You may continue working

A salute to all the private sector folks who worked through the Memorial Day weekend.

Your stamina and determination is greatly appreciated. In fact, it's simply amazing you were able to go to work, function, do your job, and pay your taxes on that glorious holiday. After all, government offices were closed. However did you do it?

Pardon the dripping sarcasm. But has anyone else noticed how we're always told we 'can't live without government' or "this or that program"? Oh really? Then how come a starting employee in government gets 15-19 paid holidays a year, when the private sector ranges from none to maybe 15, with something like 5-8 being the most typical allotment?

That's right folks. The hard working government folks start off with twice as many days off as you do.

But they lose in the pay category I guess. Well, actually, no. Last year they passed private sector employees in compensation. So now they make more than you do, get better benefits, and have little pressure to perform (no competition). Oh well.

It's kind of sad to say, but I do feel the public deserves much of the blame for this. Being afraid to speak out about wasteful spending, just plain stupid ideas that cost a lot of money, and 'experiments' with taxpayer dollars. It's time to pay the piper. The costs are built in. The stupidity escalates almost every year. Your government spends money in ways you can't even comprehend, even at the local level. And now property taxes have begun their escalation. And what an escalation it will be. More on that will follow in the next few weeks I'm sure. The tax bills have somehow been held up here in Monroe County. The County is working through a new budget. About the time it's passed, you'll get your bill for last years lagresse. No sense in giving you the bad news while their fingers are in the till for next year. You might get the notion you should ask questions or complain.

So until the public wakes up, gets concerned, and lets the folks down at the City and County offices know they don't like this wild spending, the tax bills are going to do nothing but escalate.

Utopia is a great idea. Unless the spending to create utopia results in just the opposite. Quite honestly, tax bills are going to become so burdensome that I really don't see how people on a fixed income or working-class citizens will possibly be able to afford to stay in Bloomington. It simply doesn't seem possible given the current trend. I hope the citizens will speak up soon. The folks making a six-figure salaries really do not understand what the burden is on the working class folks, or even those we would traditionally say are well off.

I digress. More on taxes once the bills are mailed I'm sure. For now I simply return to where I started. Thank you to all those private sector folks who worked over the holiday weekend. And on behalf of our government employees who didn't work over the weekend, I'd like to thank you for your very generous contributions in tax dollars to support their offices. They didn't save much by being closed, of course, since they were all off with pay. You did your part for our community, so we are greatly indebted to you for your service.

The pool is open

Ahhh. How refreshing. Cool water and sunny skies. Summer is here.

With the same old grouchy complaints from me I'm afraid. Notes on Bryan Park pool.

I visited the pool on opening weekend. I can see not much has changed from last year. One must love the momentum of government bureaucrasies. I had heard there was a new director. I had no real problem with the old one; in fact I don't know either one of them. But one visit tells me not much new will be happening in the local government scene.

Once again there are signs dictating the rules. And taxpayer-funded staff out the wazoo to ensure all patrons follow the rules. Well, okay, there's the former and little is changed in the latter.

There is a sign at the edge of the snack bar area indicating food should not be taken to any other part of the pool. Sounds like a sound, sensible and hygenic rule.

And about 80% of the people follow the rule.

The other 20% simply walk around carrying their food, chips, drinks as if there were no such rule. Passing thru hordes of employees paid for by you, the taxpayer.

There are far, far more employees than their need to be. This isn't about swimmer safety. The lifeguard chairs are staffed and there were are at least a dozen extra people walking around. Perhaps more. There were four in the snack bar alone. Of course only one was working. The others were chatting amongst themselves. The line of patrons will wait.

So why do we needed a bloated staff at the pool? I suppose it mirrors the bloated staff in City Hall. Want to get depressed sometime; make a trip to the Parks and Recreation office in City Hall and you'll see dozens of staffers with absolutely nothing to do. They simply sit and chat.

So bring your boombox, play offensive music, have a picnic in the forbidden zone. Nobody is going to lift a finger to stop you.

And across the park...

The basketball courts next to the playgrounds have been a well known problem for years. They even demonstrated firearm unsafety to the kids last year, having a shootout after the game was over.

