“When people complain, the city fathers point to things such as South Bend’s recent designation as an “All American City,” a designation bestowed by judges who haven’t visited.”
Excerpts from the Article:
“the mayor huffed and puffed about the criteria and complained that the magazine relied on preliminary census estimates for its conclusion. When the actual census figures came out a few weeks later, it turned out that the population drop was even more severe than the estimates.”
“It (South Bend) is, however, an excellent case study. Especially when its dismal performance is set against the economic recovery that Gov. Mitch Daniels’s reforms have brought to the rest of the state.”
“Though it’s popular here to blame all its woes on the loss of manufacturing giants such as Studebaker and Bendix, the truth is that the city’s predicament owes more to the bad decisions taken over the years by its political class. After all, Studebaker shut its doors in 1963.”
” Today that same mayor says he has $9.1 million in extra revenue he wants to spend on another round of capital projects. Even the South Bend Tribune found this too much, pleading in an editorial, “Taxpayers, speak up!”
“It’s considered bad form to notice, but one problem might be that South Bend, like at least one of its companions on the dying cities list, Detroit, hasn’t had a Republican mayor for four decades. Yes, there are badly run Republican cities, and well-run Democratic ones. South Bend, however, is a classic Democratic city, with a classic Democratic approach to business. And it shows.”
Link to Complete Article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070104576397932583561752.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Well put. All one has to do is look at that idiot Patrick Bauer. He was elected to the Statehouse in 1971. He has done nothing in his adult life except serve as a state rep, lining his pockets and pandering to the union bosses. All the while, South Bend has slid into a cesspool.
I’m not saying it’s all Bauer’s fault, but he is a perfect example of what is wrong with that town.
†Today that same mayor says he has $9.1 million in extra revenue he wants to spend on another round of capital projects. Even the South Bend Tribune found this too much, pleading in an editorial, “Taxpayers, speak up!â€
Any city or other taxing body that has “EXTRA REVENUE” is taxing it’s citizens too heavily, or neglecting necessities or maintainance, such as our combined sewer problem. Capital projects are not the solution to unemployment problems. Mainly the unions and buddies of the powers that be, such as architects and contractors, profit. Capital projects don’t create many new, permanent employment opportunities.
Every mayor should be trying to get businesses to invest their OWN MONEY in buying or leasing existing buildings. That would be quicker than building, would put those properties back on the tax rolls and get people employed sooner.
Evansville was an “All American City” around 2005. All it amounts to is a public relations campaign touting your city. It took several years for Evansville to be selected. The symbol and designation are apinted on the back of the two EVSC Tour Buses. There were a few road signs at one time. Who knows where they went?
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