lies on the school systems. Otherwise why would anyone hire these uneducated graduates and dropouts? Out of charity?? Probably, if we drift further into a welfare and socialist state.
I was a mentor a few years back and when I visited with the then president of the school board to tell her of some of the problems I saw; she denied any problems in the system, yet that very day, I saw two policemen take two bloodied up grade school boys away in handcuffs. The problems we are having have been long in the making and the community without community leadership understanding what was happening and Dist. #150 took a large step backward when a weak school board hired Dr. John Strand as administrator. I believe we have a stronger board today and I wish Ken Hinton the best in mending a partially broken and bruised system.
When I moved here in 1975, I felt Peoria was in a state of denial. It didn’t want to bear the label of a blue collar town and denied the poverty of the underclasses. I feel the same way today when the advances some Peorians are proud of are the planning and building more enhancements. I wonder if many of the shakers and movers of this community have ever made an unannounced visit to a classroom and observed the disrespect and poor attitude of so many of these children and listened to the frustrations of the teachers. Enhancements may distract attention away from our flaws but they will not cover them up. GOODSCHOOLS, DECENT PAYING JOBS AND PUBLIC SAFETY ARE THE THREE MAJOR KEYS TO GROWTH AND STABILITY IN PEORIA11
I know the new administration is making progress and that I appreciate. Even though many of the kids are being bused to the school door, once they enter and are disruptive and refuse to learn, the very best administrators and teachers have a very difficult role in satisfying the federal government requirements of NCLB.
A few years ago one of my more wealthy acquaintances said “Merle, why do we care what happens to those who don’t make it in school and life? There are enough kids like my own that will supply the leadership in the community. I answered that we must bring everyone along to support and respect society or your kids will be dragging a lot of baggage when they are older. (Like maybe 3 million incarcerated at a cost to society of somewhere around $30,000.00 per each per year, plus a huge welfare system). My remarks gave him pause.
I have studied problems and solutions to the PSS for the past 11 years and have accumulated quite a lot of files. In these files lie the solutions but the problem as I see it is there is a lack of coordination and support from the leadership of the city. (I understand that Mrs. Royster is still on two or three major boards here in Peoria. Someone correct me if I’m wrong). Maybe I’ll be less sad in two or three years although it may be easier to bring democracy to Iraq than to bring several generations of family failures into family successes in our community.
I have attended many summits and strategic planning sessions. In these meeting, we identified most of the problems and successes. Now we need the talent and will to coordinate, organize, be inclusive and transparent and act swiftly.
I’ll be blogging more on the subject of “School Daze”.
I said yesterday, these disruptive students along with kids with high truancy rates, one with 61 absences as of April 19, will all be tested and the class judged by the results of all who took the test. A fair way to test kids in the NCLB? I think not.
I’ve visited enough public schools over the past number of years to see what’s happening and it continues to make me sad and mad. Those supposedly responsible (and there are responsible adults of parents) for their kids, transfer to Edison Schools because they think they are moving from an undesirable school to one where their kid will do better. In actuality, my observation is that many of the kids just transferred the problem to Edison holding back the ones that came to Edison to learn. To change Mr. Henry’s observation from college to grade school, “if students reflected a national boom in love of learning and a prevalent yen for self improvement, America’s investment in the classroom might make sense”.
I read today that 900 new inmates enter our prison systems each day and our prison population is now over 2,100,000. I could probably tag as could most teachers the ones that will be incarcerated at some time in their lives and the ones that will be pregnant, on welfare or both. The kids and the adults responsible for them will blame the “system”.
I’m now quoting from a book I read “Why do so many immigrants succeed? They enter our country detached from a larger society; not hearing the negative messages such as so many Afro-Americans hear – they come with values and goals strong enough to turn their menial jobs into liberation, not servitude. History teaches that energy and inventiveness have with centuries of toil cleared the ground & nurtured the growth of prosperity – what kindles the spirit that conjures up prosperity? The answer is culture, values and beliefs, not economics – poverty is the result of society, not of poor people given more subsidies; the more subsidies, the more reliant people will become”. Why do I bring Afro-Americans into this equation – because 60% of all the kids attending District #150 are Afro-American and approximately 70% are classified as poverty level or below?
Like all professions, some involved in educating our youth do a better job than others. But all are challenged by what they have to work with. It is no picnic to be a school teacher in the public school sector of Peoria. I applaud all teachers and wish I had the ability and “the fire in my belly” to help more with those teaching and working in the educational field in and all those involved in trying to save the public school systems in Peoria. We will always need public schools in Peoria because many of the kids I observe would not be accepted into a private school due to their lack of discipline, a work ethic and a poor attitude toward learning.
How did we get in the predicament we are in? Read William Henry and Myron Magnet. There are hundreds of books, many with different theories touting successes, failures and solutions but these two writers are best in defining the problems with attainable solutions.
If the workplace is where many of these kids are going to learn how to make it in society, someone must teach them to have at least a respectful attitude, to accept discipline, have a work ethic and integrity. That burden by default lies on the school systems. Otherwise why would anyone hire these uneducated graduates and dropouts? Out of charity?? Probably, if we drift further into a welfare and socialist state.
I was a mentor a few years back and when I visited with the then president of the school board to tell her of some of the problems I saw; she denied any problems in the system, yet that very day, I saw two policemen take two bloodied up grade school boys away in handcuffs. The problems we are having have been long in the making and the community without community leadership understanding what was happening and Dist. #150 took a large step backward when a weak school board hired Dr. John Strand as administrator. I believe we have a stronger board today and I wish Ken Hinton the best in mending a partially broken and bruised system.
When I moved here in 1975, I felt Peoria was in a state of denial. It didn’t want to bear the label of a blue collar town and denied the poverty of the underclasses. I feel the same way today when the advances some Peorians are proud of are the planning and building more enhancements. I wonder if many of the shakers and movers of this community have ever made an unannounced visit to a classroom and observed the disrespect and poor attitude of so many of these children and listened to the frustrations of the teachers. Enhancements may distract attention away from our flaws but they will not cover them up. GOODSCHOOLS, DECENT PAYING JOBS AND PUBLIC SAFETY ARE THE THREE MAJOR KEYS TO GROWTH AND STABILITY IN PEORIA11
I know the new administration is making progress and that I appreciate. Even though many of the kids are being bused to the school door, once they enter and are disruptive and refuse to learn, the very best administrators and teachers have a very difficult role in satisfying the federal government requirements of NCLB.
A few years ago one of my more wealthy acquaintances said “Merle, why do we care what happens to those who don’t make it in school and life? There are enough kids like my own that will supply the leadership in the community. I answered that we must bring everyone along to support and respect society or your kids will be dragging a lot of baggage when they are older. (Like maybe 3 million incarcerated at a cost to society of somewhere around $30,000.00 per each per year, plus a huge welfare system). My remarks gave him pause.
I have studied problems and solutions to the PSS for the past 11 years and have accumulated quite a lot of files. In these files lie the solutions but the problem as I see it is there is a lack of coordination and support from the leadership of the city. (I understand that Mrs. Royster is still on two or three major boards here in Peoria. Someone correct me if I’m wrong). Maybe I’ll be less sad in two or three years although it may be easier to bring democracy to Iraq than to bring several generations of family failures into family successes in our community.
I have attended many summits and strategic planning sessions. In these meeting, we identified most of the problems and successes. Now we need the talent and will to coordinate, organize, be inclusive and transparent and act swiftly.
I’ll be blogging more on the subject of “School Daze”.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
School Daze
I recently listed a few books I’ve read that were worth my time. “In Defense of Elitism” by William Henry confirmed what many of us believe. I quote from Page 156 and Page 157 “For American society, the big lie underlying higher education is akin to the aforementioned big lie about childrearing in Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegeon: that everyone can be above average . In an unexamined American Dream rhetoric promoting mass higher education in the nation of my youth, the implicit vision was that one day everyone, or at least practically everyone, would be a manager or a professional. We would use the most elitist of all means, scholarship, toward the most egalitarian of ends. We would all become chiefs; hardly anyone would be left a mere Indian. On the surface this New Jerusalem appears as to have arrived. Where half a century ago the bulk of the jobs were blue collar, now a majority are white or pink collar. They are performed in the office instead of on the factory floor. If they tend to involve repetition and drudgery, at least they do not require heavy lifting.
But the wages for them are going down virtually as often as up. It has become an axiom of union lobbying that replacing a manufacturing economy with a service economy has meant exporting once-lucrative jobs to places where they can be done more cheaply. And as a great many disappointed office workers have discovered, being educated and better dressed at the workplace, does not transform one’s place in the pecking order. There are still plenty more Indians than chiefs. Lately, indeed, the chiefs are becoming even fewer. If, for a generation or so, corporate America bought into the daydream of making everyone a boss, the wakeup call has come. The major focus of the “downsizing” of recent years has been eliminating layers of middle management---much of it drawn from the ranks of those lured to college a generation or two ago by the idea that a degree would transform them from mediocre to magisterial.
Yet our colleges blithely go on “educating” many more prospective managers and professionals than we are likely to need. In my own field, there are typically more students majoring in journalism at any given moment than there are journalists employed at all the daily newspapers in the United States. A few years ago there were more students enrolled in law school than there were partners in law firms. Inevitably many students of limited talent spend huge amounts of time and money pursuing some brass ring occupation, only to see their dreams denied. As a society we consider it cruel not to give them every chance at success. It may be more cruel to let them go on fooling themselves.
In February of 1994 the President asserted that America needs a greater fusion between academic and vocational training---not because too many mediocre people misplaced on the college track are failing to acquire marketable vocational and technical skills, but because too many people on the vocational track are being denied courses that will secure them admittance to college. Surely what we Americans need is not a fusion of the two tracks but a sharper division between them, coupled with a forceful program for diverting intellectual also-rans out of the academic track and into the vocational one. That is where most of them are heading in life anyway. Why should they wait until they area older and must enroll in high-priced proprietary vocational programs of often dubious efficacy-frequently throwing away not only their funds but federal loans in the process-because they emerged from high school heading nowhere and knowing nothing that is use in the marketplace?