New this year ... parking lot lines that will not even accommodate a compact car. Well, not if you intend to open the doors to exit. Do we have any planning and zoning rules in this town? Apparently not. Or if we do, they apparently don't pertain to City Hall. And the best of all is the FOUR handicap parking spaces. Come on folks, do we really need those? Perhaps yes.

But if that's the case, why are they filled with punk basketball player cars without handicap stickers? Because nobody is going to enforce the rules.

Lesson #1 for City Government. Make rules, no matter how well intentioned, and then do nothing to follow them up you get the obvious result. People stop obeying the rules. And they don't stop with your uninforced rules. They soon get the idea that rules are made to be broken.

Finally, I'll close this rant on City Parks by noting that the big brave City Council banned smoking in all bars and restaurants in Bloomington a couple years ago. They even went so far as to ban smoking in the outdoor areas. That pesky second hand smoke, you know...

So why are their CITY EMPLOYEES, driving CITY OWNED VEHICLES, patronizing the parks. I'm not sure who they are hauling around to be honest about it. The ages run the spectrum from teenagers to older folks, all in the same van. They all look like, well, I'm not sure what they look like. Dysfunctional I suppose is the best word to use. And not in the handicap sense. Maybe it's work release. I really don't know. What I do know is that the huge City Owned van pulls up at Bryan Park playground, 10-15 adults get out and take up positions on every bench in and around the playground, and almost every one of them lights up. All while being watched/supervised by a City employee. Rather ironic that they've put their noses into the bar's business, worrying for the adult customers, yet they find it just fine to actually pay to drive people to the parks to sit in the middle of the playground and smoke. Ahhh. Thank you Bloomington City Government. You've made my life so much safer. Or not. (by the way, I have pics of this menagerie if anyone wants them. Including pictures of these misfits lined up three abreast on the swings, smoking away while they swing, and of course positioned not more than 15 feet from a complete classroom from a local school having an outing. For the record, the kids were under the tree before the smokers took up their positions. I wasn't able to get a picture of this, but my favorite class act from these folks is when they go down the slide with their burning cigarettes. Ah the sweet smell it leaves for the children who follow...

flour for the flower child

Today's newspaper had an interesting tidbit (In the section called Hotline). It is a downright shame the newspaper won't take that issue and research it further. It won't dawn on anyone there that it is newsworthy.

Here's the gist (a very smart person brought this up to the paper; unfortunately the paper wouldn't know a good story if it climbed down their chimney):

Items which contain flour are tax exempt in Indiana. That's right. They apparently checked the state (I have not verified and will trust the Hotline folks, who seem to be the only investigative journalists at the newspapper) website to verify this.

They list which candybars you can purchase with and without sales tax.

Interesting.

This might be worth a test. I'm tempted to get that list. Go to a gas station (Bigfoot is richly deserving of this...), buy the various candy bars, one at a time, collect my receipts, and determine if I was charged sales tax.

I'll bet I get charged on each and every single one.

Aha! Charging sales tax when it's not due. This looks like a class action lawsuit to me. Who wants to be ambulance chaser #1 today?

Now I'm really thinking about this. Okay, so if I buy a McDonald's hamburger I KNOW for a fact I pay sales tax. Or food of any kind at any restaurant for that matter. I wonder if those items are also exempt, or if this applies only to grocery stores.

Hmmm.

Now that would be a lawsuit!!!

Is it possible to determine which of our fine legislators introduced such a ridiculous bill?

*Note to self. Don't share idea. Open business and get rich. CAR-N-FLOUR. Buy your car here. We'll put a 5 lb. bag of flour in the trunk and you are EXEMPT from Indiana sales tax. We highly recommend you remove the flour bag before taking any trip near a southern border. Save hundreds, if not thousands, on your next car. * end business get-rich-quick note *

I should really look into that. Any moron who introduced legislation that exempts kit kat bars but not hershey bars was probably just stupid enough to leave the door open a crack. Now I have something else I have to learn. Which products contain flour? Damn. Do I have time for this? Do I want a 300 page book in my backpack listing which items I can get?

