On The Road

(Traverse City, MI) Several years ago, I would take a crazy road trip with my best friend, Steve. I looked up and found that it had been nine years since we took a road trip! Fortunately, it all worked out so we could do a trip that had been long-standing on our list: a circle tour of Lake Superior.

Ultimately, the plan is for a figure-eight tour: North from the Indy area, through Michigan along the western coast of Lake Michigan; then heading west theough Michigan's Upper Peninsula along the southern coast of Lake Superior, to Duluth, MN; then east along the northern coast of Superior; then west again through the UP- this time on the southern coast above Lake Michigan; then south through Wisconsin, Illinois, and back into Indiana. Route will vary on a whim- any time, any where, for no reason at all. About a week, all told.

Steve flew in from New York to Indy on Saturday. Ame and I showed him Hoosier hospitality with a nice dinner that included veggies from the garden and Indiana pork. Sunday, we hit the road.

Starting in Fishers, we meandered through Hamilton County, passing a bison farm on Six Points Road, just south of 296th. We meandered through Tipton County and got onto US 31 in time to let Steve feast his eyes on the famed Sherrill's "Eat Here and Get Gas" sign.

US 31 is a straight shot to Canada, but we did jump off from time to time to check out various sights. One misadventure was in Niles, MI. I truly thought that there was a tavern on trackside, full of railroad decor and a dining caboose. I was mistaken. My memory failed me. We asked around town- even at the Amtrak station- and everyone was stumped. Well, it had been ten years since I had been to that tavern, on a long work detail. On reflection, I think it's in Sturgis, MI. Who knows? I'll have to dig through my old photos.

Steve was astonished by the cheap land prices in Mi. $10,000/acre sounds ridiculous to a New Yorker. This was for property within 1,000 feet of Lake Michigan, north of Muskegon. Fun listening to him laugh at the prices.

We ended up in Traverse City, where the temperatures are lower and the wind is gusting. Today's adventures include an interview with former NHL player Craig Coxe, and a day trip to Beaver Island.

Could be trouble ahead- I forgot to bring my birth certificate and passport. I don't know if this will pose problems getting into Canada. I suspect that it might. If so, it would severly alter the pre-trip planned course, potentially eliminating the north shore of Lake Superior in Ontario. That would be a bummer. I was hoping to stop in Thunder Bay, and to take in the sights along the way.

Voting With Your Feet

One fabulous recipe for driving away wealth is to raise income taxes or property taxes. The more money a person earns, the more incentive that person has to leave so as to preserve their rightful earnings. When property taxes outstrip the perceived value of contributing to the upkeep of a neighborhood or a municipality, the higher the tax, the greater the incentive to find a place that will be worth the bill.

I've long said that people vote with their feet. I've done it twice in my life. My great-grandparents crossed an ocean to do it. One place I voted with my feet on is Indianapolis. I did it before the City-County Council, on Mayor Peterson's recommendation, raised the income tax. I did it before the property tax assessment issue came to fore. Thank goodness!

Even NuVo gets it:

When the deleterious effect of high taxes is apparent even to NuVo, then it's as plain as the nose on your face. Wayne Bertsch at NuVo.

I love the "World Class Mayor" bit on the t-shirt. Peterson likes to crow about making a "World Class City" and that high taxes are the price to be paid. What a load. When the murder rate is higher than Detroit's, Indy is not a World Class City in any sense, except perhaps Third World. The priorities are a wreck. Public safety should be fully funded while everything else plays second fiddle. It isn't the way things are done in Indy, so I left. Now that I'm making more money than when I lived in Indy, I'm damn glad I did, because it would be a crime to pay more for getting less.

The people who remain in Indy have to decide something: Do you want to have Indy as a cauldron of poverty and crime? Or, do you want to have increasing wealth and decreasing crime? It's a simple matter of policy, and while I'm no fan of the Republicans (because they create disincentives for wealth, only are slower on the implementation), the Democrats are quickly destroying Indianapolis. So, while too many partisan Democrats would rather fiddle like Nero and keep their people in office, will the independents be swayed to vote Libertarian? Or at least stop voting Democrat? (I can't even bring myself to say 'vote Republican'. They haven't earned it.)

I'll keep looking from a safe distance.

Hat tip to Hoosiers For Fair Taxation on the strip!

Excellent Time for a Protest

The NFL season opener is in town tomorrow night. The Super Bowl champ Colts host the Saints for a big deal game, with big deal entertainment on Monument Circle. (Kelly Clarkson is ok by me, because she had Mike Watt play bass on recent recordings.) The national TV cameras will be focused on Indianapolis.

What better time to dunk some property tax assessment tea bags into the canal? Details:

INDIANA TEA PARTY

NFL Opening GamePan Am Plaza - Across from RCA Dome.
Thursday, Sept 6th - Meet at 6pm.
Bring your assessment (or facsimille) to put in the giant tea bag.
At 8pm we march to the Downtown Canal to dunk the tea bag once more

I've heard some grumbling about this, along the lines of, 'why can't you just enjoy the moment and not try to give the city a black eye?' Har har, the city already has the black eye. Check out the murder count, murder rate, general crime rate, tax rates, wealth flight, and then see if people trying to right the ship is in fact 'giving the city a black eye'.

Sometimes, embarrassment is the only motivation for fixing obvious and huge problems.

Update: Matt Tully wrote a truly unfortunate column for the Indy Star, urging everyone to enjoy the 'circus' part of the 'bread & circuses' charade, essentially sneering at the tax protesters. From his column:

"We want to communicate with the rest of the country what's going on in our city," event organizer Melyssa Donaghy, also the city's best-known dominatrix, told me.

