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Bloomberg Article States Federal Obligations at $222 Trillion as Opposed to the Advertised Amount of $16 Trillion

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Excerpts:

“Republicans and Democrats spent last summer battling how best to save $2.1 trillion over the next decade. They are spending this summer battling how best to not save $2.1 trillion over the next decade. In the course of that year, the U.S. government’s fiscal gap — the true measure of the nation’s indebtedness — rose by $11 trillion.”

“The fiscal gap is the present value difference between projected future spending and revenue. It captures all government liabilities, whether they are official obligations to service Treasury bonds or unofficial commitments, such as paying for food stamps or buying drones. Some question whether “official” and “unofficial” spending commitments can be added together. But calling particular obligations “official” doesn’t make them economically more important. Indeed, the government would sooner renege on Chinese holding U.S. Treasuries than on Americans collecting Social Security, especially because the U.S. can print money and service its bonds with watered-down dollars.”

“The U.S. fiscal gap, calculated (by us) using the Congressional Budget Office’s realistic long-term budget forecast — the Alternative Fiscal Scenario — is now $222 trillion. Last year, it was $211 trillion. The $11 trillion difference — this year’s true federal deficit — is 10 times larger than the official deficit and roughly as large as the entire stock of official debt in public hands.”

“Governments, like households, can’t indefinitely spend beyond their means. They have to satisfy what economists call their “intertemporal budget constraint.” The fiscal gap simply measures the extent to which this constraint is violated and tells us what is needed to balance the government’s intertemporal budget.
The answer for the U.S. isn’t pretty. Closing the gap using taxes requires an immediate and permanent 64 percent increase in all federal taxes. Alternatively, the U.S. needs to cut, immediately and permanently, all federal purchases and transfer payments, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, by 40 percent. Or it can mix these terrible fiscal medicines with honey, namely radical fiscal reforms that make the economy much fairer and far stronger. What the government can’t do is pay its bills by spending more and taxing less. America’s children, whose futures are being rapidly destroyed, are smart enough to tell us this.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-08/blink-u-s-debt-just-grew-by-11-trillion.html

Vanderburgh County Felony Cases

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VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

This feature is sponsored by Chris Walsh For Vanderburgh County Clerk. Chris Walsh is a veteran county administrator that strongly supports our local law enforcement professionals . Chris Walsh is a candidate that possess a non-partisan attitude with a consumer friendly demeanor. Chris also stands against unification of city and county governments.

This ad paid for by the committiee to elect Walsh Clerk.

Evansville, IN – Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, September 04, 2012.

Christopher Anderson Strangulation – Class D Felony
Public Intoxication – Class B Misdemeanor

Jamie Herring Theft – Class D Felony

Angela Miller Possession with Intent to Deal Methamphetamine –Class A Felony
Possession of Paraphernalia – Class A Misdemeanor

Maria Ramasway Domestic Battery – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Public Intoxication –Class B Misdemeanor

Ashley Tevault Theft – Class D Felony

Tamara Tevault Theft –Class D Felony
Criminal Trespass – Class A Misdemeanor

Derek Utzman Possession of a Controlled Substance – Class D Felony (Three Counts)
Unlawful Possession or Use of a Legend Drug –Class D Felony

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Carly Settles at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at csettles@vanderburghgov.org.

Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
SENTENCE CHART

Class Range
Murder 45-65 Years
Class A Felony 20-50 Years
Class B Felony 6-20 Years
Class C Felony 2-8 Years
Class D Felony ½ – 3 Years
Class A Misdemeanor 0-1 Year
Class B Misdemeanor 0-180 Days

BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS to Vote on Termination of SMG’s Management Contract for the Victory Theatre

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BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS

REGULAR MEETING
KEVIN WINTERNHEIMER CHAMBERS
ROOM 301, CIVIC CENTER COMPLEX
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
12:00 NOON

REVISED AGENDA

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. MINUTES August 15, 2012

3. CONSENT AGENDA
a. Request Re: Permission to Seek Quotes for Installation of a Spray Park at Tepe Park. –
Boberg
b. Request Re: Permission to Seek Quotes to Replace a Sewer Pump at Kleymeyer Softball
Fields. – Boberg
c. Request Re: Approve and Execute Agreement with Maxitrol for Fire Panel Monitoring at
Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden. – Morris*

*Recommendation from Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden Advisory Board.

4. OLD BUSINESS
a. Request Re: Open Bids for Stadium Demolition. – Johnson
b. Request Re: Review and Approve Change Order #1 for the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage,
Phase 3C-4. – Boberg

5. NEW BUSINESS
a. Request Re: Approve Termination of Management Contract with SMG for the Victory and
Mesker Music Theatre. – Johnson
b. Request Re: Approve Professional Engineering Services with Americas Engineering for
ADA Improvements at Golfmoor and Lamasco Parks. – Boberg
c. Request Re: Review Partnership with Athletes Performance Institute of Indiana at Swonder
Fitness Center. – Nadeau
d. Request Re: Review and Approve Adult Hockey Fees for 2012/2013 Season. – Nadeau
e. Request Re: Approve Budget Transfers and CIP Reprioritizations. – Boberg
f. Request Re: Any Other Business the Board Wishes to Consider and Public Comments.