But rest assured I cannot wait to be in the next super-slow moving line with an unmotivated cashier at the end. Oh, make me wait, huh? Look what I've done. I have prepared a pile of ready-to-eat foods, which of course should be taxable, but which I do believe contain flour. Let's talk about them. One at a time. I know, I know. You didn't pass the stupid law. But you were slow at your job today, uncaring about my ice cream getting soft, and now you're gonna pay. This is a day you'll remember for a long, long time. And when we're done you're going to tell me when the local State Representative comes in here. Because this is just dress rehearsal. I'll be back. With four friends. We'll stand here all day if we need to. We will wait, carts full, and the moment that State Representative approaches the line we'll dash right in, blocking every lane. And they will stand behind us, waiting as we read each ingredient on each package to verify that in fact we're not paying sales tax on items which contain flour. Perhaps then they will get the point!

Morons.

*sigh*

*Note to self. Find out if it would be legal to go into grocery, buy a bag of flour, sprinkle it on desired items in check out lane, and then exit store without paying grocery taxes on items they normally tax.

End this rant. It's just flour!!! Ummm, any farmboys/farmgirls out there? I thought flour came from wheat? Am I mistaken? Indiana grows corn. And soybeans. And the reason for this law is ...?

Hmmm. I bet there's a free trip on contribution in there somewhere.

Today is National

Okay. I said I wouldn't complain about national issues. I'll generally try to keep from doing so. But today is an exception. But it's only one topic. MICROSOFT. I just don't understand why everytime I start my computer the hard disk writes and writes and writes. The computer is utterly useless during this period. Sure I can do stuff, but boy is it slow!

And it isn't a bad computer. I'm not a geek, so I don't remember the specs. But it's basically 2.5 gigahertz, 1 gig ram, and a huge hard disk. It's relatively new.

It's slower than my old machine. It's specs are not important. They were about 1/5th of what the new machine claims.

Oh wonderful. My five-times faster machine is now slower? At what price?

Thank you Bill Gates.

For the idea bin***

Do your stupid updates when I'M NOT TYPING ON THE KEYBOARD. THAT PROBABLY MEANS I'M NOT AT THE COMPUTER. DUH.

If Microsoft wrote software that was anywhere near ready for publication/sale/distribution this really wouldn't be a problem. It's the fact that they have to update their crappy software every 15 minutes that is the problem.

From all the techno-geeks out there ... yes I know. Shame on me for still being stuck with Windows. I should learn something new. Perhaps one day someone will come along and challenge them. I doubt it, but who knows. I do cheer everytime a court does something that appears to hurt Microsoft. Hurray!!! Stick it in and break it off. They've pillaged, raped and plundered more than enough. Time they got it back.

Speaking of taxes

I hear there is a debate coming about a 1/2% or 1% tax on salaries.

Whether the use is good or not I won't debate here. Each person can decide that for themselves.

What I would rather talk about is the 1%. The first thing you need to do is double that. 1% of your gross salary is 2% of your after-tax salary (by the time they put on federal taxes, social security, state taxes, sales tax, car tax, etc...).

So if you make $100 per year you get to go home with $50 per year. The additional 1% tax will be $1. But you don't have $100, you have $50. So think of it as a 2% tax please. That's what it is.

You decide if you want to pay it.

But beware the politicians who do not know math...

You see, they don't know the mold is broken. You may not know that either. The last I heard they made 100 of those little things. The percent things. They don't make them anymore. It doesn't matter what you do, how many times you ask, there are never going to be more percents made.

So if you give up 1%, kiss it goodbye. You'll never get it back. You'll never see it again. That is, of course, unless they end the tax. There is hope for that I suppose.

Never mind that the tax on telephones is still in effect from the Spanish-American war (imposed on the very first telephones in 1898; it continues today, at an even higher rate).

Okay, so maybe the tax won't go away.

The point I was trying to make was that when you give up a fixed percent of your income it has it's limits. I'm sure the cause will be made to sound wonderful. Absolutely necessary. But what are you going to do when the number of great 1% causes pushes up towards 100?

It won't matter if your boss suddenly doubles your salary. Percents are percents. They're pesky little mathematical creatures. So 100% is 100%. Caveat Emptor.

On the Radio

I was trying to avoid this. I can't.

*sigh*

I was listening to the local talk radio station. The 'heavy' news topic of the day was what flavors of cake a local highschool girl knows how to bake.

*double sigh*

Such pressing issues.

The commentator or host, or whatever you want to call him, was doing his best to explain how she should get her first kiss on the IU campus.