If the massive numbers of college students reflected a national boom in love of learning and a prevalent yen for self-improvement, America’s investment in the classroom might make sense.”
Amen.
This book was written 12 years ago so what Mr. Henry is saying are even truer today. We still seem often times to “be running in place” yet I am seeing some progress. Hillary Pennington a think tank guru said in an article in the JS on 4/10/05, “The fastest growing occupations require more than high school, but not necessarily a four year college degree. It is time to redesign high schools to help ensure that all students complete some postsecondary learning. For every 100 students who start high school, only 68 will graduate four years later, only 40 will go to college and only 28 will return after freshman year, and only 18 will graduate”. She goes on to say “An Accelerated Career/Technical College would give work bound students a head start on earning transferable college credits at the same time as they prepare for entry-level jobs”.
She writes about a Gap Year in place of a senior year providing a combination of work experience and community service. She says our education system was designed, at best to meet the needs of the mid-20th century industrial economy, a dramatically different world than the one we inhabit today. In comparison, Mrs. Margaret Spelling, the Secretary of Education, talks like she is coming from la-la land. I’m not sure she has a clue about any schools except the upper class schools her three kids attended. I believe I respected Rod Paige approach but didn’t agree on many of his issues.
This blog is already too long so I’ll be back tomorrow with some realities that are being left out like the teacher who told me last week that one of his “students” missed 61 days in school yet that kid will be tested at the grade level with his classmates and bring the overall test scores down I’ll tell you what I see is right and wrong about testing and some observations the effectiveness of George’s NCLB.
Thanks again; remember that developing higher skills does not necessarily mean being a rocket scientist.
But the wages for them are going down virtually as often as up. It has become an axiom of union lobbying that replacing a manufacturing economy with a service economy has meant exporting once-lucrative jobs to places where they can be done more cheaply. And as a great many disappointed office workers have discovered, being educated and better dressed at the workplace, does not transform one’s place in the pecking order. There are still plenty more Indians than chiefs. Lately, indeed, the chiefs are becoming even fewer. If, for a generation or so, corporate America bought into the daydream of making everyone a boss, the wakeup call has come. The major focus of the “downsizing” of recent years has been eliminating layers of middle management---much of it drawn from the ranks of those lured to college a generation or two ago by the idea that a degree would transform them from mediocre to magisterial.
Yet our colleges blithely go on “educating” many more prospective managers and professionals than we are likely to need. In my own field, there are typically more students majoring in journalism at any given moment than there are journalists employed at all the daily newspapers in the United States. A few years ago there were more students enrolled in law school than there were partners in law firms. Inevitably many students of limited talent spend huge amounts of time and money pursuing some brass ring occupation, only to see their dreams denied. As a society we consider it cruel not to give them every chance at success. It may be more cruel to let them go on fooling themselves.
In February of 1994 the President asserted that America needs a greater fusion between academic and vocational training---not because too many mediocre people misplaced on the college track are failing to acquire marketable vocational and technical skills, but because too many people on the vocational track are being denied courses that will secure them admittance to college. Surely what we Americans need is not a fusion of the two tracks but a sharper division between them, coupled with a forceful program for diverting intellectual also-rans out of the academic track and into the vocational one. That is where most of them are heading in life anyway. Why should they wait until they area older and must enroll in high-priced proprietary vocational programs of often dubious efficacy-frequently throwing away not only their funds but federal loans in the process-because they emerged from high school heading nowhere and knowing nothing that is use in the marketplace?
If the massive numbers of college students reflected a national boom in love of learning and a prevalent yen for self-improvement, America’s investment in the classroom might make sense.”
Amen.
This book was written 12 years ago so what Mr. Henry is saying are even truer today. We still seem often times to “be running in place” yet I am seeing some progress. Hillary Pennington a think tank guru said in an article in the JS on 4/10/05, “The fastest growing occupations require more than high school, but not necessarily a four year college degree. It is time to redesign high schools to help ensure that all students complete some postsecondary learning. For every 100 students who start high school, only 68 will graduate four years later, only 40 will go to college and only 28 will return after freshman year, and only 18 will graduate”. She goes on to say “An Accelerated Career/Technical College would give work bound students a head start on earning transferable college credits at the same time as they prepare for entry-level jobs”.
She writes about a Gap Year in place of a senior year providing a combination of work experience and community service. She says our education system was designed, at best to meet the needs of the mid-20th century industrial economy, a dramatically different world than the one we inhabit today. In comparison, Mrs. Margaret Spelling, the Secretary of Education, talks like she is coming from la-la land. I’m not sure she has a clue about any schools except the upper class schools her three kids attended. I believe I respected Rod Paige approach but didn’t agree on many of his issues.
This blog is already too long so I’ll be back tomorrow with some realities that are being left out like the teacher who told me last week that one of his “students” missed 61 days in school yet that kid will be tested at the grade level with his classmates and bring the overall test scores down I’ll tell you what I see is right and wrong about testing and some observations the effectiveness of George’s NCLB.
Thanks again; remember that developing higher skills does not necessarily mean being a rocket scientist.
Tax Raising Pensions
So Dale Risinger was the only Illinois State Senator who voted against the pension raise for deputies. (JSEB, 4/22/05) Was Dale really standing up for the taxpayers? I suspect he was. I hear he is not planning to run for reelection, at least, that’s what some Republicans are saying. I may be wrong because I just received another request from him for money with the lowest figure being $100.00 and a blank for “other amounts”. If he is going to stand for reelection, I give him credit for looking out for the taxpayer and I’ll send him a few dollars. In the meantime, I’ll wait and see.
Politicians up for reelection are usually afraid to vote against special interests even though their vote may not be in the best interest of the public. When I first started blogging last August, I said “This is not a politically correct blogsite”. What I am saying today may not set well with a lot of people working in the public sector who are looking for a retirement package larger than the community can afford. However, many in the public sector also complain about rising taxes and rising healthcare costs.
There are always consequences of any actions taken, not all of these consequences are good for everyone. If the Illinois State Legislature, including Dave Leitch and Aaron Schock, vote to approve what the Senate approved, they might analyze the last local election where the voter appears to have voted for change. We’ll see and I’ll give credit or discredit on this site. I’m also past due to write some “letters to the editors”.
We cannot afford to keep allowing people to retire at 55 and let them still be paid up to 80% of their last salary earned. Even more ridiculous is allowing them to move 10 years of pension benefits earned in less lucrative government employment into the fatter (in this case deputies) system. A friend of mine, who was never in a management position is at the retirement age of 55 and asked me if I though he could live on his $60,000.00 a year pension. He asked what I though he might do to earn more money because he was too young to stop working. I said “get another government job and qualify for another pension.” His wife makes in the $80,000.00 range and also works for the public sector.
The majority of private businesses in Peoria do not have a pension plan. Why not? Because it is hard to meet a payroll with all the governmental regulations strapping most of the private sector and with more competition, much of it from other countries where the pay and benefits do not come close to the U.S. Most of the private sector tries to pay their employees as much as they can; they want them to do well too and also that they do not lose their best employees. They encourage the employees who help make them a profit, to work to at least be 65 when they retire and also encourage them to save some money or make some income producing investments to go along with their Social Security payments. Don’t tell me there may not be any Social Security some day. We have been drifting more to a socialist and welfare state for at least a couple of decades. Why work and save; the government will take care of you.
The taxpayer and voter are not paying enough attention to the backgrounds of those they elect to public office. Very few elected officials have ever had to meet a payroll. When you need to meet a payroll and are a little short of money, you can’t raise taxes, issue or increase levies, increase services charges and charge more for your product than the market can bear. Ever heard a government going broke? If this trend of increasing public benefits continue you may see some public bodies go broke; in fact the trend may break the whole country in less than 15 years.
Start projecting some of these public employee benefits for say up to10 years from now. If this speeding SUV doesn’t slow down, this country is in for far bigger problems than we have now.
If I worked for a public body, I would probably want as much salary, get as much time off as I could and accept all the benefits as I could get. I probably would not turn down an increase to my pocketbook. However, as an elected official of a public body, it is my job to look ahead so our community stays fiscally solvent and be as fair as I can be to public workers. Many elected officials do not appear to be looking much beyond their next run to be reelected.
Too bad; but change may be “a’comin”! It’s a little like the poison in some of our water systems as reported in the JS today. Easy to get into a bad situation; very difficult and costly to get out.
Politicians up for reelection are usually afraid to vote against special interests even though their vote may not be in the best interest of the public. When I first started blogging last August, I said “This is not a politically correct blogsite”. What I am saying today may not set well with a lot of people working in the public sector who are looking for a retirement package larger than the community can afford. However, many in the public sector also complain about rising taxes and rising healthcare costs.
There are always consequences of any actions taken, not all of these consequences are good for everyone. If the Illinois State Legislature, including Dave Leitch and Aaron Schock, vote to approve what the Senate approved, they might analyze the last local election where the voter appears to have voted for change. We’ll see and I’ll give credit or discredit on this site. I’m also past due to write some “letters to the editors”.
We cannot afford to keep allowing people to retire at 55 and let them still be paid up to 80% of their last salary earned. Even more ridiculous is allowing them to move 10 years of pension benefits earned in less lucrative government employment into the fatter (in this case deputies) system. A friend of mine, who was never in a management position is at the retirement age of 55 and asked me if I though he could live on his $60,000.00 a year pension. He asked what I though he might do to earn more money because he was too young to stop working. I said “get another government job and qualify for another pension.” His wife makes in the $80,000.00 range and also works for the public sector.