All I can say is, huh?

A little perspective, folks. Something tells me people in Dubuque, Detroit and Durango don't care about tax increases in Indianapolis. And I'm betting NBC will steer its cameras away from those protesting in the streets. But since you're going to be here, Kelly and Faith, I thought you could use a primer on what's going on.

A. Why must Tully identify Melyssa Donaghy as a dominatrix? Does he identify every person he writes about by their proclivities? Or, is this just his shabby attempt to smear her? That was rhetorical. Matt Tully lives to smear the earnest little people who endeavor to make our region a better place to live. I know, he's done it to me.

B. The point of shining the light of truth on the tax situation for people outside to see is not because they have an interest. It's because this event is a sham designed to prop up the gilded face of the city. Underneath the glitter is a hell of a lot of decay. The protesters are, as the kids say, keeping it real.

C. Perspective? It doesn't matter what the problems of New Orleans or the third world are. We live in Indiana. All politics being local, we work to make home a better place. If we ignored home and focused elsewhere, home would get worse. Why does Tully want home to decline? What kind of 'thinking' is that? Perspective, indeed!

Maybe it's just that the Star sells a lot of newspapers and draws a lot of website hits by running pictures and stories about the Colts, thus selling a lot of advertising. Maybe that's Tully's motivation for this slime-dripping hack job.

Red River Gorge, III

Ame, Isabel & I took our third trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky earlier this week. It was an excellent trip!

Posing on the deck of the cabin. Awesome views!

For me, the highlight was watching Isabel enjoy participating in the action. She really wanted to do some hiking rather than simply being carried in the backpack. So, we let her walk the trail to Balanced Rock.

We figured this would be a short walk on her part, that we would end up carrying her after some short distance. She only turned two this past June.

She's a tough little girl! She fell down twice and brushed it off, saying, "I ok. Let's go". She scaled all of the stairs by herself, at her insistance. This is no small feat for a 2-year-old, as you can judge by the photos.

Isabel leads Mommy up the stairs, up the mountain.

This is the joy of being self-employed: Take off on a non-holiday Monday for a couple days. It's ok, the boss approves.

Goofy Daddy and Isabel at Balanced Rock

Excellent College Football Weekend

What could be better? Ohio State wins large, Michigan loses to the first cream puff on its' schedule- at home, and Notre Dame gets pounded at home.

Repeat this, oh, four or five more times, and we'll see a memorable season! (It's a shame both teams can't lose when Michigan hosts Notre Dame later this month. Oh well.)

If You Have To Read Just One Article On The Michael Vick Case...

Here it is- on ESPN.com, that fountainhead of deep social analysis. Seriously, Howard Bryant's article on the Vick plea is excellent. From Bryant's writing:

Still, for all the emotion and anger, for all of the societal hot buttons this case has pressed at once -- race, class, privilege, the debate about cruelty to animals versus the value of human life -- this conclusion feels unsatisfying. Here is the saga of a man who financed and oversaw an inhumane operation, who was party to all of its graphic brutality and who, to date, has not shown an ounce of remorse. The fact that he still has a chance to avoid jail seems incongruous, even unfair, especially in a world in which it appears that hard time seems to exist only for the guilty poor, the average or the unconnected.

Sums it up well. The thing that always occurs to me when a pro athlete is involved with the law is that they get a different deal than the rest of us. It isn't right. Justice is supposed to be blind.

I know- we're supposed to be a nation of laws and not men, too. Alas. There's that pesky idealism that's supposed to be on the wane.

Scary Ride

Besides the raw workload, one thing has been on my mind that has made it hard to get too worked up about much of anything political.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving on I-74, back home from Champaign, Illinois. It had been a good road trip- I finished earlier than expected, so I was going to be home earlier, which is a major plus. But it was raining, and being that I was early, I decided to take it easy. I normally drive about 75-78mph on the interstate. I knocked it down to 65, set the cruise control, and eased on down the road.

I learned something about cruise control and rain. They don't mix. Moving in the passing lane ahead of a slower semi, I noticed that I was going backwards. It happened so smoothly that I didn't really grasp that I was hydroplaning until I was facing the semi. This was bad. It was behind me.

It was astonishing that I remained completely calm. I had the thought that I was going to be hurt badly, and yet, everything seemed to be suddenly a lot slower, and I was really calm.

I grew up driving in Cleveland, so I know how to drive on ice at speed. I thought it through. I let off the gas (no brakes) and turned the wheel to right the car. As I did this, I was sliding from the passing lane to the thru lane. About 1,000 feet later, the car was reasonably pointed forward, so I began tapping the brakes. I saw that the drainage ditch off-road was pretty deep. This still didn't cause me any alarm. Then, I felt the rumble strips in the berm, so I hit the brakes hard.

Sure enough, the tires grabbed on the strips and I stopped. I had one tire over the edge of the ditch. I hit nobody and nothing.

Well! My heart was pounding through my chest, and with the realization that I was safe, I actually felt some panic. I looked in all my mirrors to see what lay behind me. I was sure that someone else would have wrecked or run off the road in reaction to my movements. But, no! The semi was up the road, as were other cars, moving along as though my spin-out never happened. Nobody had run off behind me.

I sat there for a minute to collect my wits. It really took that long for it to sink in that all was well. It was just a scary moment, but with no harm done.

I was pretty spooked about continuing on the highway, so I got off at the next exit for a slow road home. Luckily, that was SR 32, which I could take home by way of Noblesville.