*insert appropriate sound here*

I do believe this was the same "gentleman" whom I heard a week or two ago. He was belittling a political organization for a series of ads they'd run in the past. Here's the gist of the ad (little old lady is against a property tax increase because she doesn't want to lose her house).

He found that ridiculous. Just couldn't happen. Fear mongering. (note: the new tax bills are due soon so we shall see)

I wonder what he thinks a property tax bill should be. I wonder where he works, aside from his gig at the radio station. Have you ever noticed that people who feed off the public system are the ones who stand up and say we need higher taxes? I'd probably say it too if I got to keep some of your tax dollars; in fact I'm pretty sure I'd be all for higher taxes, so long as the portion I got to put in my pocket at least covered the extra taxes I had to pay.

I can't blame them there. It's the public's fault for not considering the source.

Back to the little old lady. Having seen the new tax rates in the paper I have NO IDEA what to expect property taxes will do. Somehow I think they'll go up. But that's okay. We don't need old people. Or working class citizens. They can all move to Spencer and ride the bus!

TIRE(d) and unsure

I've been wondering about something lately. I see these huge cement trucks and dump trucks driving down the roads. I know for a fact that they are often fully loaded. It's self-evident on dump trucks, no?

So the other day a dump truck pulls out of the new IU parking garage and turns in front of me on Third street. He was hauling off a load of dirt and rock. Piled high. He couldn't have held another stone.

The extra set of tires was high off the ground. My assumption was always that these tires would be down for heavy loads. To save our roads.

I'm sure the truck operators don't like them down. It wears the tires out. I'm sure their tires are e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e!!! On the other hand we hardly spend a dime on our roads.

???

So, do they have to put those tires down for heavy loads or not? It's the law I'm assuming. I don't think the truck manufacturers put those tires on their for the stylish lines they add.

Seems rather odd that a truck, being paid for with our tax dollars (it's an IU job) is running down our roads and nobody seems to think it matters that they are destroying our roads.

Or perhaps the ridiculous taxes they pay to operate their trucks makes everyone feel sorry for them. That's probably it. I have no idea if it changed, but a few years ago it came to light that those poor dump truck operators had to pay $5 a year for their truck registration. I hope that didn't get increased. My piece-of-crap car is about $125 per year, so it really seems equitable for them to pay $5. I'm sure my wear-and-tear on the roads is at least 25X that of a dump truck weighing 20 times as much.

Or not. That would be interesting to know. I wonder who I would call at the county to find out what they currently charge for dump truck registrations per year. I wonder if I took the trunk off my car and put a little more dirt in there if I could call it a dump truck? I'll have to check into the legal definition. That would be interesting!!!

Recent News ...

I don't have the local paper in front of me. I don't buy it. I don't find it worth the price. But I do sneak a peek at work. Here's some commentary on recent news/editorials from that fine piece of journalistic integrity...

We're supposed to 'feel their pain' ... referring to non-profits and governmental agencies paying higher prices at the pump. Apparently we don't.

A few comments:

In regards to Area 10 and their fuel bills for the busses. Hmmm. Okay. How about this. Stop running them. If you haven't noticed, after all these years of running the service, they're empty. Or practically so. I bet you didn't want the public to know that. But it's true. Ask anyone who lives out towards Ellettsville. I have no idea where else they go, but I do know busses trek from Bloomington to Spencer and back again with nary a rider on them. All day long. True, they do get just a few riders in the morning and evening hours. Spencer residents commuting to work I suspect. I hear they drive to Spencer, park at the McDonalds, and ride the bus to Bloomington. Heck, the users are so few that they are actually allowed to leave the route and take you to your doorstep if it's within 3/4 miles or some such nonsense.

Go figure. Sounds more like a shared taxi than public transportation.

Has anyone ever figured out what this brilliant idea costs the taxpayers? Cost per day per rider? Now there's a highschooler's summer project. Get on that bus and ride it for a week and calculate what it costs for a driver, bus, and fuel. And how many riders? I would not be the least bit surprised if it wouldn't cost us less to simply hire yellow cab to give people in Spencer a ride to and from work if they want one. I'd almost bet you lunch that it would be cheaper.

So why do we do it? Well, it sounded like a good idea. And with all government ideas, the point is to keep your job, not to seriously evaluate what you do and whether it is worthwhile.

Do they publish their results? Probably. Has it ever been in the local paper, with some analysis? Doubtful. T'wouldn't be politically correct.

