IS IT TRUE? March 24, 2011

IS IT TRUE that within an hour of publishing an article with excerpts and a link to a study done on the disappointment with the results of the consolidation of Louisville we got emails from employees of two separate economic development agencies advising us that the study that we posted has been “refuted” but other studies?…that the study that we posted was scholarly and presented raw data and two pages of references to support their conclusions?…that the metrics used and presented as disappointing are job growth, employment, number of businesses, annual payroll, and population growth?…that the raw data presented checks out as accurate?…that the language of the study did seem slanted in a negative way but that nevertheless the data was accurate?

IS IT TRUE that one of the people who contacted us stated that the study was not valid because it was paid for by opponents of consolidation?…that if paying for a study while having a position on a subject invalidates the study, then every study that is paid for by supporters of consolidation are invalid also?…that raw data does not lie but that liars can sometimes manipulate raw data to tell a lie?…that raw population is very hard to lie about in a census year?…that former Mayor Jerry Abramson of Louisville is on record many times as stating that Louisville is now the 16th largest city in America and that being a top 20 city was one of the promises that was made to pass consolidation in Louisville?…that in reality at the time of consolidation Louisville became the 26th largest city in America, slipped to 27 during the first 4 years after consolidation, and has slipped even further to 29th?…that when the ranking is expanded to include the entire MSA which has a population of 1,258,777 but only ranks 41st among American MSA’s for population?…that to claim to be the 16th largest city in America when the RAW DATA does not back up that claim IS INTENTIONAL MISREPRESENTATION?…that all of the cheerleaders for Louisville including the former Mayor get the PINNOCHIO AWARD for truth in advertising?…that to call a study biased by being biased and untruthful has no merit?…that Louisville has grown during the past 10 years, has had some wins, and has visibly improved?…that Louisville has some good truths to tell and that its local officials undermine the credibility of the City of Louisville by advertising false claims?…that we are never surprised when a politician or some group that is beholding to a politician tells a lie?

IS IT TRUE that the CITY COUNTY OBSERVER has offered one of the chief proponents of consolidation the opportunity to provide us with a study that concentrates on raw data that shows where consolidation was a success in Louisville and WE WILL PUBLISH IT IMMEDIATELY WITH EXCERPTS as we did with the study yesterday titled “Beyond the Rhetoric”?…that we will do so even if the submitted study happened to have been paid for by proponents of consolidation?…that we well DO A SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON OF THE RAW DATA of the two studies should a second one be made available?…that we really hope that this is provided and that the RAW DATA cuts through the clutter of self interested bull crap artists?

IS IT TRUE that we wonder if the consolidation committee that has spent the past year crafting the proposal being considered by Evansville-Vanderburgh used any before and after RAW ECONOMIC DATA to first decide if consolidation has yielded the benefits that they claim that it will here?…that we would appreciate a list of references of documentable successes that have been achieved through consolidation that would not have happened anyway?…that we are waiting?