IS IT TRUE that we are pleased that the Evansville Courier and Press has finally put the fact that Vectren has the overwhelmingly highest rates in the State of Indiana on its front page and above the fold?…that in the body of the article one learns that Vectren’s residential rate is 55% above the average for the State of Indiana and even as much as 288% higher than the lowest cost places?…that the headline in the hardcopy was “Vectren sets pace on utility billing”?…that on first blush for headline surfers it would be easy to conclude that they were announcing a new and improved way to send you a bill?…that at least the online headline reflects the body of the article which is unfortunately that Vectren’s customers are paying a tremendous premium for electricity as compared to the rest of Indiana?…that the City County Observer has been doing our best to educate the public to the reality of this monopolistic reaming for over a year now?…that we are quite pleased and impressed that the local flagship news agency has finally awakened from their coma to help us educate the public about this situation?

IS IT TRUE that the numbers with respect to Henderson were ignored in the Courier article but have been written about extensively in the CCO?…that Evansville competes for people and businesses with Henderson as they are very similar cities?…that Vectren’s residential rates when compared to Henderson’s are roughly 212% higher than they are across the money saving bridge?…that from a consumer perspective that such a difference would never survive a free market challenge?…that if a gallon of gas that is $3.50 in Evansville could be bought for $1.18 in Henderson that everyone would be well served to cross the bridge to buy gas?…that if $200 worth of groceries in an Evansville market could be purchased in Henderson for $67.26 that everyone would be well served to shop for food across the money saving bridge?…that the only thing that allows Vectren to “have their way” with the residents of SW Indiana is the Indiana State Legislature that sanctions this monopoly?

IS IT TRUE that if you are an average customer using about 1,000 kWh per month then over the course of one year you will be paying about $1,200 more for electricity than you would if you lived in Henderson?…that if you enjoy being treated like this then you should remain silent and write the checks?…that if you think this is a travesty and you want to make your opinion known that you should contact your elected officials repeatedly and let them know what you think?…that a good plan could be to send letters to your elected officials monthly when you pay your Vectren bill?…that 140,000 letters per month would get your elected representatives attention?

IS IT TRUE that Evansville competes with Henderson for jobs too?…that SW Indiana has been fixated on attracting manufacturing jobs for as long as most of us can remember?…that manufacturing using massive amounts of electricity?…that for all practical purposes that to an outside entity Evansville and Henderson are the same community?…that Evansville and Henderson use the same airport, roads, infrastructure, and retail businesses?…that if you are an outside entity that has decided to move to “Evansville” and are deciding where to locate that when you see that electricity is TRIPLE the PRICE in Indiana that your choice will probably be to choose Henderson?…that may explain to a large extent why the manufacturing base in Vectren’s territory has been shrinking faster than the population of the City of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that contrary to popular belief that Toyota and AK Steel our two largest attraction projects in the last 20 years are NOT VECTREN CUSTOMERS?…that we are not surprised by this?…that they are both about as close to Evansville as you can get without being in Vectren’s territory?…that we encourage you to read the Courier article for more details?

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/aug/20/vectrens-residential-customers-pay-states-rates/

IS IT TRUE that St. Benedict’s is not the only charitable organization to have been the unsuspecting recipient of counterfeit money this week?…that lower denominations than the fake $100 bill that was exchanged for $80 of real money in the nationally reported offering plate counterfeiter are showing up in Evansville?…that the latest charity to be the subject of counterfeiting was the Goodwill Industries Store at 4,600 West Lloyd Expressway?…that this time it was a fake $20 bill that was attempted to be used to purchase an ash tray?…that of course the person who tried this was more interested in the change than the ashtray but that the astute clerk used a marker that fingered the bad bill for what it was?…that when the clerk was contacting the store manager that the would be passer of a counterfeit Jackson grabbed the bill and ran off?…that someone within walking distance probably sold a $1 item later that same day?

IS IT TRUE that there are reports in the past week of counterfeit $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills right here in Evansville?…that it leads one to wonder if we have a new manufacturer that has set up shop here or if this is some criminal minded entrepreneurial attempt at Quantitative EASING?…that people in general are pretty good a survival and that in a rotten economy one survival trick would be to print counterfeit money?…that when one of our enterprising but lawbreaking citizens does this it is called COUNTERFEITING and brings the law arm of the law into sight very quickly?…that when the United States government prints money and quietly uses it to buy securities it is called QUANTITATIVE EASING?…that the net result is the same?…that both of these activities devalues our currency and makes us suspicious of our legal tender?