The majority of private businesses in Peoria do not have a pension plan. Why not? Because it is hard to meet a payroll with all the governmental regulations strapping most of the private sector and with more competition, much of it from other countries where the pay and benefits do not come close to the U.S. Most of the private sector tries to pay their employees as much as they can; they want them to do well too and also that they do not lose their best employees. They encourage the employees who help make them a profit, to work to at least be 65 when they retire and also encourage them to save some money or make some income producing investments to go along with their Social Security payments. Don’t tell me there may not be any Social Security some day. We have been drifting more to a socialist and welfare state for at least a couple of decades. Why work and save; the government will take care of you.
The taxpayer and voter are not paying enough attention to the backgrounds of those they elect to public office. Very few elected officials have ever had to meet a payroll. When you need to meet a payroll and are a little short of money, you can’t raise taxes, issue or increase levies, increase services charges and charge more for your product than the market can bear. Ever heard a government going broke? If this trend of increasing public benefits continue you may see some public bodies go broke; in fact the trend may break the whole country in less than 15 years.
Start projecting some of these public employee benefits for say up to10 years from now. If this speeding SUV doesn’t slow down, this country is in for far bigger problems than we have now.
If I worked for a public body, I would probably want as much salary, get as much time off as I could and accept all the benefits as I could get. I probably would not turn down an increase to my pocketbook. However, as an elected official of a public body, it is my job to look ahead so our community stays fiscally solvent and be as fair as I can be to public workers. Many elected officials do not appear to be looking much beyond their next run to be reelected.
Too bad; but change may be “a’comin”! It’s a little like the poison in some of our water systems as reported in the JS today. Easy to get into a bad situation; very difficult and costly to get out.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
River Rescue
The article in today’s JS talks about the damage done to the community of Beardstown by the Corp of Engineers. Many fear that the plans of the Corp of Engineers and approved by most of Central Illinois leadership, including the Heartland Water Resource Council, will add to the problems of increased siltation to the Illinois River. Insightful Gene Claudin continues to point out in his “letters to the editors” (Latest one appearing in the JS on 3/20/05) that the solution is to contain and to slow the water coming off our land and not speed it up. Gene points out that a lot of the silt pouring into Upper Peoria Lake comes from the PPD who own 9000 acres of mainly rolling land. (Check their budget to see how many dollars are allocated to erosion controls (not much) or ask conservation minded Bill Rutherford to take you on a tour of eroded PPD parkland.
Several thousand tons of dirt makes its way into the Illinois River each year from the many different types of construction. While many contractors and developers(many don’t) do a pretty good job of controlling erosion, why does IDOT and the City of Peoria Public Works Department not do a better job of erosion control at locations such as at the junction of Allen Road and Rt. 150 and the extension of Charter Oaks Road?
The erosion solution has never been in getting the silt out of the river, that’s impossible, the solution is to slow and contain the water so it can drop it’s sedimentation before it ever gets to the river. The government has stopped funding CREP, a program that does just that. Again is it a question of priorities or a question of management of those dollars? In an editorial dated 4/6/05, the JS, commenting on another study, this one paid for by the Heartland Water Resources Council, asks when do we stop studying and graduate. Good question. I know that the Council of River City Governments (COG, I am Peoria Counties representative) has made this question of water control a prime target. All Committees working on the same problem from both sides of the river need to get together and take more action than has been done to date. On the other hand, if you can’t get the private owners of land to cooperate as in the case of Blue Creek, we will probably keep on meeting and accomplishing little and let the Corp of Engineers continue to build islands of silt in the river.. We will have more big floods as the Corp continues to narrow the channels to contain the flooding. Mother Nature will have her say and the Corp will need more employees and money. Aren’t jobs what it’s all about?
A number of years ago, I attended a meeting where a professor with many degrees, was explaining why our rivers were filling up with silt. We know that slowing water down will cause the water to drop its sedimentation. Even a grade school kid knows that. The question was asked why we don’t build more containment bodies such as lakes and ponds. He said that doesn’t work because these bodies would fill up with silt. I said “isn’t that what we are trying to do, keep the silt on land instead of in the river? He changed the subject. Many experts have impressive credentials and lots of theories. Common sense, cooperation, monies received by proving the river is a priority and an inclusive marketing plan is the best solution to our problems of controlling the increasing siltation of the Illinois River.
If I saw the potential for personal gain, which many of those do who support the Corp of Engineers and their lock and dam rebuilding, I might support the multi-billions being spent. If fully informed, I would not. The JS has on more than one occasion asked if these projects are in the best interests of our communities. I have asked the same question. With so much information available but no sustained action, I suggest the JS Editorial Board attack this project with the same enthusiasm they showed in supporting “The Highway to Chicago”.
While not as easy to understand and the solution even harder, these projects should be very important to river communities but most people do not have enough information or do not care, figuring the government will do what it wants to anyway. Why bother to get involved when there are lots of good sitcoms on every night?
We’ve long ago identified the problem but we haven’t fully defined the solution. Time to sort out the solutions and act.
Several thousand tons of dirt makes its way into the Illinois River each year from the many different types of construction. While many contractors and developers(many don’t) do a pretty good job of controlling erosion, why does IDOT and the City of Peoria Public Works Department not do a better job of erosion control at locations such as at the junction of Allen Road and Rt. 150 and the extension of Charter Oaks Road?
The erosion solution has never been in getting the silt out of the river, that’s impossible, the solution is to slow and contain the water so it can drop it’s sedimentation before it ever gets to the river. The government has stopped funding CREP, a program that does just that. Again is it a question of priorities or a question of management of those dollars? In an editorial dated 4/6/05, the JS, commenting on another study, this one paid for by the Heartland Water Resources Council, asks when do we stop studying and graduate. Good question. I know that the Council of River City Governments (COG, I am Peoria Counties representative) has made this question of water control a prime target. All Committees working on the same problem from both sides of the river need to get together and take more action than has been done to date. On the other hand, if you can’t get the private owners of land to cooperate as in the case of Blue Creek, we will probably keep on meeting and accomplishing little and let the Corp of Engineers continue to build islands of silt in the river.. We will have more big floods as the Corp continues to narrow the channels to contain the flooding. Mother Nature will have her say and the Corp will need more employees and money. Aren’t jobs what it’s all about?
A number of years ago, I attended a meeting where a professor with many degrees, was explaining why our rivers were filling up with silt. We know that slowing water down will cause the water to drop its sedimentation. Even a grade school kid knows that. The question was asked why we don’t build more containment bodies such as lakes and ponds. He said that doesn’t work because these bodies would fill up with silt. I said “isn’t that what we are trying to do, keep the silt on land instead of in the river? He changed the subject. Many experts have impressive credentials and lots of theories. Common sense, cooperation, monies received by proving the river is a priority and an inclusive marketing plan is the best solution to our problems of controlling the increasing siltation of the Illinois River.
If I saw the potential for personal gain, which many of those do who support the Corp of Engineers and their lock and dam rebuilding, I might support the multi-billions being spent. If fully informed, I would not. The JS has on more than one occasion asked if these projects are in the best interests of our communities. I have asked the same question. With so much information available but no sustained action, I suggest the JS Editorial Board attack this project with the same enthusiasm they showed in supporting “The Highway to Chicago”.
While not as easy to understand and the solution even harder, these projects should be very important to river communities but most people do not have enough information or do not care, figuring the government will do what it wants to anyway. Why bother to get involved when there are lots of good sitcoms on every night?
We’ve long ago identified the problem but we haven’t fully defined the solution. Time to sort out the solutions and act.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Merck and Vioxx
“Facing Vioxx Trials, Merck Prepares to Fight Each Case” was a headline in today’s Wall Street Journal. This is good news for the majority of us who realize that probably every drug on the market has some side effects, even aspirin, which is blamed for more deaths than any drug ever sold. There are always legitimate claims and there will always be honest attorneys to pursue these claims on your behalf. But society has spawned a whole new group of victims, people who join in class action lawsuits filed by ruthless tort attorneys. These tort attorneys have one goal, to get as many people to join in a class-action lawsuit. They can collect large sums of money for themselves and a little for you. You still wind up paying all their expenses. Mass class action lawsuits can usually bring a large corporation to their knees. This happens because of the possibility of massive judgments that often do bankrupt the company. These bankruptcies cause the innocent stockholder to lose their investment. That’s why I’m glad to hear that Merck will fight each case individually. I don’t own the stock but Merck’s action is in the best interest of most of us who depend upon legitimate drugs for our well being.
I recommend you read this article as it is lengthy and carries more information than I can convey to this site. In the first Vioxx lawsuit filed, a wife claims her dead husband was taking Vioxx from a package of samples he got from his doctor. But Merck analyzed the serial # on the package and said in a court filing this week that these samples had left the factory six month after the woman’s husband died. It turns out her husband had received a prescription for the drug but never filled it. The wife, her sister-in-law and son claimed they saw the man swallow the drug. Of course they did, and they also probably saw crocodiles fly!! The thought of wealth never dreamed of, has caused many a mortal to sell their soul.
I realize that when you have a legitimate claim against a major corporation, it is almost impossible to win. I’m never on the side of those who abuse power. But I suggest we watch what is happening to actions taken against drug manufactures and the actions taken by the FDA. It may very well turn out that in a few years, no drug will be labeled safe for any illness or affliction you may have. Very few new drugs will enter the market.
If you are afraid of side effects of any drug, don’t use drugs of any kind. That the manufacturer and doctor should be aware of the possibility of side effects and warn you to the best of their knowledge is a given. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to warn you of all the possible side effects for reasons too numerous to list on this site. Just because the doctor issues you a prescription, the doctor does not know whether you even took the drug at all, maybe you gave it to a friend or sold it, maybe took three a day when it says take one a day or used some ones left over pills; pills for which you may or may not have a legitimate prescription. The doctor can only take your word on what drugs you are taking; many people see so many doctors they forget what drugs they are taking.
Many young and middle aged people are suffering the side effects of drugs they used or use that were never labeled at all. They may be the first ones to jump into a class action lawsuit in their desperation to blame some else for their predicament.
