Transit Boondoggle

The people in Noblesville, Fishers and Hamilton County in general or anyone else for that matter can decide for themselves to have bus service to anywhere they want right now.  They don't have to wait for someone else to deliver a train to their doors.  Any bus system created could be coordinated with Indy routes to permit connectivity.  So, why haven’t the people of Hamilton County demanded that their elected officials provide transit?  The reality is that the demand is low. Just because a couple of hundred people ride a few buses doesn't mean that there is some pent up demand for transit. 

Furthermore, for Indianapolis to even be considering spending any money on a separate transit system for commuters in Fishers is ridiculous when no funding is now available to repair, extend and link the existing multi-modal transportation options.  When Indygo has, just within the last year, provided signs identifying bus route stops (by number, and still has an innumerable amount of bus stops without bus stop pads and/or sidewalk links, it is criminal to even be discussing spending hundreds of millions of dollars for a train to carry a few thousand (if they are lucky) passengers while these other needs remain unmet.

Frankly, if the people in Hamilton County are that concerned about the cost of their commute, they have the option of moving into many stable neighborhoods where they could make use of the existing bus system, walk and/or bike to work.  They have a choice.  A 160- million dollar train is a bailout for their poor choices.

False economies

The relatively affordable housing developments are tempting enough, but coupled with special mortgage sweeteners, they become impossible to resist for those at the margins dreaming of homeownership.

These marginally qualified homeowners, coupled with economic turmoil, eventually leads to foreclosures and depressed prices, begetting more dreamers lured by low prices, etc. until the housing market tanks. 

Unless real economic development (not headline grabbing subsidized automobile plants, etc) occurs in this city, via synergistic growth by entrepreneurial migrants and locals, there will not be any "real" rise in home values.

Of course, eventually, all will be forgotten, and another false economy will be created, collapse, ad infinitum. 

Road resurfacing

I believe that the city’s resurfacing priorities and curb and sidewalk program should focus solely on arterial and collector roads.  Local residential roads should only be considered if they are at the point of failure. If not at the point of failure, these local streets should be appropriately patched.

While the city’s policy to try to balance the resurfacing program by allotting approximately 75% to arterials and 25% to residential streets is commendable, I believe that because of the limited funding, higher speed and traffic arterial streets should get 100% of the resurfacing dollars.  To me, it is a fundamental waste of resources for a local street to get repaved, while the surrounding arterials are crater-filled hazard zones.  While only a few people drive on the local streets, everyone drives on the arterials.  The pothole problem on arterials streets is directly related to the increasing time lag between resurfacings.  Arterial streets that have been fairly recently resurfaced have few, if any potholes, while those that haven’t are riddled with them.  These potholes cause expensive damage to vehicles, damage that people can not afford, particularly with the inflationary economy of the last several years.  These potholes can also cause accidents and injuries. 

However, the people who live on the local streets are well aware of where the potholes are and can easily avoid them because of the lack of competing traffic.  Frankly, the best way to control speeds on local roads is to not resurface them so that remain rather rough.  The bumps and dips on the local street help deter most speeders; drivers of clunkers not withstanding.  Oh, and try riding public transportation over these arterial roads; it is not fun to literally get bounced out of your seat.  Frankly, the people who whine and complain about the patch of asphalt in front of their homes needing paving are generally selfishly motivated.  Anyone really concerned about their community would put their selfish concerns last and focus on what is best for the larger community.

For those reasons, I am asking that no requests be made to pave local streets, and I would ask that DPW only resurface those local streets that are at a point of failure. 

Lastly, I would ask that sidewalk priorities also be focused on arterial roads for many of the same reasons.  Although, the DPW’s general policy is to not construct new sidewalks, so as not to add to the future repair inventory; it seems to me that eliminating sidewalk gaps along arterial streets is much more important, particularly more important than replacing sidewalks along local streets, again, since the pedestrian traffic on arterial streets is heavier and generally transportation-related and not recreational.  I would ask that the curb and sidewalk program focus on eliminating sidewalk gaps along arterial streets and extending the sidewalk network in major traffic areas.

Again, I am asking that requests not be made to rehab sidewalks along local streets, but that instead requests are made to eliminate sidewalk gaps and extend sidewalks on arterials. 

 

Riding the wave of easy money

There is nothing risky about spending someone else's money.    It's only a risk when it is your money on the line.  Just as it is for homeowners who do not make a downpayment for their house, it is easy to walk away when its financed with borrowed money.

There is a reason that "sleazy" is frequently used as a modifier to developer.

