Sunday, January 27, 2008

Economic Stimulus and the QC...

Normally I am not a proponent of supply side economic stimulus, as it doesn’t always pay for itself. In this case, if you look at the true reasons that the economy is in trouble, it is likely just a band-aid on bleeding that should be controlled with a bigger pad.

I look at the speculation at the current state of the economy and everyone is bringing up the issue of sub-prime mortgages. According to the Wall St. Journal, the true problem is not that, or as likely tied to that as speculated. Over 60% of the mortgages are not sub-prime at all, they are traditional fixed-rate mortgages. That makes me evaluate, where has the money gone?

I think that the money has gone to energy, both home and vehicular, as well as the trickle down from that such as food, airline travel, etc. I tend to think this is less of a problem with rapid onset, but more likely a problem that has occurred over time. All of this leads down the road of job loss, outsourcing and the ongoing effort of corporate America to reduce cost.

That being said, I think the QC area will benefit from this stimulus package more than other parts of the country. Assuming that mortgages actually are a problem, due to the inflated interest rates and decreased property value, that hasn’t really hit the QC like in other parts of the country. Most QC property value has remained relatively flat over the last few years. Granted that does nothing for increasing equity faster than amortization, but it does at least not put someone upside down on a mortgage.

We have not experienced huge job loss. Our unemployment has remained relatively flat as well. Most of the QC major employers, Alcoa, Deere and the healthcare industry have been relatively unaffected by the overall economy from either the nature of the industry or the ability to compete in a global market.

So what does this mean for the QC when it comes to a supply side stimulus? I think since the QC area isn’t hurting as bad as other areas of the country, it may just be a boost for most of us that are feeling the pinch of the energy prices. The only major issues I can find that have turned my budget upside down are fuel prices, since I work a good distance from home, and my gas and electric bill. With the pressure off the budget for awhile, I will look to go out more, likely in the Illinois QC because of the non-smoking law, and spend a little more than usual on meals and a drink or two. It may even be time for some new shoes or some clothing. In my mind, this may be fun, but I will also remember that this is a band-aid and may put a little away. After all, when the 600.00 that I get from the government is gone, the cause of the problem will likely still be there… fuel at 3.00 a gallon and a hefty Mid-American bill. My pay, I’m sure like the pay of many others, is certainly not keeping up with the increased cost of living.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Inappropriate Comments...

Anonymous said...
Qualities of people on the blog who attack Meyer:1. Stupid2. Liars3. Greedy4. Named Kenady5. Con artists6. Drug users
January 21, 2008 1:52 PM


Well, Keith’s blog seems to have taken a sabbatical, but I’m not convinced Keith has. Keith, or one of his minions, are making some fun accusations. It seems that everyone that disagrees with him aggravate him to no end, quite frankly I think I am no longer dealing with an adult. This is simply elementary behavior and really the main reason I don’t have any respect for Keith as a leader or representative. Keith did well at making issue of wasteful behavior in the city, but has seemed to have lost it as of late. I considered deleting this comment, since it has no foundation and violates my rules one through three.

My thoughts are simple. If Keith didn’t want to be what he terms “attacked” he probably wouldn’t be throwing comments out like this one. I can assure everyone that I am not a liar, greedy, a con artist and I do not do drugs. Since stupid is a pretty vague term most everyone that has met me do not categorize me in that way, nor would anyone say that I come close to that assessment. Lastly, I don’t know who Kenady is. I haven’t seen a login like that on the blogs or on the Times. Maybe someone can fill me in as to who that is or point out a screen name or comments.

Keith has to realize that most people that actually do research and think before they speak are likely not going to agree with him. I do disagree with most of what he has to say and recognize that most of what he says is not supported by facts or any reasonability whatsoever. For example, we saw on his blog the accusation of a problem in the sixth ward and nothing came of it. In addition I am being accused of being Craig, which is totally wrong... I don’t even work for the city. I was totally lost on a post he made about the riverboats in reference to racing and gaming, then he posted something about trash that in itself was a confusing pile of rubbish. Someone has posted that the poor Keith days are over, and I agree. Whether the above post was Keith or not, I will delete anything else that makes it in the comments that has no foundation, and is quite frankly trash. If you cannot make a logical argument, and resort to name calling or other elementary behavior, it only shows me that you want to be oppositional for the sake of opposition.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Hip Shots...