Very few decisions are made by any doctor that will guarantee no side effects. When I was diagnosed as having heart disease, I was told four doctors looked at my records and I was told that two recommended surgery as soon as possible and two said surgery but no great hurry. I took the first recommendation and now I’m almost back to my old self. I had some side effects. With the doctors’ help, I’m doing fine. Thank God for doctors, surgeons, assistants, specialists and pharmaceutical companies!!
We as a collective body may be taking too many precautions to protect ourselves. We make so many trips to the doctors, attorneys or spend so much of our time attacking school boards (just threw that in) that we may not be enjoying living in the greatest country on earth. Many of believe that by “staying the course” we are on may not be the best course and the course needs some alterations. I agree.
It’s not just drug companies and doctors that are being sued. Many step ladder companies were sued; some even were forced out of business, because there were no labels warning people not to stand on the top step. So some said why not stand there and fell and sued the ladder maker. Anyone who renders a service or makes a product must protect themselves from stupidity of the user. Expect costs of all merchandise and services to continue to escalate along with the cost of insurance. So, I guess, you should encourage all your progeny to be lawyers and accountants. That’s where the big money it. Oh, I forgot stockbrokers who make money on every transaction, whether you do or not. Attorneys also make money, whether you win or lose. Stockbrokers are almost totally immune from lawsuits because of the arbitration clause you are forced to sign when they first take your money to “invest”. You as an individual do not have the resources to fight your legitimate claim. I am a believer of class action lawsuits when you have a legitimate claim but you do not have the resources to pursue your claim alone. I’m sure a few of us around Peoria are in the class action lawsuit against liar Bernie Ebbers and WorldCom. When the lawyers get theirs, of course, not much will be left for the stockholders.
The world was never a safe place to live; if we overdo the privilege of trying to live in total safety, we will become not safe at all.
I recommend you read this article as it is lengthy and carries more information than I can convey to this site. In the first Vioxx lawsuit filed, a wife claims her dead husband was taking Vioxx from a package of samples he got from his doctor. But Merck analyzed the serial # on the package and said in a court filing this week that these samples had left the factory six month after the woman’s husband died. It turns out her husband had received a prescription for the drug but never filled it. The wife, her sister-in-law and son claimed they saw the man swallow the drug. Of course they did, and they also probably saw crocodiles fly!! The thought of wealth never dreamed of, has caused many a mortal to sell their soul.
I realize that when you have a legitimate claim against a major corporation, it is almost impossible to win. I’m never on the side of those who abuse power. But I suggest we watch what is happening to actions taken against drug manufactures and the actions taken by the FDA. It may very well turn out that in a few years, no drug will be labeled safe for any illness or affliction you may have. Very few new drugs will enter the market.
If you are afraid of side effects of any drug, don’t use drugs of any kind. That the manufacturer and doctor should be aware of the possibility of side effects and warn you to the best of their knowledge is a given. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to warn you of all the possible side effects for reasons too numerous to list on this site. Just because the doctor issues you a prescription, the doctor does not know whether you even took the drug at all, maybe you gave it to a friend or sold it, maybe took three a day when it says take one a day or used some ones left over pills; pills for which you may or may not have a legitimate prescription. The doctor can only take your word on what drugs you are taking; many people see so many doctors they forget what drugs they are taking.
Many young and middle aged people are suffering the side effects of drugs they used or use that were never labeled at all. They may be the first ones to jump into a class action lawsuit in their desperation to blame some else for their predicament.
Very few decisions are made by any doctor that will guarantee no side effects. When I was diagnosed as having heart disease, I was told four doctors looked at my records and I was told that two recommended surgery as soon as possible and two said surgery but no great hurry. I took the first recommendation and now I’m almost back to my old self. I had some side effects. With the doctors’ help, I’m doing fine. Thank God for doctors, surgeons, assistants, specialists and pharmaceutical companies!!
We as a collective body may be taking too many precautions to protect ourselves. We make so many trips to the doctors, attorneys or spend so much of our time attacking school boards (just threw that in) that we may not be enjoying living in the greatest country on earth. Many of believe that by “staying the course” we are on may not be the best course and the course needs some alterations. I agree.
It’s not just drug companies and doctors that are being sued. Many step ladder companies were sued; some even were forced out of business, because there were no labels warning people not to stand on the top step. So some said why not stand there and fell and sued the ladder maker. Anyone who renders a service or makes a product must protect themselves from stupidity of the user. Expect costs of all merchandise and services to continue to escalate along with the cost of insurance. So, I guess, you should encourage all your progeny to be lawyers and accountants. That’s where the big money it. Oh, I forgot stockbrokers who make money on every transaction, whether you do or not. Attorneys also make money, whether you win or lose. Stockbrokers are almost totally immune from lawsuits because of the arbitration clause you are forced to sign when they first take your money to “invest”. You as an individual do not have the resources to fight your legitimate claim. I am a believer of class action lawsuits when you have a legitimate claim but you do not have the resources to pursue your claim alone. I’m sure a few of us around Peoria are in the class action lawsuit against liar Bernie Ebbers and WorldCom. When the lawyers get theirs, of course, not much will be left for the stockholders.
The world was never a safe place to live; if we overdo the privilege of trying to live in total safety, we will become not safe at all.
The Wendy Scam
“Lies, lies, lies, that’s all I am hearing” said the “Woman Who Won’t Sue Over Finger in Chili”. (This was a headline in the JS on 4/14/05.) Was there ever any doubt by those of us with some common sense that she was trying to scam Wendys? She has now been arrested and charged with two or more counts of fraud; if she is found guilty as charged, she should be sentenced and removed from society for a very long time. She caused untold damage to Wendys, their workers, customers and management. This scam, created by probably more than one person, tied up a lot of public health and public safety enforcement people at a great cost to society.
There are scams larger or on a smaller scale run every second of the day by people who think they won’t get caught and are unwilling to contribute to society. Unfortunately, we don’t catch enough of them and when we do our justice system is often unable (for a multitude of reasons) to remove them from society, if not permanently, than for a long period of time. If this alleged scammer is convicted, the public should take note of the sentence, especially those most affected in San Jose, CA.
When I taught school, almost 100% of the kids in school, made something out of themselves in later life. Today, I visit classrooms in School District #150 (the same goes on in schools all over the country) and see a fairly large number of kids not learning and not wanting to learn, but who will at some point steal, cheat or try to beat the law, avoiding doing work. Because they are in living in poverty, they believe society owes them. They deny responsibility for their own actions.
The first thing any person should be taught is attitude and responsibility. Unfortunately “role models” for many of our kids are often second, third or fourth generations of family failure and gang bangers, who blame everyone but themselves for their failures. It has been said that society does not owe the poor; the poor owe society, mainly their responsibility. Responsible people do not need to scam; responsible people are in demand in the workplace; they also do not need to be poor.
In this country everyone that will work and pay attention can contribute to society and earn according to their contributions. They do not need to scam. If they complain they aren’t paid enough, I suggest they look thru the help wanted ads. Seven pages of help wanted ads in just the JS every week. If they then discover they aren’t qualified to do more than menial labor, and there is nothing wrong with menial labor, maybe they will start to pay attention and take action to qualify themselves as employable, get hired somewhere, hold a job for enough time to create a presentable resume and work their way up the earnings scale.
My next visit to a fast food outlet will be Wendys!!
There are scams larger or on a smaller scale run every second of the day by people who think they won’t get caught and are unwilling to contribute to society. Unfortunately, we don’t catch enough of them and when we do our justice system is often unable (for a multitude of reasons) to remove them from society, if not permanently, than for a long period of time. If this alleged scammer is convicted, the public should take note of the sentence, especially those most affected in San Jose, CA.
When I taught school, almost 100% of the kids in school, made something out of themselves in later life. Today, I visit classrooms in School District #150 (the same goes on in schools all over the country) and see a fairly large number of kids not learning and not wanting to learn, but who will at some point steal, cheat or try to beat the law, avoiding doing work. Because they are in living in poverty, they believe society owes them. They deny responsibility for their own actions.
The first thing any person should be taught is attitude and responsibility. Unfortunately “role models” for many of our kids are often second, third or fourth generations of family failure and gang bangers, who blame everyone but themselves for their failures. It has been said that society does not owe the poor; the poor owe society, mainly their responsibility. Responsible people do not need to scam; responsible people are in demand in the workplace; they also do not need to be poor.
In this country everyone that will work and pay attention can contribute to society and earn according to their contributions. They do not need to scam. If they complain they aren’t paid enough, I suggest they look thru the help wanted ads. Seven pages of help wanted ads in just the JS every week. If they then discover they aren’t qualified to do more than menial labor, and there is nothing wrong with menial labor, maybe they will start to pay attention and take action to qualify themselves as employable, get hired somewhere, hold a job for enough time to create a presentable resume and work their way up the earnings scale.
My next visit to a fast food outlet will be Wendys!!
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Water Logged #7
You may want to go into my archives and pull up my blog on “conceptions, misconceptions, perceptions, subtle falsehoods and outright lies.” You have heard or read all of the above in the eight year debate about a city buyout of the water company. You also may want to go into my archives and read my 6 previous blogs on this subject. Any way let’s review what has been said to date:
“We don’t want a German company owning our water. This falls under the category of outright lies. All water in the United States is classified as a “natural resource” and no domestic or foreign company can own any of Peoria’s water.
“Illinois-American makes too much profit”. That falls under misconceptions because I doubt any of the millionaires (PAAG) that put up the million for the study would admit the businesses they owned “made to much profit”. Who is qualified to say anyone makes too much profit? Do you want to challenge Caterpillar and the holders of Caterpillar stock and question if they are making to much profit?