6. REPORTS
a. Denise Johnson, Executive Director

7. ACCEPTANCE OF PAYROLL AND VENDOR CLAIMS

8. ADJOURN

IS IT TRUE September 5, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE September 5, 2012

IS IT TRUE that there was a time and it was not very long ago that the City of Evansville was asserting that the Johnson Controls contract was legal and binding and that nothing could be done to change a word of it?…we assume that this assertion was made on the advice of City Attorney Ted Ziemer who was also the author of the Earthcare Energy loan package for $200,000 that the people of Evansville are still on the hook for?…that with the IURC stepping in and forbidding the City from going into debt to pay for the Johnson Controls deal that the negotiating away of lots of parts of that ironclad contract seems to finally be the rule of the day?…the WIFI part is now gone and that two of our Civic Center Moles are telling us that the residential water meters are being taken out as well?…it was a single cherry picked bad meter used as real data that contributed to the IURC decision to forbid the deal based on flimsy research when it comes to saving the City money?…this is what happens when things get jammed through at the last minute by a lame duck administration or jammed through by a new Mayor without so much as even discussing worst case scenarios?…we hope that whatever comes out of this is done right, vetted right, and really saves the people of Evansville money because the way things happen in these parts they are going to need it?

IS IT TRUE that yesterday afternoon gas prices around Evansville magically increased by over 20 cents per gallon?…that Evansville, Indiana is the 17th most expensive reported gas on gasbuddy.com outside the State of California that has a 25 cent per gallon charge for pollution control additives?…that means that 150 places across this great nation are selling gasoline at a better price than it is being sold in Evansville?…we will reiterate our statement from the other day that with the gouging at the pump, Vectren’s near national high electric rates, and the coming $100+ per month water and sewer bills that Evansville will be a contender for the distinction of the highest price place in the country to live based on the number of hours of work required to purchase the basic services of life?

IS IT TRUE that the County Commissioners unanimously voted to cut the budget of the Human Rights Commission by 20%?…it is about time that the Commissioners actually followed through on a budget cut that they had ruffled their feathers about instead of folding their cards and giving in as they have on several other issues?…that if the public statement by Commissioner Joe Kiefer regarding the arrogance of the Executive Director toward the Commissioners is true they should have cut every dime of Vanderburgh County taxpayer money out of that budget?

IS IT TRUE the former North High School is now the home of the “Academy for Innovative Studies” as it has been christened by the EVSC?…that there are reportedly about 200 students in the old NHS that routinely handled over 1,500 students before the name was changed to an “Academy”?…that some students that behave in such a disruptive manner that they are expelled from the general population of students have always been sent to a different school but the name of that school has not been any stream of words with the term “Academy” in it?…an “Academy” has always been associated with excellence in learning and as a place where the best students are grouped together as a reward and to be able to work on a higher level?…that one can call REFORM SCHOOL and “Academy” if one wishes to corrupt the very invention of the word but it is still REFORM SCHOOL?…between this instance of calling a warthog a prize heifer and the other instances of trying to name away failing schools that has been rubber stamped by the Vanderburgh County School Board, we think it is time to expel the entire school board and elect 7 completely new people as the stewards of our public education system have become delusional?…that we now have a building for 1,500 that is occupied by a group of only 200 that will make the remaining 80%+ of the old NHS undesirable for other potential tenants or buyers?

IS IT TRUE the City County Observer would like to defend the Democrat Convention Party with regard to the omission of the word God from its official plank?…that the United States Constitution does not mention the name of God at all?…there is a veiled reference to a creator in the preamble?…that the monarchies of Europe of course all did mention God as the source of the dominion of kings over lesser men like serfs and the nobles?…based on this the Founding Fathers of the United States intentionally gave the authority from which power is granted as the people as opposed to God?…it was not until July 30, 1956 that Congress actually adopted the familiar term “In God We Trust” for our paper currency?…that prior to that date “In God We Trust” was on some coins at the discretion of the national mint but that only started officially after the Civil War?…that for those of you who are all about the Founding Fathers and the Constitution the Democrats got this one right?