IS IT TRUE that it has been estimated that due to the collapse of home values that up to 50% of the homeowners in America are being over-assessed for property taxes?…that in states like Indiana that have mandated market value assessment that the only homes that are not over-assessed are the ones that were wrong to begin with or the ones that have changed hands in a recent transaction?…that if you are one of those homeowners whose home is assessed and taxed at a value that is higher than market value that you can appeal that assessment and correct it?…that savings of 20% or more are not unusual?…that the appeal process is very easy and that the staff of the Vanderburgh County Assessor’s Office can assist you with your appeal?…that City County Observer Mole #1 has made seven (7) appeals and has a 100% success rate?

IS IT TRUE that patent value gained broad national attention this week when Google paid $12.5 Billion for Motorola Mobility?…that over $7 Billion of those dollars were acknowledged to have been the value of Motorola’s patent portfolio?…that one of the largest holders of US Patents is the Federal Lab Consortium?…that GAGE has an agreement that makes the entire patent portfolio of the FLC available for preferred licensing to businesses in a 28 county region in 3 states in and around Evansville?…that this agreement was signed three (3) years ago in September of 2008?…that it is about time that this program became more than just a stack of paper?…that if the patent portfolio of Motorola is worth $7 Billion than it is not unreasonable to value the patent portfolio of the FLC to be valued at well into the TRILLIONS of dollars?…that this wealth of knowledge in pretty much free for the taking through GAGE and has been for three years?…that it is about time that GAGE and its sponsors like the City of Evansville did something tangible with this agreement?…that the HOW and WHO about doing something with this gift horse needs to be front and center in the upcoming campaign for Mayor of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that over on Adams Avenue between Kentucky Avenue and Kerth that there is a Front Door Pride type of project that is being carried out that sounds like it may just be sustainable and have a long term chance to make a positive change?…that the thought behind this program is to go block by block and take out ALL of the dilapidated homes before proceeding to build anything new?…that when the new house are built that they are being built at price points that are compatible with the incomes of the target market?…that these houses are built for the same price that they are sold for and that number is in the $129,000 range for a 1,200 square foot home?…that rather than building a boat load of these homes and then hoping that they sell that the developers have a list of interested and QUALIFIED buyers right up front?…that these homes improve the neighborhood but do not resemble the McMansions that the City of Evansville have randomly planted around abandoned shotgun houses in the Front Door Pride district?

IS IT TRUE that the practicality of appropriate products for the target market wins every time in the free market system?…that trying to change a massive ghetto by building a few palaces in it is always a waste of money and only benefits a few at the expense of many?…that if you want to see a program that needed very little seed money and is based on practicality and sustainability you need look no further than the 1,000 block of Adams Avenue near Akin Park where the Reverend Adrian Brooks and the Memorial Community Development Corp. along with Evansville City Councilwoman Connie Robinson are doing this right?…that when dedicated people get together and use their minds that programs that are capable of big improvements can be done with nominal seed money?…that the formula of spend $500,000 followed by sell for $500,000 can be repeated indefinitely?…that the Front Door Pride formula of spend $3 Million and sell for $1.5 Million can only be repeated until one gets to the bottom of the money barrel and then the “MONEY PARTY” is over?

IS IT TRUE that programs like Front Door Pride, Vision 1505, and a host of other “affordable housing” initiatives are nothing but expensive handouts and squander taxpayer dollars?…that such wasteful programs that defy the free market and rely on irrational decisions by buyers give housing programs a bad name?…that programs like the one on Adams Avenue give community development a good name?

IS IT TRUE that the IDEA HOME at 620 Washington Avenue has finally attracted a buyer?…that Jody and Vacharaporn Phillips are the proud new owners of the former IDEA HOME?…that the sale price of this home is recorded on the Vanderburgh County Assessors website as $165,000?…that this house that was sort of a speculative venture funded by much public money has been reported to have cost between $400,000 and $500,000 to refurbish from its formerly dilapidated condition?…that this is an extreme example of a Front Door Pride type of endeavor that lost approximately a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS of taxpayer dollars?…that Mr. Jody Phillips is a member of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission?…that the Phillips family is to be congratulated on their good negotiating that secured a very well refurbished home for them alone at a massive discount to the cost to do such a job on the open market?