So, if anyone wonders if the political fire is out of my belly, the answer is that much of the time right now, it is. I did get riled about an anti-capitalism post on Bilerico recently, so it's not gone. It's just that perspective comes easy to me right now, and perspective is very dangerous to the pen of the idealist.

My Life, Illustrated

Pretty simple these days: work & family. Some of it even happens here in Indiana.

Isabel admiring the bunnies with Ame, at the State Fair. She really loves bunnies!

On location Friday in Champaign, Illinois. 110 sites near cross-connect boxes. I've perfected the 80-hour work week.

Watching trains with Alex in Bedford, Ohio on Saturday. Bedford is his hometown. He visited with relatives here all week.
Playing house with Isabel and Sasquatch in the backyard. She outgrew the old playset, so we donated it and found this one. She really loves the house! Now, if a bunny were to come out of the woods and join her, well that would just be heaven on earth for her!

An Online Petition To Sign

This is pretty straightforward:

To: Indiana General Assmebly, Governor Mitch Daniels

We, the People of the State of Indiana do hereby DEMAND that our State Legislature act immediately to abolish property taxes and institute a fair system of taxation.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

Follow this link to sign online. I did!

Marion County Tax Burden, Illustrated


My friends at the Marion County Libertarian Party have compiled an interesting set of data, showing the change in the tax burden from 1997 to 2005.

'Change' is to say, 'growth'.


Observe this chart, which shows the local tax burden as a percentage of income. This is not state or federal, mind you. Just local:



So, considering that I felt that Indianapolis-Marion County government was underperforming miserably, is it any wonder I left Indy in 2004? Should anyone be surprised when people of means leave across borders to other counties? For 12% of my income, I want results!


Keep in mind: Immigrants have historically crossed national borders to enter the United States in order to give themselves a better deal. If you curse me, you curse them.

New Linkage

Speaking of lazy blogging, I've been slow to add new links to sites I like, even though I visit some daily. Shame on me!

Anyhow, the links are to Advance Indiana, Indiana Barrister, Indy Undercover, Eric Schansberg's blog, and Sean Shepard's "Shepard Politics".

Check 'em out!

Lazy Blog Entry

OK, not so lazy. I've been working my tail off. But here are some excellent items I've read lately. You should read them, too.

UnCivil Defence's take on the TSA screening bus riders for dirty bombs, anthrax, and other WMD's, I guess:

I am reminded more and more of my years in South Africa during the Apartheid era. I never thought I'd see the day come when I could make that sad comparison while living in the States.

Rex Bell's letter to the Richmond Pal-Item, on property taxes, and why they are what they are:

There's a good chance that we won't see any reduction in our taxes as long as a majority of voters keep demanding that government should oversee and manage every aspect of our lives from the cradle to the grave.

If you don't think it has come to that, just try to name three things that our government doesn't tax or regulate.

That's a worthy challenge. It is left as an exercise for the student.


Doug Masson's blog entry breaks down in six steps the twisted property tax mess caused in the Statehouse, via an article by Purdue economist Larry DeBoer. It's an excellent demonstration of how fixes can be worse than the problems in their effects. I liken it to driving a car on ice- the harder you jerk the wheel to straighten it out, the more you lose control.


Advance Indiana was the first to take Jen Wagner of the Indiana Democrats to task for her belittling treatment of tax protesters, from Saturday's "Tea Party". Jen Wagner is the Communications Director for the Indiana Democrats, and she posted a blog entry calling the 500 or so protesters, "attention-starved", in her blog Taking Down Words. Per Advance Indiana:

Having attended several of these protests, I can attest to the broad, cross-section of voters they attract, including Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and independents. I frankly don't understand from a communications standpoint why Wagner would want to attack these citizen protestors. Is that good politics?

No, it isn't, and it isn't pro-democracy either. I can see disagreeing with the point the protesters wanted to make. But when the Communications Director of a political party sneers at people for participating in the political process by protesting- largely the domain of Democrats and leftists- she should at least get a mirror, and at best apologize. If there's one thing we need of Hoosiers, it's to shed their apathy and to participate. Wagner was way off-base in her commentary.

Go to Indy Undercover. It's always great stuff.

And then, it's back to work...

Indianapolis Tea Party

Hoosiers For Fair Taxation are organizing a tea party of sorts, on the canal in Broad Ripple. They ask those who believe their assessments are absurd to bring the printout so that it may be added to the giant 'tea bag' and dunked in the canal. Here are the details:

Mapquest link.

Your Home, Seen Through The Eyes of Others

Courtesy Tim Maguire, here's how it goes....

Your home, as you see it:

As seen by a buyer:

As seen by your lender:

As seen by your appraiser:

As seen by your Assessor:

Tim Maguire is a Libertarian candidate for City-County Council, at-large. Could any candidate but a Libertarian circulate this joke without a sense of deep shame or guilt? I think not.

Pluses & Minuses

I was fairly floored when I saw that Mayor Peterson's recommendation for the budget crisis was the cut all departments by 10%, with the exception of public safety. My gosh, where have we heard this before?! Hoosier Libertarians, myself included, have recommended this as a good policy direction for the entire five years I've been in Central Indiana. That's a plus.

But Peterson also recommended passing his proposed tax hike. Cutting budgets is so good and so necessary that I want to be all praise, but I just cannot. Tax hikes drive out wealth. It doesn't take a genius to understand this. Peterson, being in the land development business, should understand this better than the average politician. And yet, he stands by his tax. It's senseless, breaking things as he fixes them. If he were your child, you'd smack his ass and straighten him out. This is a minus.