CORE: KERNAN SHOULD BEGIN HIS CONSOLIDATION EFFORTS AT HOME

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KERNAN SHOULD BEGIN HIS CONSOLIDATION EFFORTS AT HOME

September 4, 2012 CORE2012.NET

St. Joseph’s County lags far behind Vanderburgh County when it comes to efficiencies

Recently former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan of South Bend, Ind., a city located in St. Joseph’s County, endorsed the question on the ballot to “reorganize” the City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County governments. This endorsement should come as no surprise at all considering Mr. Kernan helped author the Kernan-Shepard report “Streamlining Local Government” in December of 2007.

However, not a single Indiana county — including Kernan’s own home county — has ratified the Kernan-Shepard initiatives in full. We at Citizens Opposed to Reorganization in Evansville(CORE) believe Mr. Kernan, a former mayor of South Bend, should follow Vanderburgh County’s example and begin efforts to find efficiencies in his own hometown before instructing us what we should be doing here.

We now take the opportunity to demonstrate to local taxpayers just how well our civic leaders here at home have already done in finding efficiencies and eliminating duplication of services when compared to other Indiana communities. St. Joseph’s County, which is on the border with Michigan and represents a 5-hour drive from Evansville, is a shining example of how well Vanderburgh County has already done finding efficiencies in local government. For instance:

* St. Joseph’s County has TEN city/county/town government entities. The cities are Mishawaka and South Bend, both with mayors and completely different city administrations. St. Joseph County is the county arm of local government. And the towns are: Indian Village, Lakeville, New Carisle, North Liberty, Osceola, Roseland, and Walkerton. Vanderburgh County only has 1 incorporated City (Evansville), 1 incorporated Town (Darmstadt) and obviously Vanderburgh County government. Incidentally, the Town of Darmstadt is not part of the proposed unification plan.

* St. Joseph’s County has at least NINE publicly funded law enforcement agencies, all with a chief. Those agencies are: St. Joseph’s County, Town of Roseland, Town of Lakeville, City of Mishawaka, Town of New Carlisle, City of South Bend, Town of Walkerton, Town of North Liberty, and Osceola. It should also be noted that St. Joseph’s County has a Sheriff, a Chief, and an Assistant Chief. Vanderburgh County has only two law enforcement agencies, the City of Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office. It must be noted that neither of these two departments locally are a part of the consolidation picture for the next 10 years. The University of Notre Dame also has a police force, but we have been told it is privately funded and does not take tax dollars. That brings the number of law enforcement agencies in St. Joseph’s County to TEN!

* St. Joseph’s County has SIX school corporations (John Glenn; New Prairie United; Penn-Harris-Madison; City of Mishawaka; South Bend Community; and Union-North United school corporations). Vanderburgh County only has 1. We obviously have already discovered efficiencies and eliminated duplication of services, while South Bend has not.

* St. Joseph’s County has FOUR Library Boards (Mishawaka, New Carlisle, Walkerton and St. Joseph County). Vanderburgh County has 1.

* St. Joseph’s County has TWO Redevelopment Commissions (Mishawaka and South Bend). Vanderburgh County has 1.

CORE has said for months that most of the opportunities for cost savings and finding efficiencies in Vanderburgh County have already been capitalized by local taxpayers and elected leaders. Mr. Kernan’s hometown provides a shining example of how well Vanderburgh County sits compared to other communities thoughout the state.

In the above examples, St. Joseph’s County has 31 taxing units compared to Vanderburgh County’s 8. And of those 8, the only “duplication” of services would be from the Evansville Police Department, Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department, and the Town of Darmstadt, all of which are specifically NOT a part of the reorganization question on the ballot.

We at CORE remind voters that the current reorganization plan puts too much power into too few hands. Reorganization would lead to LESS REPRESENTATION for voters and therefore REDUCE ACCOUNTABILITY. We have already demonstrated the ability to find efficiencies and eliminate duplication of services without gutting local government.

In a letter to newspaper editors throughout the state of Indiana, the Association of Indiana Counties — a nonprofit organization — had this to say about the Kernan-Shepard Report:

“Taxpayers should be wary of efforts to eliminate county elected government officials and replace elected positions with appointed people. If it comes down to democracy vs. appointed bureaucracy, the choice seems abundantly clear: democracy. A commission appointed by the Governor to find efficiencies in government recommends doing away with many county elected officials. The report has some positive recommendations but eliminating the opportunity for taxpayers to serve their communities is not one of them. One size or form of government does not fit all communities.

“Framers of Indiana’s Constitution designed county government to carry out state laws and policies. To create a balance of power between state government and the citizens throughout the state, the designers of the State Constitution believed voters should directly elect people from their county to administer state laws. Why should that be changed? No evidence has been produced that appointed people will do a better job than elected people. In 1851 it would have been easy to allow the state to appoint people in each county to administer state laws. However, framers of the State Constitution must have been concerned about too much power being concentrated in state government or in the hands of too few people.”

We feel these comments about the Kernan-Shepard report also apply to the reorganization question on the ballot.

We ask that you VOTE NO in NOvember!