So the local paper wants you to feel their pain. Send them a donation. Do it now! We need those empty buses running up and down the highway. It makes us feel better.

As for the local police running short on gas money ... let me see. I do believe I saw a 'seatbelt enforcement zone' sign, three police cars idling, on a local street the other day.

My car came with an off position on the key. When I get out to do something I turn the key counterclockwise. It makes that humming thing under the hood stop. And for some reason the gas stays in the tank... do we have any official policy for how long cars should be left running in such circumstances. I doubt it.

I was wearing my seat belt. I won't be sending in my donation.

And finally, thank you so much to the local paper for the idea that I drive less because of the high cost of fuel. I already do, thank you. But I really do appreciate your concern for the local and global environment. Now, a suggestion for you. Have a lowly staffer take a daily newspaper. Measure t he number of square inches of paper. Now measure the square inches of stories/news. Now, divide the second number by the first. This is the % of your newspaper that is actually 'news'. The rest is called advertising. Tell me what this does for the environment? How many papers a day do you print anyway? I'd have to think we're talking a semi-full of paper going to the landfill daily or weekly. Tons and tons and tons of paper. For what? To sell us things we didn't ask for, don't need, and can't afford with higher gas prices. So get off your politically-correct b.s. horse about the environment! You're only concerned about the environment when it involves things other than what you use to make your living. Hypocrites.

Question for John Q. Public. With all the crying about government agencies paying more for gas I have a simple question perhaps one of you can answer. Do these government agencies pay taxes on the gas they purchase, or are they exempt? I heard the other day that federal taxes were 42 cents per gallon. Add 18 cents in sales tax, plus whatever other taxes you think they put in, and that's a whole lot of money (60-70 cents per gallon in taxes???). The government isn't suffering from higher taxes! They are making a killing on these prices. Don't kid yourself and don't buy their bs. It is they who should be cutting back and giving us a donation. Not a donation really, just taking a little less of what we make would be quite nice thank you.

I'm sorry for my terribly long rant today. I covered too many topics in one entry. I'm new. What can I say?

Big Foot My Fat ...

I went into a local convenience store today. It's a regular habit of mine. Unfortunately. This is fundraising month. Every single time you go in, even for your habitual purchase of under a dollar, they hit you up for a $1 donation to Riley.

I just googled "Riley Executive Compensation". There is no definitive results there, but based on an Indianapolis Star story of several years ago, I'd guess the CEO's salary is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000,000 per year. I'm sure he's surrounded by underlings making somewhere near half that.

My question to you ... is it really appropriate for Riley to collect from the public like this? I make about as much in a year as this guy makes in a week or two. Sure, I lavish a drink upon myself daily as a special reward for my daily struggles. But should I feel compelled to give a dollar, along with thousands upon thousands of others, in an effort to raise money for an organization which is apparently so rich it can pay NFL-level salaries?

I know, I know. It's for the children.

Sounds great. So why doesn't he lower his salary to $300,000 (slightly less that the CEO of our local 'charitable' hospital makes) and work there for a year or two and move on. He could 'do it for the children...'

Not going to happen.

Ah well, on to the next politically correct fundraising event. (By the way, do NOT take this to mean that all fundraising is bad. I'm just a little perturbed at having it shoved down my throat in every way possible, over-and-over-and-over, for organizations that are so loose with their money).

Welcome

I've created this blog as an outlet for my frustration with the local media. Shall we say there is just a wee bit of intellectual laziness and let it go at that?

I'm new to blogging and have quickly set this up without much research. My ultimate goal will be to provide you, the ordinary citizen, an outlet for your thoughts when you feel the same sense of frustration with the local media.

I may comment on national news on occasion but for the most part intend to keep my comments on the local news (Bloomington, Indiana: Monroe County). We shall see where this leads.

Do not expect it to be politically correct. I leave it to the local paper and radio stations to take care of that angle; they do a superb job already.

I'll address anything local or from Indiana University. Sometimes I'm sure it will be mundane. Other times I hope you find something of interest.

If there are others out there who are equally frustrated with the lack of depth in the local reporting feel free to comment on my posts (or rants if you will). Once I've identified you as a thoughtful person (this does not mean you agree with me) I'll consider adding you as a moderator. I'm not sure if I have time for this.