The City-County Council passed the tax. Couldn't tell by reading the Indy Star this morning. How could this not be headline news? The CCC just did something to drive more wealth out of the County, giving me more new neighbors here in Hamilton County. Are they hell-bent on making Indianapolis a poverty magnet? It sure seems that way. Reminds me of Cleveland, how it went from a city of about 1 million to 400,000 in 20 years. How? A few small policy decision: a move from neighborhood schools to forced busing. An income tax increase. That's all it took. Major minus.

As usual, my decision to flee Marion County has been reaffirmed. I take very little pleasure in noting this.

Where To Cut First?

The City-County in Indy needs to cut somewhere. The arguments are always about where to do it. Every department head sees their department as the One True Necessary Governmental Agency, and their fiefdom besides. Every sepcial interest group that is served by a particular department holds it as sancrosanct. To paraphrase many great thinkers, there's nothing as permanent as a government office.

A few posts back, I showed a list of the Indy Government page. True, not every link was in fact a government office or program. At the same time, several links begat several more offices and programs. The point was to show that there is a lot of government. The point was to get readers to see the list and have at least a few of the departments seem so wholly irrelevant or of a wish list priority that suggestions could be made as to where to cut so as to more fully fund real priorities, such as public safety- without having to resort to a tax increase.

To me, there are two ways to achieve cuts.

1. The fastest is to decree a percentage budget cut. This eliminates the territorial defense of certain departments that comes with the proposed cutting or elimination of selected departments or programs. If there is the desire to spend a certain amount of money in order to bring public safety forces up to snuff, simply take that dollar figure and divide it by an equal proportion to each of the non-public safety budgets. Voila, there's the money.

Tightening the belts of the non-public safety departments and programs is something that should be happily done by them. It's a sacrifice to them in the name of the greater good. That's the hallmark of government, as I routine hear it told.

2. Target departments or programs for outright elimination. Again, select the amount of money needed to bring public safety up-to-date, and then eliminate programs and departments until you have your figure.

How to do this? Let the 29 City-County Councilors get a list of all the departments and programs. They review this list and vote a ranking, from 1 to 150 or whatever the number is. The votes are weighted by ranking. Public safety is exempt from the vote. Once complete, the lowest voted departments fall until you have the savings necessary to fund public safety.

If you think this type of vote is difficult to tally, keep in mind that the Major League Baseball Writers do exactly this every year in voting retired baseball stars to the Hall of Fame. A handful make the Hall, but those who fail to receive a certain basline number of votes are forevermore excluded from the Hall ballot. If baseball can tally priorities for something as innocuous as Hall of Fame status, certainly the City-County government can do so in tight financial times with the services it delivers.

Illinois, Again

For Wednesday and Thursday, I will be wrapping up projects in Danville and Decatur, then starting a bigger project in Champaign. In fact, Champaign will be as large as the other two combined!

Never fear, I'll be back on Friday, bright and early on your radio!

Tune in to "Abdul in the Morning" at 7am Friday morning to hear me along with Brad Klopfenstein and Mark Rutherford. That's 1430-am on your radio dial, and online at http://www.wxnt.com/

I'm not sure exactly what Abdul's up to here, as the three of us represent the Libertarians who have passed the torch to the next generation. Certainly, we'll talk about property taxes, and the LPIN's 2001 plan to overhaul them.

More Tax Protest

A spineless committee of the City-County Council, in the face of mounting public opposition to the increasingly heavy tax burden in Marion County, assumed the sit-on-your-hands position and froze there, not taking a vote on Mayor Peterson's ill-advised tax hike for public safety. From the Indy Star:

"Now you stand up and ask for an income tax increase," said Jack Borgerding, who said the taxes on his Downtown home rose from $2,200 to $15,000. "Enough is enough."

In delaying a vote that would send a recommendation to the full council, Vice President Joanne Sanders said she wanted to see whether any of a half-dozen tax-relief proposals takes hold this week.

"This isn't happening in a vacuum," Sanders said. "There are other options being thrown out daily, and the situation is changing every day."

At stake is a plan to increase the county option income to pay for Mayor Bart Peterson's $90 million plan to improve public safety.

Here's an idea: CUT SPENDING ELSEWHERE! There is plenty of money to be found, simply in scaling back departments that are less important than public safety... which is to say, all of them.

And there are a lot of them. Take a look at all of the departments the City-County government funds, per the City's website:

Mayor
Arts
Diversity
Mayor's Advisory Council on Disabilities
Membership
Committees
Celebration of Diversity Award
Commission on Latino Affairs
En Espanol
Education
Charter Schools
Board
For Parents
For Schools
Accountability Reports
Putting Education First
Mayor's Youth Council
About
Excellence in Education Award
Character Achievement Award
Families
Housing
Jobs
Neighborhoods
Transportation

Council
Councillors
Biographies of Councillors
Meetings
Council
Committees
Minutes
Committees
Proposals