For a link to taxing units in St. Joseph’s County, please visit:

http://www.in.gov/legislative/pdf/STJOSEPH11.PDF

FOOT NOTE: This article was written and submitted to the CCO by members of the CORE committee.

VHS Pet of the Week: “Minnie”

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This is Minnie. She is a two year old female, hound/shepherd mix.

She is a gentle girl looking for a gentle person who wants to spend some quality time with me. She walks nicely on a leash and would love to get some regular exercise . She would enjoy getting in some quality TV/movie time, too. Of course, consistent and positive reinforcement for her positive behaviors will help her be the best companion she can be.

Her adoption fee includes, her spay, microchip, up to date vaccinations and a free bag of food.

Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden Closed to Public on Sept. 8, 2012

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Due to a corporate private Zoo rental, Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden will be closed to the public on Saturday, September 8, 2012. Normal hours of operation will resume on Sunday, September 9. Please call (812) 435-6143 with any questions

EVSC Schools to Host Marching Band Invitationals

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This fall, music will be heard all around Evansville as four EVSC schools host marching band invitational competitions. Two firsts are happening this fall in the EVSC – Harrison High School hosting its first-ever competition; and North High School having its first invitational in the new Bundrant Stadium. Central and Reitz also have events planned for this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 8, at their respective school stadiums. Central’s event will begin at 4 p.m. at Central Stadium. Admission is $5. Reitz’s event this weekend will be at the Reitz Bowl with the first competition beginning at 11 a.m.

Harrison’s invitational, which will include more than 500 students representing seven schools, will take place Saturday, September 15, at 11 a.m. and awards will be presented at 1 p.m. Admission is $5. Harrison’s event is unique as it is the first invitational the school has hosted in its history. In addition, the event coincides with the 50th anniversary of Harrison High School. According to director William Gumula, the invitational will add to the excitement of celebrating the school’s 50th anniversary.

North High School will be a prelude to the Indiana State School Music Association’s (ISSMA) District competition and round out this fall’s marching band invitationals by hosting its competition Saturday, September 22, beginning at 5 p.m. Admission is free. This year marks the first year for the event to take place at North’s Bundrant Stadium, but is the 31st competition the school has hosted. Twenty area schools will participate for the Best in Class award.

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

This feature is sponsored by Chris Walsh For Vanderburgh County Clerk. Chris Walsh is a veteran county administrator that strongly supports our local law enforcement professionals . Chris Walsh is a candidate that possess a non-partisan attitude with a consumer friendly demeanor. Chris also stands against unification of city and county governments.

This ad paid for by the committiee to elect Walsh Clerk.

Evansville, IN – Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday, August 31, 2012.

Amanda Dickman Theft – Class D Felony
Unlawful Possession or Use of a Legend Drug -Class D Felony

Tyler Emrich Theft – Class D Felony (Two Counts)
Possession of a Synthetic Drug – Class A Misdemeanor

Olivia Harpole Forgery – Class C Felony
Theft – Class D Felony (Two Counts)

Allen Joiner Strangulation – Class D Felony
Domestic Battery – Class A Misdemeanor

Aubrey Patrick Theft – Class D Felony

Thomas Payne Operating a Vehicle as an Habitual Traffic Violator -Class D Felony

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Carly Settles at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at csettles@vanderburghgov.org.

Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
SENTENCE CHART

Class Range
Murder 45-65 Years
Class A Felony 20-50 Years
Class B Felony 6-20 Years
Class C Felony 2-8 Years
Class D Felony ½ – 3 Years

Gallup Rasmussen Polls September 3, 2012

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The Rasmussen Tracking poll today shows President Obama trailing Mitt Romney by 48% – 44% with while Gallup’s Tracking poll shows the President leading at 47% -46%.

The average of these two polls is now showing the Romney/Ryan campaign with 47.0% and the Obama/Biden at 45.5% for a Romney lead of 1.5%.

The average approval rate for President Obama is at negative 4.0% meaning that 4.0% more of those polled disapprove than approve of the Presidents job performance. The average approval rating for the President was 45.5% and the average disapproval was 49.5% largely on the big increase in disapproval in the Gallup poll.

Real Clear Politics today has an average of 8 polls has the race tied at 46.4%. Since the Republican Convention Romney has made small advances daily as new polls are introduced while President Obama’s numbers have stayed the same.

All polls continue to indicate that between 7% and 8% of those polled have not yet expressed an opinion putting the undecideds in a position to choose the next President. These numbers are down from 10% earlier in the week with substantially all of the undecideds breaking for Romney. Changes in polling as a result of the Republican Convention have started to show up in polls.

The Democrat Convention is this week with the President needing to ebb the flow of undecided voters expressing their choice for Romney. The race remains a statistical dead heat with 8 states within the margin of error of the most recent polls.

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