The fact is that people, including bankers, are seduced by the fast-talking dreamers, and seemingly forget that there has to be substance behind the words.  And if there isn't it all comes crashing down.

Everyone involved gets greedy and basic sound business practices go out the window, as everyone tries to ride the wave of easy money to short-term riches.  Well, when the wave brings the ship crashing into the shore, you have to deal with the wreckage the best you can and, hopefully, walk away intact. I, for one, am not going to cry any tears for Chris White or any other developer who refuses to see reality.  If someone in the development game doesn't understand how phony certain aspects of our economy are, so be it.  It's just as ridiculous as these Wall Street people who come up with arcane, unexplainable financial products, who pretend that they did not realize that they were basically gambling that a perpetual pyramid scheme would work. 

By the way,  it is going to get worse before it gets better.  Those predicting a turn-around by the end of the year are dreaming.

Party like it's 1999

Wow, now I know what I want to be; a party planner. All of the hula bola about the Superbowl by Indianapolis City officials has convinced me that I need to be a central cog in the definitive economic industry of our times.  Yeah, Indianapolis economic development strategy, as evidenced by the billions of dollars of subsidies, is clearly focused on throwing a good party for visitors at our hotels, restaurants, stadiums, arenas, public parks and city streets.  However, every time, I inquire about party planner jobs with the City of Indianapolis (or any other city for that matter), I get strange reactions and befuddled looks or I get connected to the Division of Planning in DMD and/or DPW, neither of which know anything about throwing a good party.  Maybe these jobs have a different name, if so; I wish someone would let me know.  But it all sounds like party/event planning to me and I want help Indianapolis throw a party likes it’s 1999.

Gas prices & speculators

The recent run-up in gas prices is a result of 1) increased demand 2) a crazy war, 3) inflationary monetary policies of the Federal Reserve and government generally, 4) the falling dollar and 5) commodity speculation.  The most recent run-up in prices from $3+ to $4+ is mostly the work of speculators, as their speculative dollars have fled the phony housing market.  Until the speculators are distracted by another bright, shiny object, gas prices will continue rising.  

Modern government creates more problems than it solves

Government perpetuates itself by always solving problems with solutions that are not really solutions.  So, of course, either the problems persist or the "solutions" create new problems, which government proposes to solve with more half-baked solutions. 

Government officials never want to concede that there are some problems that they can not solve.

So, in the downtown area, they have created a pyramid scheme that can only be maintained by successive subsidized projects designed to prop up, support and maintain the previous (and many times extended) subsidized businesses (Hoosier Dome, Convention Center, hotels, expanded convention center, hotels, mall, expanded convention center, hotels, new arena, hotels, new stadium, hotels, expanded convention center, hotels, etc.).  It is all a house of cards that would eventually collapse without further subsidy.  They know it, but won't admit it.

Of course, when government largess is made available, someone will always be available to take it, but willingness to participate in a pyramid scheme does not validate it as a viable or appropriate method of development. 

Most pyramid schemes collapse.  Unfortunately, government can levy additional taxes, borrow money and use all sort of financial voodoo to maintain the pyramid regardless of its long-term impact on the city’s core mission or viability.

We are giving Honda what!

Kudos to Honda for extorting 141.5 million dollars (okay, only about $40,000,000 directly in their pockets) from the taxpayers of Indiana.  Honda Motor is listed 27^th on the Global 500 by Fortune, with revenues of $80,486,600,000 and profits of $4,523,900,000. Those revenues would place them 17^th on the Fortune 500 list of American Companies, if they were an American Company and 32^nd on the list of most profitable companies (And I do not mean to pick on Honda, the previous incentives for Toyota, with more than twice the revenue and profits of Honda, are beyond ridiculous).  Honda is just the latest recipient of government’s largesse in the name of economic development. 

 

My first reaction to the request for incentive packages by Honda is that the location analysts for Honda should be fired for picking a site that can not meet their needs, without major infrastructure and other financial incentives being paid by someone else.  So, why aren’t they picking a site that does not need massive infrastructure improvements, so that no one, including the taxpayers, has to spend millions of dollars beyond the cost of the plant?  Either Honda really needs the incentives to make the project work, or they do not need it and just decided to steal some money from us.  Of course, we were happy to give it, as “My Man Mitch” was grinning ear-to-ear, as were the Honda executives.  Mitch, when you can get a company to locate in Indiana, without providing incentives other than advancing scheduled infrastructure improvements, I will be impressed.  Until then, you have not done anything that any other yahoo, with millions of dollars of other people’s money at their disposal, couldn’t have done.  So, stop grinning and get to work.