City
Administration
Human Resources
Employment
Benefits
EEO Statement
Equal Opportunity
MBE/WBE Program
Program Information
Certification
Forms & Resources
Vendor List
Administrative Services
Bond Bank
About Us
Board of Directors
Outstanding Debt
SRF Loan
Warrants
Notes
Official Statements
Rating Agencies
Controller
Purchasing
Bids & Quotes
Vendor Information
City Finances
City Budget
Monthly Financial Reports
Licensing/Barrett Law
Barrett Law
Taxi Service
Special Events Permits
Walk-Run Route Information
City Legal
City Prosecutors
Litigation
Counseling
Labor/Employment
Collections/Admin. Services
Paying Parking Tickets
IndyParks
Parks
Sports Complexes
Amenities
Winter Recreation
Programs
Arts
Administration
Public Information
Rangers
Forestry
Planning
Parks Board
Golf
Greenways
Metropolitan Development
Neighborhoods & Housing
Questions & Help
Code Enforcement & Inspections
Community Development Goals & Strategies
Neighborhood-Based Economic Development
Historic Preservation
Grants & Assistance
Resources
Initiatives
Businesses
Questions & Help
New, Relocating & Expanding Businesses
Resources & Tools
Initiatives
Development Process
Builders & Developers
Questions & Help
Permits
Inspections
Licenses
Pre-Development Requirements
Resources
Planning & Zoning
Question & Help
Boards & Commissions
Zoning & Land Use Petitions
Zoning & Petition Processes
Comprehensive (Land Use) Planning
Neighborhood
Transportation
Demographics & Statistics
GIS & Mapping
Documents & Plans
Resources
Resources
Documents
Maps
Applications & Forms
Statistics
Online Tools
Public Safety
Animal Care & Control
Animal Control
Kennel
Community
Volunteering
Emergency Management
Assistance
Preparedness
Homeland Security
Training
Hazards
Fire Department
About IFD
Stations
Divisions
IFD History
Recruitment
Indiana Task Force One
Administration
Training
News
Public Works
The Road Home
Project Information
Sidewalk Repairs
Snow Removal
Street Closings
Street Repairs
Traffic Signs & Signals
Residential Services
Abandoned Vehicles
Beautification
Dead Animals
Drainage
Illegal Dumping
Recycling
Services for Persons with Disabilities
Sewer Construction
Sewer Services
Trash Pickup
Protecting the Environment
Air Quality
Indianapolis Clean Stream Team
Land Quality
Wastewater Management
Water Quality
Business with DPW
Planned Public Bids
Specifications & Manuals
Waterworks
Governance
Board of Waterworks
Service Advisory Board
Resolutions
Capital Projects
Legal Documents
Management Agreement
Asset Purchase Agreement
Inter Governmental Agreement

County
Assessors
Auditor
Homeowner Services
Online Deduction Forms
Additional Deductions
Tax Rates
County Budget
Financial Reports
Cooperative Extension Service
Clerk
Court Records & Filings
Filings
Juvenile
Probate
Marriage Licenses
Child Support
Account Information
Election Board
Candidate Information
Election Information
Poll Worker Information
Voter Information
Forms
Commissioners
Surplus Sale
Community Corrections
Services
Residential Component
Home Detention Component
Advisory Board
Minutes
History
What's New
Coroner
Roles and Responsibilities
Organ Donation
Forensic Services
About I-MCFSA
Jobs and Careers
Disciplines
Human Resources
Information Services
About Us
IT Governance
Services
Geospatial Information Services
Business
Justice
Planning Council
CJPC Board Meeting Agendas
CJPC Board Meeting Minutes
Administration and Support
Indianapolis Violence Reduction Program
Transcriptionist Unit
Metropolitan Emergency Communications Agency
About Us
Board
UCON
Radio
911/CAD
PRMS/FRMS
Mobile Data
Paging
Comm Van
Project Updates
Radio Upgrade Project
Help Desk
Probation
Locations
Programs
Internship & Volunteer Opportunities
Prosecutor
Prosecution
Violent Crimes
White Collar Crime
Narcotics
Terrorism
Protection
Keeping Children Safe
Domestic Violence
Keeping Seniors Safe
Reducing Juvenile Crime
Child Support
Prevention
Tobacco Cessation
Zoning
Racial Profiling
Community Prosecution
FAQ's
Protective Orders
Witness Information
Victim Information
Citizens Intake
Other Areas of Interest
Cases of Note
Traffic Safety Partnership
Public Defender
Administration
Office Locations
Board of Directors
Divisions
Court Information
About Us
Recorder
Documents
Services
Sheriff
About the MCSD
Community Relations
Organization
In Memoriam
History
Jobs and Careers
Merit Deputy
Reserve Programs
Special Deputies
Public Services
Real Estate Sales
Jail Information
Visitation
Investigations
Surveyor
Information
Surveys
Treasurer
Property Taxes
Tax Sale
Voter Registration
Voter Registration
Elections
History

Courts
Circuit Court
Rules & Regulations
Resources
Law Library
Superior Court
Court Information
Court Listings
Rules & Guidelines
Resources
Law Library
Jury Pool

Metropolitan Police Department
About IMPD
Annual Reports
Departmental Policies
History
In Memoriam
Staffing
Crimes & Incidents
Crime Trend
Law Enforcement
Service Districts
Criminal Investigations
Traffic Enforcement
Special Units
Services
Citizens' Services
Outreach Programs
Employment
Sworn Employment
Civilian Employment
Internships
Get Involved
Crime Prevention
CrimeWatch
Volunteer Services
Youth Involvement

Cable Communications Agency
Cable Operators
Government Access TV
Reports
Operator Reports
Bright House Networks
Comcast Cablevision
Cable Agency Reports
In-Kind Reports
Programming / Production Reports
FCC Filings
Franchise Board
Board Meeting Minutes
Franchise Agreements

The best tax relief to the people is the slashing of a budget. Or three. Or 30. Think Marion County has enough government yet?

Anyone who says they can't find anything to cut isn't trying. As you review the list, ask yourself, "Is this a proper function of government?"

There are so many that aren't, but let's go with the truly obvious: golf and cable TV. Lose these immediately. Sell the golf course land today. A pretty penny will be reaped. Get out of the business of micromanaging cable tv. Let any operator do business in the County. The people will have more choices and lower prives through competition, and an entire bureaucracy will be gone.