“85% of the water in the United States is owned by the public.” This falls under the category of subtle falsehoods. Public entities such as Brimfield, Timber-Logan Water District, Morton, Goodfield, Carlock, Deer Creek, Snowflake, Heyworth and most small communities across the US make up 85% of the total ownership of the right to mine, purify, and distribute the water in their communities. By no means do they own the right to mine 85% of all the WATER in the U.S! When communities like Snowflake or Show Low, Arizona were founded and digging wells and building cisterns were no longer feasible, the citizenry established public water districts with pumping stations for anyone who wanted to hook up and pay and these communities have usually kept ownership ever since. These small entities make up the major part of the 85% of water districts that are publicly owned. Few private companies could make a profit in owning small watershed districts.
“We don’t want foreigners owning our water company”. This falls under the category of conceptions and perceptions. More than 85% of all our oil we use in the U.S. is purchased from foreign companies. These countries are selling us their most valuable natural resource. More than half our transportation stock is manufactured by foreign countries, much of it built and sold in the U.S. In event of an unlikely war with Germany, the U.S. would nationalize all water companies if they suspected any wrongdoing possibilities. If a German owned company wanted to build anything in Peoria and promised jobs, the community would roll out the “red carpet” and would subsidize them, give them tax abatements, create TIF districts, and maybe even free land, unless of course they would be in direct competition with Caterpillar. If you are not aware, Caterpillar is the dominant force in this community and by selling approximately one half of their products to foreign countries, provide some of the best paying jobs in the whole Central Illinois area.
“With much of the country getting worried about the lack of water, we must control it”. This statement falls under the category of stupidity, which I didn’t list above. Much of the water you drink comes from the Illinois River. When the Illinois River runs dry, you and everything else will be dead so why worry.
“The purchase price will actually be between $242,000,000.00 and $248,000,000.00”. This is correct. Included in these larger figures is the amount the city will need to pay Illinois-American for investments in the water system since December, 2003. That’s part of the agreement. The city will have to pay its attorneys, consultants and engineers to conduct due diligence before the purchase is finalized. The final figure will be considerably more that $220,000,000.00.
I believe that PAAG did not lend the city a million dollars. I was told that the million was made available and the city drew as need all the while paying 9% interest. (Later reduced to 6%) I’m told that interest amounted to somewhere around $140,000.00 and that was deducted from the million so that the city only received approximately $860,000.00. Will someone following this folly, give me accurate figures to date because the city is still paying interest to PAAG as I write.
Smart communities know that with the complexities of running government, it is best to sell off or farm out many of the functions that do not fall under the classification of “core business”. Ownership of a water company does not fall under the definition of “core business”. It’s not smart to commit over half a billion dollars (includes interest on the bonds due every year for 30 or 35 years) on a buyout that the city manager says would cause the city to raise the cost of water over 3% a year. These possible losses or profits are usually guesswork anyway. Look at the RiverPlex and ballpark as prime examples of guesses gone badly astray. Even Damons guessed wrong or were mislead.
I do not question the possibility of the city trying to lowball a deal which might have turned a profit for the city but when the price went $180,000,000.00 over then Councilman David Ransburg guess back in the nineties, common sense was not shown again by the “yea” voters from the present city council. Two of the “yea” voters will be up for election in two years.
Some reasoning by “yea” voters didn’t make sense Tuesday night, such as “the public wasn’t informed”? B---S---! Most voters said no from the beginning, including my councilman Patrick Nichting. The PAAG, City Council members, the press and Illinois-American (including one forum I attended and less than 50 people were in attendance) made every effort to inform the public. You say the referendum wasn’t worded correctly? I haven’t seen many that were worded totally correctly including the recent election combining referendum that would have saved the taxpayer over a million dollars in five years.
New leadership, (three of the “yea” voters were ousted) let’s get on with doing a better job of running the city I live in!!
“We don’t want a German company owning our water. This falls under the category of outright lies. All water in the United States is classified as a “natural resource” and no domestic or foreign company can own any of Peoria’s water.
“Illinois-American makes too much profit”. That falls under misconceptions because I doubt any of the millionaires (PAAG) that put up the million for the study would admit the businesses they owned “made to much profit”. Who is qualified to say anyone makes too much profit? Do you want to challenge Caterpillar and the holders of Caterpillar stock and question if they are making to much profit?
“85% of the water in the United States is owned by the public.” This falls under the category of subtle falsehoods. Public entities such as Brimfield, Timber-Logan Water District, Morton, Goodfield, Carlock, Deer Creek, Snowflake, Heyworth and most small communities across the US make up 85% of the total ownership of the right to mine, purify, and distribute the water in their communities. By no means do they own the right to mine 85% of all the WATER in the U.S! When communities like Snowflake or Show Low, Arizona were founded and digging wells and building cisterns were no longer feasible, the citizenry established public water districts with pumping stations for anyone who wanted to hook up and pay and these communities have usually kept ownership ever since. These small entities make up the major part of the 85% of water districts that are publicly owned. Few private companies could make a profit in owning small watershed districts.
“We don’t want foreigners owning our water company”. This falls under the category of conceptions and perceptions. More than 85% of all our oil we use in the U.S. is purchased from foreign companies. These countries are selling us their most valuable natural resource. More than half our transportation stock is manufactured by foreign countries, much of it built and sold in the U.S. In event of an unlikely war with Germany, the U.S. would nationalize all water companies if they suspected any wrongdoing possibilities. If a German owned company wanted to build anything in Peoria and promised jobs, the community would roll out the “red carpet” and would subsidize them, give them tax abatements, create TIF districts, and maybe even free land, unless of course they would be in direct competition with Caterpillar. If you are not aware, Caterpillar is the dominant force in this community and by selling approximately one half of their products to foreign countries, provide some of the best paying jobs in the whole Central Illinois area.
“With much of the country getting worried about the lack of water, we must control it”. This statement falls under the category of stupidity, which I didn’t list above. Much of the water you drink comes from the Illinois River. When the Illinois River runs dry, you and everything else will be dead so why worry.
“The purchase price will actually be between $242,000,000.00 and $248,000,000.00”. This is correct. Included in these larger figures is the amount the city will need to pay Illinois-American for investments in the water system since December, 2003. That’s part of the agreement. The city will have to pay its attorneys, consultants and engineers to conduct due diligence before the purchase is finalized. The final figure will be considerably more that $220,000,000.00.
I believe that PAAG did not lend the city a million dollars. I was told that the million was made available and the city drew as need all the while paying 9% interest. (Later reduced to 6%) I’m told that interest amounted to somewhere around $140,000.00 and that was deducted from the million so that the city only received approximately $860,000.00. Will someone following this folly, give me accurate figures to date because the city is still paying interest to PAAG as I write.
Smart communities know that with the complexities of running government, it is best to sell off or farm out many of the functions that do not fall under the classification of “core business”. Ownership of a water company does not fall under the definition of “core business”. It’s not smart to commit over half a billion dollars (includes interest on the bonds due every year for 30 or 35 years) on a buyout that the city manager says would cause the city to raise the cost of water over 3% a year. These possible losses or profits are usually guesswork anyway. Look at the RiverPlex and ballpark as prime examples of guesses gone badly astray. Even Damons guessed wrong or were mislead.
I do not question the possibility of the city trying to lowball a deal which might have turned a profit for the city but when the price went $180,000,000.00 over then Councilman David Ransburg guess back in the nineties, common sense was not shown again by the “yea” voters from the present city council. Two of the “yea” voters will be up for election in two years.
Some reasoning by “yea” voters didn’t make sense Tuesday night, such as “the public wasn’t informed”? B---S---! Most voters said no from the beginning, including my councilman Patrick Nichting. The PAAG, City Council members, the press and Illinois-American (including one forum I attended and less than 50 people were in attendance) made every effort to inform the public. You say the referendum wasn’t worded correctly? I haven’t seen many that were worded totally correctly including the recent election combining referendum that would have saved the taxpayer over a million dollars in five years.
New leadership, (three of the “yea” voters were ousted) let’s get on with doing a better job of running the city I live in!!
Monday, April 18, 2005
Lest We Forget
I title this blog “Lest We Forget” as a reminder of taxpayer funded projects to come and projects that should have never started. Remember the bold projections of Park Board officials who were quoted in the JS on 6/16/1999, where they were attempting to hype the RiverPlex? If not, I’ll quote: Bonnie Noble said “approximately 17,028 households in the Benfield Market study area have a meaningful interest in the fitness center (RiverPlex), all of whom are likely to join.” (Benfield was hired to do a feasibility study.) On 4/12/05, almost 6 years later, Brent Wheeler, manager of the RiverPlex said the facility has approximately 7700 members. Sounds good, right? Wrong! First, Wheeler says “members” not “memberships.” Big difference! Figuring the average membership has three members; 3 divided by 7700 is 2600 memberships. Now remember the deal the PPD signed with the State? One third of the memberships, not members, must be at no cost to those who qualify for “poverty” memberships. One third of 2600 is app. 860. Deduct 860 from 2600 and you have only 1740 actual memberships. Then consider that many of the memberships are not for a full year and you can see why this facility in the first 40 months of operation lost approximately $6,000.00 each day of the week!
Read further into the JS article dated 6/16/05, the JS writer again doesn’t distinguish between members and memberships. (The 6/16/1999 article quotes the park as saying with 5000 members the facility would show a $521,381.00 profit a year after four years of operations.) Compare that figure with almost $7 million lost thru 12/31/04. The JSEB, meanwhile, has remained quiet on the subject of the RiverPlex since their infamous Editorial on 2/22/03 that the RiverPlex was only $74,000.00 in the red. Had the JS any investigative reporters; they do but don’t want them to dig any deeper than PPD statements, they would have learned like I learned, and I don’t get paid, that the RP had lost $1,178,000.00 in the first 4 and a half months of operations and has continued to lose money every month as they will for the next 16 years. The JSEB knew this and when I showed this PPD document (dated 9/18/02), the JSEB manager exclaimed “give me that” and took it out of my hands with no comment.