Though I have been busy lately, I am paying attention. There are just a few things I would like to throw out there...

1. Will the Iowa Legislature consideration of moving the local option sales tax to a statewide tax affect promise? My initial thought is that it might. From what I understand, each initiative must be approved by voters. I am leery of a project that would come up for vote possibly on an annual basis and lose finding all together with one election. I am still on the fence about promise anyway with the lack of private funding.

2. Though Keith Meyer has managed to post Craig Malin's resume on his blog under Blues Clues headings, I assure everyone that this is another delusion and that I am not Craig Malin. If I found that Craig was blogging like me, I would consider it unprofessional and would be happy to go after him like anyone else in government making bad decisions.

3. I think the open forum in relation to the police chief position was a very good thing. I hope this shows that this council isn't just BS'ing us in relation to the openness of government. I also hope this is the start of many items that can be referenced to point at when the crybabies (see last post about meeting changes) start saying there is no public input. I am confident that wont be the case with this group.

4. More aldermen are coming up with blogs. I think this is a great communication tool. I just hope that people use the alderman's blogs constructively and use it for information and genuine comments, instead of psychotic entries. If you want to see a psychotic entry on a blog, read Keith's question about how many D1 businesses are laundering drug money. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. Does anyone know why nobody comments on Keith's blog? Oh wait, we are sane... Opinionated, but sane.

I'm verclempt, talk amongst yourselves.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Change... Not the kind that jingles...

I wanted to let this one simmer for a few days and take in the comments to see where this headed. As usual, most of the spouting off without thinking occurred on the Times site (and Keith’s blog, even though it is assumed at this point).

The best justification of the changes seems to be from Alderman Frink’s blog. I think the Times wrote a pretty fair article here, and they point out all angles of the issue. But is this really news? Changing the schedule of meetings seems like a relatively mundane act. The article does flag one issue for me anyway, that Hamerlinck and Ambrose are probably going to be the aldermen this round that don’t think before they speak. Can someone explain to me why the public should set the dates and times of the city council meetings? I think the 8th Ward Alderman Mike Matson is right, the previous scheduling was confusing.

Every Wednesday there are meetings, one day a week. This schedule to me makes sense, and the comment about the fact that there is more time between the committee meetings and the council meetings, might actually help aldermen that don’t do their homework. Meyer was a good example of this, constantly asking questions that could have been answered before the meetings, and Hamerlinck is right behind him evidenced by falsely claiming that the council knew little to nothing about the Promise. Since Hamerlinck and Ambrose don’t seem to have much time to do any homework, one would think that they would be happy to have more time to get things done.

Now on to the bulls**t about eliminating the public’s voice. For the illiterate people that cannot read an entire article, it only says that it’s being moved to the end of the meeting. This is certainly smarter than anything concerning the schedule. For anyone that has had to sit through a rant by Suzie Bell, it makes going to a meeting for an actual purpose actually tolerable. The council can actually tend to business, get comments on actual action items, then move on to the open mic night. As far as televising it or not, I see Gluba’s point, that removing it from the TV may slow some open mic night people who may just want to see themselves talk, however, if the Times quotes a citizen during that or the comments actually contain something that is valid and reasonable, I would want to be able to watch it and listen to what was said.
Keith has managed to rear his schizophrenic head and post a comment on his blog: Move "to a recess" is a fancy expression for eliminate. Dictatorships always move to restrict public input rather than deal with its own incompetence.” Since Gluba has managed to appoint people to the committees, I’m not sure where the delusion of eliminate comes from, and since public input is not being eliminated, just moved, I’m again not sure how there is a move to restrict it. Keith again is reading between the lines, or reading hallucinations, along with a bunch of other complainers that apparently have nothing better to do. In addition to that, what are these people going to do on Thursdays now? I heard rumor there may be a game of Blues Clues at Keith’s.