That's a lot of savings, right off the top. Might even be able to put enough police on the ground to prevent the south side garage fires, or at least enough firefighters to put them out.

The City-County Council needs to find the spine necessary to cut spending. The Mayor needs to find the spine necessary to tax back his request for higher taxes and replace it with a call to eliminate unnecessary government so that the proper government- public safety- can be fully funded.

Another Day, Another Anti-Tax Event

This time, it's not a protest. There is a Meet-up Group for the Fair Tax plan. It convenes monthly to discuss everything from the fine points of the plan, replies for tough questions from skeptics, to public outreach planning. Here are the details and linkage:

What: The Indianapolis Fair Tax July Meetup
When: Tuesday, July 17 at 7:00PM
Where: Borders Book & Music / 8675 River Crossing Blvd / Indianapolis IN 46240 / 317-574-1775

RSVP at: http://fairtax.meetup.com/5/calendar/5910697/t/nr1_nr

You Tube Video - 'Black Sunday'

Friend and Libertarian candidate Tim Maguire was at the 'Black Sunday' rally, and his comments were recorded. Here's the You Tube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm-gYdRu2KM

(As a total aside and refrain, I'll stomp my feet about New Blogger here. I want to EMBED the video, which New Blogger does not let me do. I can go to 'edit html' all I like, but it simply doesn't not embed the way it used to. The way it used to work was the user clicked an icon, and it embedded. Then they went to 'New Blogger' and erased the tool. Real smart. When you are on You Tube, you can embed directly via Stumbleupon, Reddit, Digg, Furl, and del.icio.us, but NOT Blogger.)

Sunday's Property Tax Protest Creates "Petersonvilles"

I was not able to attend the 'Black Sunday' downtown property tax protest, but I was enthused to see the press coverage:

Indy Star: front page article.
Fox-59 TV: Lead story this morning, top of the hour. No direct linkage yet, but many clips about property tax issues currently.
RTV-6: AWESOME photo slideshow.
WISH TV-8: Article focused on affects on rental properties.

Most of these articles have video to accompany. Great imagery! The history buff in me was delighted to see the modern Hooverville, with the cardboard boxes and shopping carts as homes. Let's call them "Petersonvilles", shall we?

Today's event: Hoosiers for Fair Taxation, which held the first rally on the 4th of July at the governor's mansion, will demonstrate at 5:30 p.m. at the City-County Building in Downtown Indianapolis. Topic? No surprise: excessive local taxation and Mayor Peterson's proposed large county income tax increase at the public hearing at City Hall.

Add your shanty to the Petersonville!

The Decline of Marion County, and The Want of a Gun

I was just listening to "Abdul in the Morning" on 1430-am WXNT in Indianapolis, when a female caller and apparently a personal friend of host Abdul, related her tale of being mugged in Indianapolis the other day.

According to the caller, it happened downtown, at 3:30 in the afternoon- broad daylight. A man on a bicycle cornered her and demanded her purse. She was using her cell phone, and she told the man that she was going to call 9-1-1.

The man laughed at her and told her, 'go ahead. Call 9-1-1.'

She related how frustrated and defeated she felt by this reaction. She expected the man to be worried. She said that she figured he knew he would be long gone before any police officer arrived.

Then she said, "it's not like I had a gun or some mace".

This incident as described by the caller illustrates that police protection is a great thing when you have several minutes to spare. When you don't, self-reliance is your only option, and a gun or a can of mace is a very handy tool.

Indeed, your threat of using a gun by simply showing it is more powerful than following through on a call to 9-1-1.

Upcoming Anti-Tax Events

Here we are at post #1,000 at Kole Hard Facts, and it's a lazy thing on my part, but important info to pass along. It's a link to a post on Hoosiers For Fair Taxation's blog, outlining several events happening in the very near future, all designed to get the attention of our sleeping elected officials, and to jolt them into action.

Here's the link.

Ron Paul Has More Money Than John McCain?

I read a Washington Times article that says just that. Well! There is some justice in this world! Check out some of this passages about Ron Paul's campaign, from the Times article:

The campaign has outgrown its second headquarters, a 348-square-foot office.

Mr. Paul has more campaign cash available than former Republican front-runner Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Federal Election Commission records show, and the antiwar conservative has become an Internet sensation.

Paul is the one Republican I could happily vote for. McCain is the one Republican I would eagerly vote against. Reading this was just very uplifting, and these days, I find so few political articles that are anything but infuriating. Paul was the 1988 Libertarian Party candidate for President.

Here's a link to Ron Paul's campaign website.

New Linkage

I have added linkage at the right to the Hoosiers For Fair Taxation blog, in the "My Fellow Hoosier Libertarians" column. They may not think of themselves as partisan Libertarians, but they certainly are working to advance liberty, which is what really matters to me.

Their efforts are extremely timely in light of the current property tax fiasco. They have activities happening within a few days. Check it out!

Fishers-Geist Annexation News

Apparently, there is going to be a special Fishers Town Council meeting, tomorrow, Thursday July 12, at 8:00pm, on the issue of Fishers' attempt to forcibly annex Geist neighborhoods in Fall Creek Township. First thoughts:

Typical short notice on the special meeting. It seems Indiana municipalities are very fond of short and limited notice for special meetings. Is it that the Councils don't want attendance?

I am a Fishers resident who has been against the annexation from the beginning. Mainly, I don't care to have my Town's government growing. It will, as more area to manage means more employees and bureaucrats to govern. Also, I don't want the Town floating bonds against the increased assessed value that the annexations would create. Lastly, I thing it is wrong morally to forcibly annex non-municipal residents who chose non-municipal living into municipalities. If they voluntarily choose it- fine. Otherwise, leave 'em alone.