I have accused the JS of a cover-up on the real facts about the RiverPlex and I do so again. The JSEB is at least starting to have doubts about “everything we have on our plate” and whether the lack of money pledged for the zoo is an “omen” for the museum.
Bonnie Noble, PPD Administrator makes $130,182.00 a year plus benefits too numerous to mention. She also collected a bonus last year of $1264.00. Can the PPD afford all the raises they gave last year? Why not, if they are a little short they can and do every year sell new bonds, raise the costs to use park facilities, and raise taxes. No problem says Mr. Allen, who I believe is PPD Treasurer and who was recently reelected with no opposition. Everybody is pleased with the performance of the PPD? Time will tell.
Now let’s look at the projections of the ball park. Ten years ago, I was given a document (not marked confidential) which projected the ballpark would earn approximately $153,000.00 the first year of operation. On my personal tax forms, (I bought shares in the ball club 10 years ago,) not one year has the ball park ever made ME A RETURN ON MY INVESTMENT. Also, I have had my shares up for sale for years with not even an offer! This year the highly bally-hood Cubs came into town and published attendance for Friday, Saturday and Sunday were 2077, 2385 and 1839. Total – about 6200. (Last year, they missed projections by around 82,000 paying customers.) Hardly enough in total to fill up old Meinen field on one night. Break even, I read, is about 3500 PAYING customers a night. At least I got to throw out the opening pitch last Friday night. Glad you weren’t there, I didn’t get it to home plate!
People have told me “forget it, what’s done is done.” Unfortunately, I can’t. History is about to repeat itself. Read on.
The Peoria Park District with a history of big time money losing projects is about to unload another big time loser on the taxpayer. I suspect the leadership of the PPD, The Zoological Society, (fund raising branch of the PPD), and some major donors are readers of Machiavelli who said “we (people) are so simple and so ready to obey present necessities that one who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.”
How are you being deceived? Here’s how. After over three years of trying to raise funds and pledges needed to build the addition to the present zoo, the fund raising arm is still short $14,650,000.00. (The fund raising arm has been given until 12/31/07 to come up with 90% of $32 million the amount PPD officials say they must raise BEFORE starting construction on the zoo addition. (That’s 28.8 million dollars.) Keep that statement in mind “90% before STARTING CONSTRUCTION. (By then inflation will boost costs by a considerable amount.) Since I made two requests to see a business plan for this facility without success, I have concluded there is no business plan same as there was none for the RiverPlex, or at least, not one available to the public. I quote Trustee Roger Allen and financial guru, “Even if the RiverPlex needs a SMALL subsidy in the beginning, it shouldn’t be long before we are in the black.” The then district superintendent of planning said “it may take a year or two to get up to full utilization.” (He’s long gone.) Do these comments sound like these “leaders” had or have a business plan?? Why would a business plan for the zoos not be available for public viewing and input? Or maybe they have confused a “marketing plan” with a dollar and “sense” business plan. Big difference, the PPD is good at “marketing” themselves. I also suspect that even if you could see a business plan, it would be so “creative” as to show the zoo making money just like the terribly failed projections of the RiverPlex and the ball club. (A private enterprise with approximately $7,000,000.00 of taxpayer money invested in it.) The RiverPlex has approximately $5 million of your taxpayer dollars invested in it.
Want to be reminded of more history of highly touted facilities that didn’t live up to their hype? How about One Technology Plaza (Eldon Polhemus longtime County Board member and a person the JSEB attacks without any success, he just got reelected by a sizeable margin over the JSEB preferred candidate, is quoted in a JS article “My fear is that in a few years we’ll be landlord of a million-dollar piece of office space that we won’t know what to do with it.” Sharon Kennedy, long time Peoria County board member is quoted “I think we were sold something that isn’t there.” How true, the million dollar space the county got oversold into buying, is setting empty. (I was not on the County Board at that time. The County Board member I unseated, voted for the project. You don’t have to guess long about how I would have voted!!
Who represented the selling of the space to the county? Sandra Birdsall, the same person who is pulling every stop to get the City of Peoria to buy the water company!! Who was the developer and realtor? Diane Cullinan, the same person who tried to sell the city the now forgotten potential taxpayer killer, the “Promenade!” Check into the connection between Sandra Birdsall, the Chamber of Commerce, who also supported One Technology Plaza and the water company buy-out, and the former Diane Cullinan, realtor and developer. Nothing wrong with the connections but taxpayers have the right to know. Fortunately the city council saw thru this taxpayer rip-off called the Promenade, with a little help from the financial community. Bob McCord, CEO of Illinois Mutual Insurance came up with figures that would show this potential boondoggle called the Promenade, would cost Peorians approximately $70 and $99 million in taxes over a period of time.
Then there is the Gateway Center. Funds from the East Peoria gambling boat were to be used for our schools; instead, much of that money is used to make up the Gateway Center deficit. Did I say EAST PEORIA gambling boat? How did it dock there??
Peoria, as Don Axt, former Caterpillar newsman wrote in a letter to the editor, should be called “dreamland”. It’s great to dream but dreams are dreams and facts are facts. Everything I’ve written above was someone’s “dreams”. Unfortunately, some of the dreamers have dreamed right past wake up time.
.
Fortunately, there may be a few new leaders on the horizon who will not be so easily deceived. On the other hand the die may be cast. A PPD Board member has told me that park administration is considering selling more bonds if not enough private money is invested in the new zoo. I remind you that the PPD currently owes $24,011,497.00 in outstanding bonds with interest. I also remind you that I said some time back that the PPD budget could reach $60 million in the near future. It’s $44 million plus this year, up from $33 million last year up from $16 million in 1993.
I remind you again what recently reelected PPD Trustee Allen said on 6/19/99, referring that if the PPD doesn’t have the money to do certain projects, “We could borrow from reserves, (which must be paid back) or we could include it in our annual bond issue and it wouldn’t affect anything.” Of course not now, only later when the bonds come due with interest and must be paid back with tomorrow’s more expensive dollars!
As a business man for 36 years, I support growth that pays wages to support a family; I support enhancements that a majority of our taxpayers want, provided they are not propagandized by the elite who can afford all the projects they believe this community needs. When people say “you can afford it” ask them to show figures and take these figures to an accountant for a financial trustworthy opinion. If in doubt of the community affordability of these public enhancements, demand a referendum. Those opposed to referendums are saying “then we will never get anything done.” I say to that, B---S---!!!
I am hoping someone challenges me on these figures or statements. I have documentation to back up anything I say on this blog site. It is my business experience and observation that those who are saying “stay the courses” can either afford the tax spending course we are on or are deceiving themselves and in turn deceiving you. For those who can afford it, you pay for it ALL and charge us only when we use what you build. But remember, one half of us (homeowners) have already paid for the basic services and maintenance thru our property taxes.
I close this overlong blog with a quote; “Half the harm in this world is done by people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm – but harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves. (T. S. Eliot)
Read further into the JS article dated 6/16/05, the JS writer again doesn’t distinguish between members and memberships. (The 6/16/1999 article quotes the park as saying with 5000 members the facility would show a $521,381.00 profit a year after four years of operations.) Compare that figure with almost $7 million lost thru 12/31/04. The JSEB, meanwhile, has remained quiet on the subject of the RiverPlex since their infamous Editorial on 2/22/03 that the RiverPlex was only $74,000.00 in the red. Had the JS any investigative reporters; they do but don’t want them to dig any deeper than PPD statements, they would have learned like I learned, and I don’t get paid, that the RP had lost $1,178,000.00 in the first 4 and a half months of operations and has continued to lose money every month as they will for the next 16 years. The JSEB knew this and when I showed this PPD document (dated 9/18/02), the JSEB manager exclaimed “give me that” and took it out of my hands with no comment.
I have accused the JS of a cover-up on the real facts about the RiverPlex and I do so again. The JSEB is at least starting to have doubts about “everything we have on our plate” and whether the lack of money pledged for the zoo is an “omen” for the museum.
Bonnie Noble, PPD Administrator makes $130,182.00 a year plus benefits too numerous to mention. She also collected a bonus last year of $1264.00. Can the PPD afford all the raises they gave last year? Why not, if they are a little short they can and do every year sell new bonds, raise the costs to use park facilities, and raise taxes. No problem says Mr. Allen, who I believe is PPD Treasurer and who was recently reelected with no opposition. Everybody is pleased with the performance of the PPD? Time will tell.
Now let’s look at the projections of the ball park. Ten years ago, I was given a document (not marked confidential) which projected the ballpark would earn approximately $153,000.00 the first year of operation. On my personal tax forms, (I bought shares in the ball club 10 years ago,) not one year has the ball park ever made ME A RETURN ON MY INVESTMENT. Also, I have had my shares up for sale for years with not even an offer! This year the highly bally-hood Cubs came into town and published attendance for Friday, Saturday and Sunday were 2077, 2385 and 1839. Total – about 6200. (Last year, they missed projections by around 82,000 paying customers.) Hardly enough in total to fill up old Meinen field on one night. Break even, I read, is about 3500 PAYING customers a night. At least I got to throw out the opening pitch last Friday night. Glad you weren’t there, I didn’t get it to home plate!
People have told me “forget it, what’s done is done.” Unfortunately, I can’t. History is about to repeat itself. Read on.
The Peoria Park District with a history of big time money losing projects is about to unload another big time loser on the taxpayer. I suspect the leadership of the PPD, The Zoological Society, (fund raising branch of the PPD), and some major donors are readers of Machiavelli who said “we (people) are so simple and so ready to obey present necessities that one who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.”