IS IT TRUE that as taxpayers the City County Observer reiterates that such programs are not wise or sustainable?…that this is a link to the house on the Vanderburgh County Assessors website where all of the information was found?

http://www.vanderburghassessor.org/Default.aspx?PID=82-06-29-023-033.016-029

IS IT TRUE? PART 2 May 16, 2011 City Budgets?????

IS IT TRUE that the 2010 budget for the City of Evansville was $214,612,824 and that every one of those dollars should have been spent for the benefit of the 117,429 citizens that make the City of Evansville their home?…that simple mathematics reveals that the City of Evansville spent $1,827.60 on each citizens behalf in 2010?…that the budget for Vanderburgh County for 2010 was $91,832,809?…that the unincorporated part of Vanderburgh County was home to 62,274 people?…that the same simple math reveals that the County spent $1,474.65 for each citizen?…that it seems that the spending to population ratio of the City of Evansville is 24% higher than it is for Vanderburgh County?…that if the spending per person that Vanderburgh County does per person was used by the City of Evansville that consolidation would save $41.5 Million?…that if the consolidation committee could identify that kind of savings that they may actually be taken seriously for their financial projections?

IS IT TRUE that this budget to population ratio curiosity was inspired by a concerned citizen who pointed out a discrepancy in the spending per person between Evansville and Fort Wayne?…that the City of Fort Wayne has a budget of $134.9 Million to spend on behalf of 253,691 citizens?…that the spending per person in Fort Wayne calculates to only $531 per person per year?…that if Evansville would spend at that rate that it could save $151.8 Million?….that Fort Wayne is apparently 70% more efficient than Evansville at the delivery of government services?

IS IT TRUE that the City of South Bend has a budget of $63.3 Million to spend on behalf of 101,168 citizens?…that the spending per person in South Bend calculates to only $625 per person per year?…that if Evansville would spend at that rate that it could save $141.2 Million?….that South Bend is apparently 66% more efficient than Evansville at the delivery of government services?

IS IT TRUE that the City of Terre Haute has a budget of $30.3 Million to spend on behalf of 60,785 citizens?…that the spending per person in Terre Haute calculates to only $498 per person per year?…that if Evansville would spend at that rate that it could save $156.4 Million?….that Terre Haute is apparently 73% more efficient than Evansville at the delivery of government services?

IS IT TRUE that it is quite disturbing to see that the level of spending by the City of Evansville per person is so much higher than it is in comparable Hoosier cities?…that when the same calculation is done for the City of Indianapolis that the spending is still only $1,515 per person or 17% lower than Evansville’s spending?…that the same calculation for Louisville reveals spending of $1,482 per person that is 19% lower than Evansville’s spending level?

IS IT TRUE that going out of state to the City of San Jose that was smaller than Evansville in 1950 but has grown to be nearly 1 Million people with an intellectual property based economy we found a budget for the City of San Jose that spends only $871 per person per year?…that the delivery of government services in San Jose cost each citizen less than half of what it costs in Evansville, Indiana?…that growth and vibrancy has its benefits but that South Bend has neither yet still spends at a small fraction of the spending rate in Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that we did find one rapidly shrinking city that spends more than double the dollars per citizen than Evansville does?…that the City of Detroit that lost more than a quarter of a million people in 10 years has a bloated budget of $2.91 Billion to serve the 713,777 citizens left behind?…that our simple calculation yields a spending per person of $4,081 for the City of Detroit?…that Evansville is apparently 55% more efficient than Detroit and that Detroit could save $1.61 Billion if it would just do things the way they are done in Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that bloated spending per person figures seem to be an artifact of shrinking populations that lack the political will to downsize spending to match the population losses?…that any business that operates by the principles of growing government with declining revenues and population would not be in business any longer?…that people should expect corporate level oversight and stewardship from local government?…that if Evansville were vibrant and growing with pristine parks and a prosperous economy that maybe the extra money would be worth it?…that to spend this way for what we have just makes no sense?…that department by department analysis needs to be done to identify areas for rightsizing and that a competent consolidation committee should have been all over these large differences?

IS IT TRUE that we would appreciate as much readership help identifying the areas of bloat as we can get?