Here's text of an email I received from a Geist resident who is an opponent of the annexations:

I wanted to let all of you know that Fishers will be holding a special town council meeting Thursday, July 12 at 8:00 p.m.at the Fishers Town Hall. They will be voting on whether to pull the 4 ordinances regarding the annexations in Geist. If Fishers pulls the 4 ordinances, they will then proceed to meet with individual neighborhoods to try to get them to agree to be annexed "voluntarily".

My belief is that Fishers Town Council members will try to tell people that due to the Carmel case, their goal to annex Geist is all but a done deal. To be clear, Southwest Clay lost to Carmel because of the deal that NOAX (the anti-annexation group) cut with Carmel. The State Supreme Court held that the agreement was binding because enough residents signed it that the remonstration effort could not reach its 65% threshold; therefore, Southwest Clay could not fight the forced annexation any longer. We should not make the same mistake. Fishers is trying a "divide and conquer" strategy. They are hoping to get enough people to get on board with them that The Geist residents can no longer reach the 65% threshold it needs to remonstrate. The FTC thought that we wouldn't be able to meet that 65% mark because of some sewer waivers that were in place. These waivers prohibit people from remonstrating. Even with the sewer waivers (assuming they hold up in court- which is very questionable), more than enough Geist residents are opposed to annexation that the 65% remonstration number can be met. Fishers was not counting on such strong opposition to annexation.

Fishers is hoping that if they offer enough tax abatements to Geist residents that people will give up and sign on with them. Keep in mind that there is a limit to how much tax abatements they can offer, and when that time is up, Geist will begin paying the Fishers municipal tax rate. With the recent increase in property taxes, another taxing entity is not something most of us need or want.

This is not a Fishers vs. Geist battle. It never has been. It is about not wanting a 22%+ increase in taxes to receive services we are already getting -and paying for. While it may appear to be great news that Fishers is pulling these 4 ordinances- it is only a temporary measure. They are waiting to see if they can get enough Geist residents to come over to their side. If they cannot, they will try forced annexation
again.

Please consider doing the following 3 things:
1. Attend the Fishers meeting Thursday night and make your opinions known to the media that will be there.
2. Be very aware that Fishers is pulling a divide and conquer strategy. Please don't let them succeed!!!
3. Pass this message on to other neighbors in the affected Geist area

I am hopeful that I can attend and speak on the record on this issue.The new wrinkle to me is the idea that Fishers would grant tax abatements to the newly annexed Geist areas.

I am very much opposed to any tax abatements if an annexation occurs. That would mean that the existing Fishers residents would be subsidizing services to the Geist residents for the duration of the abatements, which is wrong.

This is the most senseless twist yet. The Town Council has long made the spurious argument that the Geist residents aren't paying their fair share, thus the impetus to annex. Well, if that's the case, stick to your guns! If they get tax abatements, they won't be paying their fair share!!!

This twist really reinforces to me the idea that the annexation is really about adding assessed value so that more bonds can be floated. That means more taxes over 30 years.

It's all bad government.

Property Tax Ruckus

When I'm in Indiana these days, I am frequently conducting title searches for AT&T. My starting point can sometimes be the Township Assessor's offices, when I need detailed property information to start before I go pulling deeds and plats at the County Recorder's Office.

So, what a hoot to research at the following Marion County township offices: Washington, Lawrence, and Warren.

The lines were longest and angriest in Washington Township. Understand that there is rarely any kind of wait for me to get to a public computer for research. At the Washington Assessor's this morning, there were two lines with four property owners each. Every waiting room chair was filled. Every cubicle had a deputy reviewing a property with the owner present. All- and I do mean all- were seeking to file a form disputing the new assessed value.

I overheard one man, at wits end, explaining the absurdity of his re-assessment. He bought his property in 2005 at $180,000. It was re-assessed at $240,000. For 2005. He was beside himself, explaining that his purchase represents market price. He was the market for that house in 2005! Shouldn't his purchase price carry the day? Made sense to me. I had great sympathy for him. I thought he was going to burst a vein in his temple.

This scenario was similar at Lawrence and Warren Townships, just not quite as angry.

It pains me that it requires this kind of pain for taxpayers to finally stir. It bothers me more that the nature of the complaints is merely the new assessments. The assessments aren't the root problem. The spending by municipal and county governments is out of control.

The Governor is now in on the grandstanding, hinting at a possible special session to address the problem of property taxes. Yes, there is some good the Statehouse could do- like eliminate property taxes altogether. They won't do that, though. They'll come up with some new shell game that allows the local governments to spend to their hearts' content while providing the facade of tax relief. From the Indy Star report:

"As governor, I will take every step I have authority to take to help Hoosier homeowners," Daniels said in a statement issued by his office Monday night.

Nice rhetoric. Empty rhetoric.

The calls to the Statehouse and the Governor are misplaced. Call the City-County Council in Marion County. Call Mayor Peterson's office. These are the people in charge of the budgets.

Bottom line: if Indianapolis and other local governments weren't spending so much, there wouldn't have been a push to update the assessments. Re-assessing was seen as a way to gain tax revenues without being perceived as raising taxes. It certainly is raising taxes. Really, especially in the case of those on fixed incomes, it isn't merely taxing, it's confiscatory.

Anyhow, I'm sort of glad the people are somewhat awakened to the absurdity of our tax burden. I'm dismayed that what the awakening suggests is that it's okay to tax us at an incredibly high level, but we draw the line when we stand to lose the house. Yikes.