How are you being deceived? Here’s how. After over three years of trying to raise funds and pledges needed to build the addition to the present zoo, the fund raising arm is still short $14,650,000.00. (The fund raising arm has been given until 12/31/07 to come up with 90% of $32 million the amount PPD officials say they must raise BEFORE starting construction on the zoo addition. (That’s 28.8 million dollars.) Keep that statement in mind “90% before STARTING CONSTRUCTION. (By then inflation will boost costs by a considerable amount.) Since I made two requests to see a business plan for this facility without success, I have concluded there is no business plan same as there was none for the RiverPlex, or at least, not one available to the public. I quote Trustee Roger Allen and financial guru, “Even if the RiverPlex needs a SMALL subsidy in the beginning, it shouldn’t be long before we are in the black.” The then district superintendent of planning said “it may take a year or two to get up to full utilization.” (He’s long gone.) Do these comments sound like these “leaders” had or have a business plan?? Why would a business plan for the zoos not be available for public viewing and input? Or maybe they have confused a “marketing plan” with a dollar and “sense” business plan. Big difference, the PPD is good at “marketing” themselves. I also suspect that even if you could see a business plan, it would be so “creative” as to show the zoo making money just like the terribly failed projections of the RiverPlex and the ball club. (A private enterprise with approximately $7,000,000.00 of taxpayer money invested in it.) The RiverPlex has approximately $5 million of your taxpayer dollars invested in it.
Want to be reminded of more history of highly touted facilities that didn’t live up to their hype? How about One Technology Plaza (Eldon Polhemus longtime County Board member and a person the JSEB attacks without any success, he just got reelected by a sizeable margin over the JSEB preferred candidate, is quoted in a JS article “My fear is that in a few years we’ll be landlord of a million-dollar piece of office space that we won’t know what to do with it.” Sharon Kennedy, long time Peoria County board member is quoted “I think we were sold something that isn’t there.” How true, the million dollar space the county got oversold into buying, is setting empty. (I was not on the County Board at that time. The County Board member I unseated, voted for the project. You don’t have to guess long about how I would have voted!!
Who represented the selling of the space to the county? Sandra Birdsall, the same person who is pulling every stop to get the City of Peoria to buy the water company!! Who was the developer and realtor? Diane Cullinan, the same person who tried to sell the city the now forgotten potential taxpayer killer, the “Promenade!” Check into the connection between Sandra Birdsall, the Chamber of Commerce, who also supported One Technology Plaza and the water company buy-out, and the former Diane Cullinan, realtor and developer. Nothing wrong with the connections but taxpayers have the right to know. Fortunately the city council saw thru this taxpayer rip-off called the Promenade, with a little help from the financial community. Bob McCord, CEO of Illinois Mutual Insurance came up with figures that would show this potential boondoggle called the Promenade, would cost Peorians approximately $70 and $99 million in taxes over a period of time.
Then there is the Gateway Center. Funds from the East Peoria gambling boat were to be used for our schools; instead, much of that money is used to make up the Gateway Center deficit. Did I say EAST PEORIA gambling boat? How did it dock there??
Peoria, as Don Axt, former Caterpillar newsman wrote in a letter to the editor, should be called “dreamland”. It’s great to dream but dreams are dreams and facts are facts. Everything I’ve written above was someone’s “dreams”. Unfortunately, some of the dreamers have dreamed right past wake up time.
.
Fortunately, there may be a few new leaders on the horizon who will not be so easily deceived. On the other hand the die may be cast. A PPD Board member has told me that park administration is considering selling more bonds if not enough private money is invested in the new zoo. I remind you that the PPD currently owes $24,011,497.00 in outstanding bonds with interest. I also remind you that I said some time back that the PPD budget could reach $60 million in the near future. It’s $44 million plus this year, up from $33 million last year up from $16 million in 1993.
I remind you again what recently reelected PPD Trustee Allen said on 6/19/99, referring that if the PPD doesn’t have the money to do certain projects, “We could borrow from reserves, (which must be paid back) or we could include it in our annual bond issue and it wouldn’t affect anything.” Of course not now, only later when the bonds come due with interest and must be paid back with tomorrow’s more expensive dollars!
As a business man for 36 years, I support growth that pays wages to support a family; I support enhancements that a majority of our taxpayers want, provided they are not propagandized by the elite who can afford all the projects they believe this community needs. When people say “you can afford it” ask them to show figures and take these figures to an accountant for a financial trustworthy opinion. If in doubt of the community affordability of these public enhancements, demand a referendum. Those opposed to referendums are saying “then we will never get anything done.” I say to that, B---S---!!!
I am hoping someone challenges me on these figures or statements. I have documentation to back up anything I say on this blog site. It is my business experience and observation that those who are saying “stay the courses” can either afford the tax spending course we are on or are deceiving themselves and in turn deceiving you. For those who can afford it, you pay for it ALL and charge us only when we use what you build. But remember, one half of us (homeowners) have already paid for the basic services and maintenance thru our property taxes.
I close this overlong blog with a quote; “Half the harm in this world is done by people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm – but harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves. (T. S. Eliot)
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Viewpoints - Facts & Fiction
These are a few books that I believe are worth reading; both non-fiction and fiction:
The Dream and The Nightmare – The Legacy of The 60’s - Author Myron Magnet This one is a must read!
Consuming Kids - Susan Lind
In Defense of Elitism - William A. Henry Another must read
American Dynasty - Another must read for active Republicans and Democrats
At a Tender Age – Violent Youth and Criminal Justice - Eric Hoffer
Good To Great - Jim Collins
Brain Washed - Ben Shapiro
Give Me a Break - Lewis M. Feldstein & John Stossel
The Rise of the Vulcans - James Mann
The Great Unraveling - Paul Krugman
Any Place I Hang My Hat - Susan Isaacs
Standing In The Rainbow - Fannie Flagg
The Quiet Game - Greg Isles
Sick Puppy and Skinny Dipping - Carl Hiaasen
Dirty (Drug Epidemic) - Meredith Maran
Good Faith - Jan Smiley
Quantons - Maeve Binckley
In The Moon of Red Ponies - James Lee Burke
Better Together - Robert B. Putnam
Also most of the books by Tony Hillerman, with settings in the Four Corners, an area I love to visit and read about.
Send me some titles of books you think I might like based on this list of my preferences.
I will dwell on a book I just finished called “Avenger” by Fredrick Forsyth. Forsyth is best known as the author of “The Day of the Jackal”. (The above listed writers have also written more than one book worth reading). Forsyth mixes mostly fact with fiction. I will quote from the Avenger some non-fiction statements. He refers to the way much of the Third World and their far left wing sycophants are looking at The United States. Forsyth writes “Your country is in constant reproach. It is rich to their poor, strong to their weak, vigorous to their idle, enterprising to their reactionaries, ingenious to their bewildered, can do to their sit-and-wait, thrusting to their timid. Demagogues rise to shout “Everything the Americans have, they stole from you”. “They roar in rage and that rage becomes hatred; hatred needs a target. The working class of the third world does not hate you; it is the pseudo intellectuals. (You seldom hear of intellectuals blowing themselves up, usually it’s the poor and ignorant or fanatics). If they ever forgive you, they must indict themselves. So far, their hatred lacks weaponry. One day they will acquire that weaponry. Then you (or your siblings) will have to fight or die. Not in tens but in tens of thousands”. (Probably millions if those who would kill us figure out a way to launch biological attacks on us).
We are in Iraq, certainly a Third World country and we will stay until Iraqi democracy can reasonably control the terrorists, no, not freedom fighters, but terrorists who would kill any one us if given the opportunity.
We are in foreign lands because there are more reasons to be there than not.
We can today be attacked by many means from anyplace by any group; even be attacked by terrorists from within. We have shown the entire world that no one is safe from terrorists and we ourselves in our entire history have never been safe from terrorism. We fought our own Revolution and Civil War; there are millions of our own people who today do not feel safe from terrorism in the very communities in which they live. Our prisons are filled with many terrorists from within our own borders. We have more people protecting us in just the State of Illinois than we have protecting the entire country of Iraq. Most Iraq people want democracy and they voted in much larger percentages than we do in this country. We have democracy which we mistakenly take for granted. If religious frictions do not lead to a civil war in Iraq similar to our own, Iraqis will have a democracy of their own choosing rather than dictatorship and enslavement.
We made and make serious mistakes everyday and serious mistakes have been made in our foreign policy not only by this administration but by previous administrations. Look at the mistakes we make every day, 42,000 people are killed each year, (16,000 alcohol related) without leaving the U.S.A., in just automobile accidents alone, all mistakes. (Accidents are usually called mistakes, and more than a million people each year are injured and millions left grieving by these mistakes). Why don’t the bleeding liberals who hate and look for someone to blame, concentrate on cutting these accidental deaths to say, 20,000? After all, those who are killed accidentally, injured, mentally damaged by abuse, murdered, take their own lives, are in serious depression, all these are grieved as much as the small number, comparatively, that are killed and injured in our defense. I call those serving our country with loyalty and risking their well-being; heroes. I call someone who kills or injures due to overuse of alcohol; drunks.
Anyway, reading enlightens, but as a mountain has many sides, so do viewpoints.
Good books, with many viewpoints, are better than watching the Cubs or almost any sitcom!!
The Dream and The Nightmare – The Legacy of The 60’s - Author Myron Magnet This one is a must read!
Consuming Kids - Susan Lind
In Defense of Elitism - William A. Henry Another must read
American Dynasty - Another must read for active Republicans and Democrats
At a Tender Age – Violent Youth and Criminal Justice - Eric Hoffer
Good To Great - Jim Collins
Brain Washed - Ben Shapiro
Give Me a Break - Lewis M. Feldstein & John Stossel
The Rise of the Vulcans - James Mann
The Great Unraveling - Paul Krugman
Any Place I Hang My Hat - Susan Isaacs
Standing In The Rainbow - Fannie Flagg
The Quiet Game - Greg Isles
Sick Puppy and Skinny Dipping - Carl Hiaasen
Dirty (Drug Epidemic) - Meredith Maran
Good Faith - Jan Smiley
Quantons - Maeve Binckley
In The Moon of Red Ponies - James Lee Burke
Better Together - Robert B. Putnam
Also most of the books by Tony Hillerman, with settings in the Four Corners, an area I love to visit and read about.
