My (Baby-Boomer) Presidents

Since we have finished the presidential primaries and will soon be in the campaign for the new President of the United States I thought I'd reflect on the commander-in-chiefs since I was hatched and what I remember them for.

Harry Truman-He could make a decision even if it meant over 100,000 were going to die as a result. I can't even imagine.

Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower-Didn't do much while he was pres other than play a lot of golf. As a result, he spent a helluva lot less of our money.

John F. Kennedy-JFK had the charisma of a movie star and the sex drive to sleep with one. Somewhere along the way he pissed someone off and we lost him. I was really upset when he was assassinated. It felt like the world was going to end. But, my little brother, Joe, was born a week later and life moved on.

Lyndon B. Johnson-A mean old man who exercised his immense power in Washington to get what he wanted. He took Roosevelt's Fair Deal and ramped it up to the Great Society. That's political talk for dramatic increases in domestic federal spending. He snookered the public into believing we needed to go to war with Vietnam. It was a big mistake and it ultimately wore him out.

Richard M. Nixon-"Tricky Dick" could have been a great president, but he was a serious Rule #1 violator. He thought he was bigger than the law and he paid the price. Shameful.

Jimmy Carter-Probably was the smartest president of our time and the least effective. The country was a mess under his watch.

Ronald Reagan-This guy could flat out communicate. You wanted to believe everything he said. I saw him speak before he was president and it was something special. Nancy was kind of a pain in the ass, though.

George H. W. Bush-It's hard to know whether he was defending our interests in the Middle East or was he doing the dirty work for his Saudi Arabian buddies.

Bill Clinton-How could one person cheat and lie, yet still be so admired by everyone except his wife.

George W. Bush-Just a disaster. How could one president do so much harm to such a great nation in just eight years. We'll be paying for his mistakes for a very long time. Unlike Clinton, his wife likes him. Somebody has to.

Now, we must decide between two polar opposites trying to morph into moderates. Geez, can we have a do-over?

Bart has the $$$ to Lie

The only thing more sad than Bart's lies is the effort by the local Republican Party to defeat him. Greg Ballard seems to be capable of being mayor, but we'll never know. His own party has sent him down the White River without a paddle. Bart has about $1,500,000.00 in his campaign fund while Ballard has $51,000.

Ever wonder where Bart came up with that kind of dough. How about starting with the grateful contractors who are building the new $1,000,000,000 airport terminal, or our new $725,000,000 Lucas Oil Stadium which is replacing the RCA Dome that will be replaced by the $300,000,000 convention center expansion.

Our $140,000,000 library which was originally suppose to cost $30,000,000 opens next month. You won't find me there until I am convinced it won't collapse due to serious structural flaws.

Connect the dots everyone and vote for the guy with $51,000. No one owns him-yet.

Commuting in Indy - Why It's Not for Me

When I was a squirt we were a one-car family. That was not unusual in the '50's. I was one of six children and by the '70's our family owned over eight cars, each with a gas-guzzling V-8 engines. Hey, gas was only about 35 cents per gallon. We were told that there was an endless supply of oil.

We all got married and collectively bought six more cars for our spouses, except for my brother Joe. His car was provided to him, but I'll save that story for my "Youngest Sibling Blog". Then, we all moved far away from the city where land was cheap and the houses were big. Life was grand. The six siblings had 19 children and I haven't counted cars lately, but you can see where I'm headed. In a wealthy country with over 300 million people there is not enough fuel and land for the process to continue.

I think it is time to re-think the American Dream.

I've lived the dream. My family of five owned a five bedroom house, five cars, and one enormous custom van. I had the means to pay for it all, but I did not leave much room for error. However, the twenty-somethings today have even less room for error. Our society can no longer expect to have more than the generation before them. But, they can still have a wonderful lifestyle. It will just take a little common sense to make it happen.

Make a list of the things you require and pick a spot somewhere in the middle to call home. My wife and I moved downtown from the burbs to be closer to work, entertainment, restaurants, and virtually everything else that used to require a car. We love it. Each of us has eliminated 15,000 miles of rush hour traffic a year. At 48 cents per mile we have saved over $10,000 per year in commuting cost and untold hours in traffic. We are now planning on being a one-car household again. We live in 40% of the space we used to own. Almost everything costs less now except for one thing-my property taxes.

If everyone exercises their right to vote in the next election, I think we can fix that, too.

Does Indy Need a Casino for Property Tax Relief?

The silence of our legislative leaders concerning the property tax problem gives me the uneasy feeling that they do not have a politically viable solution. When they do talk, all you hear is that "It needs more study" or "All ideas are on the table". Gibberish. They don't want to change anything.

One idea that was proposed last year by Mayor Peterson was to install tabbing machines in Union Station. That' Hoosier-talk for slot machines. I'm not sure he really wanted them in the downtown area. He was actually trying to get the legislature to give the city the power to increase local income taxes (which happened) and to consolidate all of the police and fire departments in Marion County (still trying), and he knew the Pat Bauer's and the Brian Bosma's would want to throw something out. The tabbing machines were not allowed in Indianapolis, but they did put them at the horse tracks in Anderson and Shelbyville. That was OK with everyone since most Hoosiers don't know how to get to either place.

However, a casino in Union Station is an interesting idea. It sits right in the middle of the hotels, restaurants, bars, convention center, Circle Center Mall, and both of our domes(one for the Colts to play in and one to hold Irsay's cash). It is an historic landmark that could be better utilized. It would bring in a completely new stream of revenue while filling up the the very establishments that are generating the tax revenue the city so disparately needs.

I'm sure it will attract a different type of crowd, but wouldn't you rather see someone else pay for our leader's reckless spending? I'll bet you would.

Property Taxes and Politicians

Isn't it wonderful when voters awake from their eternal slumber when you hit them in their wallets? When the Governor spoke today, he did what everyone wanted to hear by ordering a reassessment of property taxes. Now, we need to see if the rest of the legislature can truly come up with a permanent solution to the unfair property tax system we have in the State of Indiana.

However, before we can sit back and relax, let me drop a few facts on you. The City of Indianapolis has some serious bills to pay that are seriously overdue. This isn't a complete list and the numbers may be a little off like Patrick Bauer's toupe', but here is a list of the money we, the taxpayers, owe.

-RCA Dome $46 million (We owed $35-40 million when it was completed in 1984). It will be imploded in two years, but we'll still owe the money
-IPS Schools $500-800 million ( The schools have been crumbling since court-ordered busing)
-Police/Fire Pension $450 million (Our last three mayors have been underfunding the pensions so they wouldn't need to raise property taxes).
-Lucas Oil Stadium $725 million ( Fortunately, it will be funded by new taxes that are not property related, but those new taxes could have paid other obligations. By the way, the Colts receive most of the revenue from the new stadium while we pay for it.)

Just those costs will add up to about $2,500 for every man, woman, and child plus interest over the next 20 to 25 years even if you never step inside the new stadium or attend a class in IPS.

Here is the challenge the politicians have. Fifty percent of Center Township pays little or no property tax. The City of Indianapolis, State of Indiana, IUPUI, White River State Park, The Domes, Circle Center Mall, Anthem, Lilly, Simon Property Group, Indiana Convention Center, and whoever else who was able to cut a deal to locate downtown pay little or no property tax. Most of those properties reside on ground that previously was occupied by small businesses that did pay tax, but most relocated to a lower tax environment or went out of business. That means there is less property to pay a huge bill.

So, what is the solution? I feel that Indiana needs to replace all property taxes with a consumption tax. It is working in developing economies around the world and it would truly be a bold step for Indiana to lead the nation rather than follow.

What do you think? I'd like to know.