Tax Freedom Day is a concept I have promoted on this blog and on my radio shows in the past. What is Tax Freedom Day? It is the day that we are through working to pay for government. After that day, you are earning for yourself and your family.

This year, in Indiana, you stopped working for the government on April 23. After that you were earning for yourself. State map.

That's nuts. And yet, we accept it. We only draw the line when threatened with losing our homes. Here's a telling quote from the Tax Foundation:

"Americans will work longer to pay for government (120 days) than they will for food, clothing and housing combined (105 days)," said Hodge. "Since 1986 taxes have cost more than these basic necessities. In fact, Americans will work longer to afford federal taxes alone (79 days) than they will to afford housing (62 days)."

My understanding is that the Boston Tea Party was staged over a 1% tax. Oh, to have that kind of vigilance today!

Go to the various tax protests happening Sunday and Monday. From the Star:

• Sunday: "Black Sunday" asks supporters to wear black to show unity and bring signs to Monument Circle from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Several groups seeking tax reform are organizing the event.
• Monday: Hoosiers for Fair Taxation, which gathered at the governor's residence July 4, will rally at 5:30 p.m. at the City-County Building Downtown.

Light Rail Blahs

This light rail irritant just won't go away. It seems that despite any analysis of real-life non-usage of passenger rail in the vast majority of American locales, the evidence of the conditions required to make commuters choose to ride the rails, the costs associated therein in tax dollars, the injustice of having non-riders subsidize the riders- this boondoggle plods blindly forward here in Indiana. Irritating Indy Star story.

Pressed for time, I'll address just one issue so frequently evoked by supporters when challenged on the taxes or the justice. The comeback is, "well, the interstate highways are subsidized".

Fair enough, but must that mean that we should also subsidize light rail? Saying yes is like saying that if you have an affliction that blinds your right eye, the solution is to blind the left, just to keep them on par.

Rather, let's end the subsidies to the highways. If you ride them, you should pay for them. Nothing more just than a user fee. Those who do not use the interstate need not pay for it. Likewise, those who won't ride the rails, which is to say some 95% or more of us, shouldn't have to flip a dime out of pocket into the suck hole.

The toll highways are the answer. I'm not talking about the Mitch Daniels lease idiocy. I'm talking about keeping the highways in the hands they are in, but assigning a cost to pass. It's easy enough if you get an I-Pass transponder- No need to stop at a toll booth, just drive on through and your account is charged.

Kind of like the water bill. You use so many cubic yards, you pay so much. Better than that, though, there is no base charge. Pass the booth, pass the toll. I hear no complaints about the water bill. Why should transportation be a shell game of hidden taxes and hush-hush subsidies?

To see some other current dialogue on light rail, where my name was evoked, check out Masson's Blog. I've chimed in a couple of times to make a point, all worth reading, if I don't say so myself.

Hoosier, or Illini?

It's hard to tell what state I live in these days, as I've been spending more time in Illinois lately than at home in Indiana. The absence is evident in the posts... or lack thereof. I've been on contracts in Danville, Decatur, Dundee- really, any place in Illinois that begins with a 'D'. It's good work, all for AT&T. I've worked 121 sites in the past 60 days or so.

Anyhow, I sadly missed out on Andy Horning's latest political activity, as I even spent the 4th of July working on the road. I am greatly encouraged that at long last Hoosiers are starting to feel a real anger about the state of taxation here. It's a shame it takes real agony to spur real action. But, if the public is at long last awakening, I take stock in it.

It's funny, when I moved from Ohio just 5 years ago, I was thrilled with Indiana, because compared to Ohio, this is a tax haven. Problem is, it's less and less true all the time. It's amazing to me how the situation has deteriorated in these five years, especially in the area of property taxes. Marion County has been astonishingly irresponsible in its' tax policies. It's as though Bart Peterson has a burning desire to drive all people of means out of Marion County.

Anyhow, here is some linkage to Hoosiers for Fair Taxation: Blog. It just launched recently, and has some interesting posts alrady, including one about a hardware store offering a new kind of 'for sale by owner' sign.

Indianapolis Fair Tax Meetup: Link.

Excellent YouTube video clips:

Part 1 of 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv7BTWHolRc
Part 2 of 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N_neK0XTuU
Part 3 of 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81vDJjNXTl8

(I'd like to say at this point that New Blogger sucks. One used to be able to post up videos hosted on YouTube directly, so that the reader could simply click. I guess it's because Blogger is affiliated with Google, and Google competes with YouTube, that this function is no longer available. Yep- New Blogger sucks.)

Illinois Workfest

The posts have been few of late, mainly because I have been working 2-3 days/week in Illinois, in Danville and Decatur, on contract for AT&T. You know those service cabinets? I make scale drawings of the area so the engineers can figure out where to put another one.

Tough site. Extra room? This is a cross-connect box. A new VRAD cabinet is to be placed near the cross-box. They work together and allow for broadband and video services to be offered. I locate these in their surrounds and make 1" = 20' scale drawings. Curse me, as you will now see these cabinets all over your neighborhood where they were invisible to you before.

These have been interesting places for me to work, as there is much industrial landscape, and much of it still functioning. Translation: Plenty of trains to watch while I eat my lunch in the car.

Decatur, IL. Norfolk Southern and CSX trains work this area. Great industrial view, including the obsolete coal tower! A fellow train geek stands by the diamond with film rolling. I used the flash so that I could get a reflection off the signal tower marker. Is that some geek action, or what?

This work will be ongoing for the next 4-6 weeks, so if the quantity is light, I'll do my best to provide quality.

I enjoyed the recent linkage in "Just For The Record" for my last post. Thanks, Andrew! There's even a search label for my name. I'm flattered!