Send me some titles of books you think I might like based on this list of my preferences.
I will dwell on a book I just finished called “Avenger” by Fredrick Forsyth. Forsyth is best known as the author of “The Day of the Jackal”. (The above listed writers have also written more than one book worth reading). Forsyth mixes mostly fact with fiction. I will quote from the Avenger some non-fiction statements. He refers to the way much of the Third World and their far left wing sycophants are looking at The United States. Forsyth writes “Your country is in constant reproach. It is rich to their poor, strong to their weak, vigorous to their idle, enterprising to their reactionaries, ingenious to their bewildered, can do to their sit-and-wait, thrusting to their timid. Demagogues rise to shout “Everything the Americans have, they stole from you”. “They roar in rage and that rage becomes hatred; hatred needs a target. The working class of the third world does not hate you; it is the pseudo intellectuals. (You seldom hear of intellectuals blowing themselves up, usually it’s the poor and ignorant or fanatics). If they ever forgive you, they must indict themselves. So far, their hatred lacks weaponry. One day they will acquire that weaponry. Then you (or your siblings) will have to fight or die. Not in tens but in tens of thousands”. (Probably millions if those who would kill us figure out a way to launch biological attacks on us).
We are in Iraq, certainly a Third World country and we will stay until Iraqi democracy can reasonably control the terrorists, no, not freedom fighters, but terrorists who would kill any one us if given the opportunity.
We are in foreign lands because there are more reasons to be there than not.
We can today be attacked by many means from anyplace by any group; even be attacked by terrorists from within. We have shown the entire world that no one is safe from terrorists and we ourselves in our entire history have never been safe from terrorism. We fought our own Revolution and Civil War; there are millions of our own people who today do not feel safe from terrorism in the very communities in which they live. Our prisons are filled with many terrorists from within our own borders. We have more people protecting us in just the State of Illinois than we have protecting the entire country of Iraq. Most Iraq people want democracy and they voted in much larger percentages than we do in this country. We have democracy which we mistakenly take for granted. If religious frictions do not lead to a civil war in Iraq similar to our own, Iraqis will have a democracy of their own choosing rather than dictatorship and enslavement.
We made and make serious mistakes everyday and serious mistakes have been made in our foreign policy not only by this administration but by previous administrations. Look at the mistakes we make every day, 42,000 people are killed each year, (16,000 alcohol related) without leaving the U.S.A., in just automobile accidents alone, all mistakes. (Accidents are usually called mistakes, and more than a million people each year are injured and millions left grieving by these mistakes). Why don’t the bleeding liberals who hate and look for someone to blame, concentrate on cutting these accidental deaths to say, 20,000? After all, those who are killed accidentally, injured, mentally damaged by abuse, murdered, take their own lives, are in serious depression, all these are grieved as much as the small number, comparatively, that are killed and injured in our defense. I call those serving our country with loyalty and risking their well-being; heroes. I call someone who kills or injures due to overuse of alcohol; drunks.
Anyway, reading enlightens, but as a mountain has many sides, so do viewpoints.
Good books, with many viewpoints, are better than watching the Cubs or almost any sitcom!!
Monday, April 11, 2005
Disapointing
A couple of years ago, the Journal Star Editorial Board (in all future blogs this group will be referred to as JSEB) listed a number of disappointments regarding the apparent inability of most involved in this community to get their act together. They wrote “This failure of many in the Peoria area to still neither recognize nor appreciate the obvious need for collaboration within the community so the region can do its own thing to its fullest potential”… No wonder; Peoria is a community of so many committees, a community that has listened to so many planners, had so many involved leave with Peoria leadership nodding their heads in agreement as the planners fly out of town, maybe to come back another year to pick up a paycheck so of course we all are disappointed. The JSEB has also cautioned the community to save money for the really important projects, but The JSEB has seldom seen a taxpayer funded project they didn’t like. They, along with most of the elite in this community, were in full support of projects like the Promenade; fortunately the City Council stopped this grab for money, losers like One Technology Plaza, The Gateway Center, the RiverPlex, the ballpark and more. They still support the zoo but are becoming cautious. They are not alone in their thinking.
To be seated soon will be a new mayor of Peoria and two new councilpeople, all promising to be inclusive and transparent. Sounds good but how do you get all authorities and egos together especially when there are so many different groups involved. Let’s count a few: City Council and Mayor and City Manager, Peoria County Board and Chairman and County Administrator, the public school systems, the park district, the library system, the Heartland Partnership with it’s “family of companies” of 16 different branches (four are listed as “service providers and the rest as direct management) that include the Chamber, the EDC and Civic Federation Vision 2020 (the “family chart” shows the Civic Federation and Vision 2020 as one and same), the Heart of Peoria, Heartland Water Resources, the Riverfront Committee and other committees too numerous to mention.
Many of these committees and part of the community that supported those who lost are skeptical of the ability of these newly elected people. However, most of the community does not or they wouldn’t have elected them to office. I suggest that everyone who considers themselves leaders in this community lay aside their disappointments and they and their committees become transparent and inclusive. Those who lost are actually winners if they swallow their pride and get back on the team where their opinions will still be respected by those who voted against them, if they learn to respect the opinions of others. The fact is Jim Ardis will soon be Mayor Jim Ardis, chosen by popular vote to lead this community. Jim is challenged to lead the “welding” of all this independent leadership with all these committees. In my opinion, Jim would do well not to form more committees to “study things” but to work with all existing entities and ask for their help in reducing the number of independent authorities and committees. All governmental bodies in Peoria would be wise if they stopped bringing in “outside experts and consultants” except where local expertise is lacking. This is a talent loaded community which may be part of the problem. Do we have a problem of too much talent with great ideas with not enough money and too much let’s do it “my way” or our way because we know better than others? It’s hard to have too much talent but I’d rather have less talent and more teamwork. Look at sport teams loaded with talent who never win the big games and corporations loaded with talent who lose stockholders money and even go broke. Great talent does not guarantee success if you can’t work with others who may not be as talented as you. The U of I was a good example of talent working together (not a bunch of individual stars) and for lack of a couple more inches, was the best team in college basketball. Maybe Illinois was the best; sometimes the best lose.
A business background is very essential to help guide a public entity but the public sector is far different than the private sector where decisions can be made quickly and with a the consensus of a small group, the private sector can move ahead. If the private sector makes money, they get to keep most of it and if they lose too much, they go broke. In the public sector, if you make bad decisions, you can raise taxes, fees, and sell bonds. The worst that can happen is you may not get reelected (but again, maybe you can if you can fool the taxpayer and voter long enough).
Okay, accept that the voters saw some flaws in the system and voted for change. They weren’t just saying; let’s change, to those elected. The community is looking for a lot of changes on many levels. Let’s work on at least reducing these flaws and work to realize the potential all these outside consultants say we have.
And please don’t tell me of all the great things community has done. Of course, many good things have been done; look at the hundreds of millions of dollars spent. Now many people feel overtaxed and wonder how we are going to do all the things this community has on its plate, not even including improved infrastructures..
Good question.
To be seated soon will be a new mayor of Peoria and two new councilpeople, all promising to be inclusive and transparent. Sounds good but how do you get all authorities and egos together especially when there are so many different groups involved. Let’s count a few: City Council and Mayor and City Manager, Peoria County Board and Chairman and County Administrator, the public school systems, the park district, the library system, the Heartland Partnership with it’s “family of companies” of 16 different branches (four are listed as “service providers and the rest as direct management) that include the Chamber, the EDC and Civic Federation Vision 2020 (the “family chart” shows the Civic Federation and Vision 2020 as one and same), the Heart of Peoria, Heartland Water Resources, the Riverfront Committee and other committees too numerous to mention.
Many of these committees and part of the community that supported those who lost are skeptical of the ability of these newly elected people. However, most of the community does not or they wouldn’t have elected them to office. I suggest that everyone who considers themselves leaders in this community lay aside their disappointments and they and their committees become transparent and inclusive. Those who lost are actually winners if they swallow their pride and get back on the team where their opinions will still be respected by those who voted against them, if they learn to respect the opinions of others. The fact is Jim Ardis will soon be Mayor Jim Ardis, chosen by popular vote to lead this community. Jim is challenged to lead the “welding” of all this independent leadership with all these committees. In my opinion, Jim would do well not to form more committees to “study things” but to work with all existing entities and ask for their help in reducing the number of independent authorities and committees. All governmental bodies in Peoria would be wise if they stopped bringing in “outside experts and consultants” except where local expertise is lacking. This is a talent loaded community which may be part of the problem. Do we have a problem of too much talent with great ideas with not enough money and too much let’s do it “my way” or our way because we know better than others? It’s hard to have too much talent but I’d rather have less talent and more teamwork. Look at sport teams loaded with talent who never win the big games and corporations loaded with talent who lose stockholders money and even go broke. Great talent does not guarantee success if you can’t work with others who may not be as talented as you. The U of I was a good example of talent working together (not a bunch of individual stars) and for lack of a couple more inches, was the best team in college basketball. Maybe Illinois was the best; sometimes the best lose.
A business background is very essential to help guide a public entity but the public sector is far different than the private sector where decisions can be made quickly and with a the consensus of a small group, the private sector can move ahead. If the private sector makes money, they get to keep most of it and if they lose too much, they go broke. In the public sector, if you make bad decisions, you can raise taxes, fees, and sell bonds. The worst that can happen is you may not get reelected (but again, maybe you can if you can fool the taxpayer and voter long enough).
Okay, accept that the voters saw some flaws in the system and voted for change. They weren’t just saying; let’s change, to those elected. The community is looking for a lot of changes on many levels. Let’s work on at least reducing these flaws and work to realize the potential all these outside consultants say we have.
And please don’t tell me of all the great things community has done. Of course, many good things have been done; look at the hundreds of millions of dollars spent. Now many people feel overtaxed and wonder how we are going to do all the things this community has on its plate, not even including improved infrastructures..
Good question.
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