The Standard-Examiner published a gem of a guest article this morning. Written by the Utah Taxpayers Association's Mike Jerman, it's a response to a July 11 Standard-Examiner editorial questioning whether Weber County's reported 2004 $.3 million-dollar property tax shortfall was the result of the diversion of property tax revenues by the numerous local RDAs.
I won't devote any of my own commentary to this discussion, at least not now. I thought it would be a useful to WCF readers, however, if I linked these two articles on the same page, so that the competing arguments could be conveniently compared and contrasted.
The original Standard-Examiner editorial can be found here, and Mr. Jerman's response is here.
I'll also note in passing that the Standard-Examiner wasted no time in getting Mr. Jerman's responsive piece into print. The original Std-Ex editorial was published only two days ago, and Mr. Jerman's response appears today. The Std-Ex editors deserve a tip of the hat, I think, for facilitating timely and reasoned debate on this very important topic. RDAs are a fairly new phenomenon, and it's in every citizen's interest to learn as much about them as we can.
Comments?
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10 comments:
Mr. Zink:
The article by Jarman was very good. The guy sure does know his stuff. Unfortunately I think it may be a little hard to follow and understand - especially for the lame among us like me.
So Rudi, how about taking all this good stuff Jarmin wrote and translate it into Ogdenese so's me and Elmer next door can get a better grip on what it is he is talkin about?
Damned if Bonnie aint right about this Jamin fellow. I couldn't figure a what the heck he was trying to say with all that high falutin explainin he did about taxes.
He must be sayin somethin good if the little twerp don't like him. Can any body out there explain just what it is that he was tryin to explain?
What kind of name is that anyway? He spells his name Jamin and yet I heard people callin him German? Is that a German Jew spelling or just another new fangled high brow way to get attention?
It's "Jerman," you neanderthal moron.
And don't even go there with you anti-semitic bs.
Is this forum a neanderthal convention, or what?
The guy's name is Mike Jerman. He is the most knowledgeable and articulate spokesman for tax reform in Utah. We are very lucky to have him and the Utah Tax Payers association to stand up for us and explain this chacanery that goes on in politics with the public's money. The stuff these politicians do in our names would shock most people if they really new the truth of it!
Mike is the main man at the tax payers association. The head of it is another great man - Senator Howard Stevenson. Senator Stevenson along with Senator Bramble are very deserving of our thanks and gratitute for standing up for morality and fairness in government and putting a moratorium on this odius RDA abuse. They are currently working on permanent legislation to straighten this RDA - Sales Tax distribution stuff out once and for all. Let them and all our state representatives and senators know that this change is absoulutely necessary for a moral and fair society.
The way it is now with RDA's turns other wise honorable people into slaves and agents of an immoral, disfunctional and inefficient system. The Mayor and Council are prime examples of this in my opinion.
I have seen nothing from Mayor Godfrey, the City Council or any other RDA huckster that disputes or contradicts what Mr. Jerman is saying about RDA abuse. He speaks the truth about RDA's and how ambition city bureaucrats and the league of cities and towns manipulate the RDA laws to build themselve's empires.
These empires are of course in direct competition with the empire (city) next door. The RDA and sales tax distribution scheme in Utah today pits city against city in this infernal struggle for more money, bigger budgets and much bigger goverment. It is the nature of all bureauracracies to grow as big as they possibly can regardless of the need. So it really isn't their fault, but they must be stopped for the sake of all our financial health.
The only people that really benefit from RDA's are developers, city bureaucrats and others who are on the inside of the game. The only thing the people get is bigger government and the assurances of that bigger government that it is all some how for the public good.
The "common good", the "public good", and other gratuitous phrases have been the buzz words for many different generations of socialists, nazi's and communists to placate the masses. They are truly hollow words when used in the context of RDA's. There is no public good that comes from them when they are used for retail and abused like in Ogden the last few years.
Government, especially local, has a dismal record in business. The mall site is an example of one suceeding city administration after another making the problem worse with each reincarnation. There is a lot of truth to the old saw "politicians can bring ruination to a good business faster than Carry Nation and her axe". Does this city administration have even one verifiable success story that doesn't have a operational private partner? Have they ever had a business success?
Get active, advocate for senisible change in these vital business and tax laws. The playing field must be leveled for any serious business development to happen in Ogden. The city must get out of the business of being in business and get back to administering an efficient well maintained city. This is not happening now.
We didn't elect these people to be business tycoons otherwise we would have voted for Warren Buffett.
Mary Jo you sure seem to have your panties in a knot over something in life. All of your comments seem to be barbed with meaness and spite. Is it possible that what some one suggested about you might be true - maybe if you lightened up a little you could get laid which might help loosen you up even further and make you half way likeable.
I didn't see even a hint that Victer was going anti semetic with his wondering about the origin of Jerman's name. Are you Jewish? Are you maybe a little over the edge about it? Does me asking make me anti-semetic?
Take a break girl, it is a wonderful world out there with a lot of good people, maybe even Victer!
Yeah, Bonnie Lee, I've noticed the same thing about Ms. Righteous, the one and only Mary Jo. She's full of female chauvenism, gets right in people's face with the race card, calls people "asshole," "neandrathals," and things like that. She must be coming from a place of frustration or eternal PMS. Seems to be the only explanation, as her postings are "shots" at others, not discussion of substantive issues.
This blog was created to encourage lively debate, dialouge, controversy, sharing and so forth. I don't think much of what this gal writes falls within the blog's parameters. But, she does make for interesting reading and invokes some serious passion in suggestion from others.
Keep in up, Mary Jo, the eyes of Texas are upon you.
Dorothy and Tom Owens in the same week. My hell, I wanna know when Dorothy is going to build on her beautiful lot she bought surrounded by 79 contaminated sites and some 92 cars on blocks. Dorothy your so damn obnoxious. Hey, Tom if things are so damn nice when the government doesn't do anything I wanna know when your going to move into your duplex in Ogden that you think gives you the right to flap, you weasel. How is this for blankets Dorothy, you Tom Owens and Mitch Moyes are all thread from the same cloth.
Oh, and Bill Glassman you want Wicks or Garcia for mayor because of deep roots in Ogden, and then praise Bumble Bee Bramble for buzzing around our bizziness I'm going to throw you in Dorothys blanket for the day.
"Bumble bee Bramble" is the "conscience of Utah."
He's gonna clean out the rats' nests of all the overpaid "redevelopment boys" like you, from cities all over Utah, with one swipe of the legislative pen.
Time to send out your resumes to cities and states who are still willing to pay for your cnetral planning experise.
Apply for a new job while you can still get it. You've been living in an employment "bubble," which is just about ready to burst.
President of what? Your own one member fan club?
At least this Owens guy and Dorothy Littrel have the courage to use their own name. You hide behind the "President" moniker and send stupid, unfounded and untrue little poison darts at patriotic and brave people like these two that stand up for the oppressed.
These two outstanding citizens are both very wealthy and have many choices of what to do with their time and efforts. They chose to defend the rights and liberties of the less fortunate in society. That makes them far superior human beings than someone like you with such dim horizons and self centered motives.
Your post would indicate that you are a chicken shit and a nitwit. A very bad combination.
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