IS IT TRUE when a government on any level starts to provide a service and forces any group of people to pay for that service whether they want to or not it is called a TAX?…it is a TAX if it is $5, $10, $50, or more when it is mandated by government to go from the pocket of a business or individual into the coffers of government?…if government were to believe in their new program enough to actually give one money to participate that is still a redistribution of TAX money from others to whomever receives it?…yesterday the CCO came down pretty hard on the City Administration for their rush to vote require landlords in the City of Evansville to register and pay a $50 annual fee?…during the last 24 hours statements have been released by Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin and State Representative Gail Riecken regarding the proposed resolution and the state actions driving the urgency to act by tomorrow?…the fee has also been lowered to $10?…without the harsh challenge to the resolution by the CCO it is highly probable that neither letter would have been issued to the public and the fee (TAX) would still be $50?…to that extent our position was well taken and had positive impact?…reviewing the program, the candid letter from Chief Bolin, and several letters from members of Homeowner’s Associations who support the program we understand how fear and crime has driven the desire for such a program?…there is one thing that should be done to remove the words “NEW TAX INCREASE†from this resolution and that is to make it voluntary for landlords?…if it is all that it is asserted to be the landlords should embrace it and there will not be the legacy of establishing the program via a TAX INCREASE?…that in the case of absentee landlords this is clearly a case of “TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATIONâ€?…with this minor change from mandatory to voluntary couple with a fair and equitable enforcement of existing building codes this could become a VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION TO IMPROVE EVANSVILLE?…that is something that the CCO could throw support behind?
IS IT TRUE that the Indiana University Hoosiers last night lost for the 3rd time as the #1 ranked team in America?…last night’s loss opens the door for Gonzaga University, a small private college from Spokane, WA to assume the #1 ranking with a high probability of keeping that ranking going into March Madness?…that also turns Butler into a giant killer being one loss for two different #1 teams this year?…whomever thinks that a small private college cannot attract the talent to compete for an NCAA basketball championship is full of bull?…we hope that the Athletic Director of the University of Evansville is keeping his eye on Gonzaga and Butler with the ambition to elevate the UE program to the level that those two schools have achieved?…Jordan Baer did an excellent bit of research on historical attendance for UE basketball in response to this year’s team being poised to set an all time low attendance record since moving to Division 1?…close examination of the attendance history reveals that it is winning teams with NCAA appearances that put butts in seats of whatever arena a team plays in?…if UE were playing in the Reitz Bowl this year with Gonzaga’s record and ranking we would be setting an attendance record for the highest numbers?…UE has proven in its first two years at Ford Center that other than the number of seats the VENUE DOES NOT ATTRACT FANS?…what attracts fans is a winning competitive team?
IS IT TRUE that in 48 hours the so called “SEQUESTER†will become the law of the land and our federal government will have to cut $85 Billion (2.4%) from its planned spending for this year?…we call it planned spending because there is no approved budget and there hasn’t been one since 2008?…when compared to the size of the federal budget of well over $3 Trillion the “SEQUESTER†should be about as difficult for the feds to adapt to as a $20 pay cut to an average American family?…with the reinstatement of the 2% FICA TAX on January 1, 2013 the average American family did indeed get a $20 pay cut and with the rise in gas prices we all got another $20 pay cut?…if the average American family has already dealt with a 4% cut in take home pay this year that it is time for President Obama and the Congress to stop whining like five year olds and do their damn job?…the job at hand is to deal with a 2.4% spending cut in a way that does not crash the economy?…if they can’t figure this one out none of them need to be there?…Washington nowadays is run by the manufactured panic of the week like high school drama queens concoct?…what we really seem to have is an episode of Mr. MaGoo with President Obama driving the Tin Lizzy of a government while blind with Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid playing two of the little rascals sitting in the back seat cussing and flicking each other on the ear while the Tin Lizzy barrels closer and closer to disaster?