Rants
Marshall County Innkeeper’s Tax
The Marshall County Council chose to increase the Innkeeper’s Tax from 3 to 5 percent. [Pilot News Article] I’ve had a disagreement with this tax since it first went into effect over a decade ago.
My first issue is the same as Dr. Watson’s. (See his letter to the editor here.) It is taxation without representation. It was originally passed “because we could” rather than because there was a need. Now it appears that it has been raised using the same rational. From the Pilot News Article: “Woolfington [Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director] pointed out that Marshall County was one of just a handful of counties in the state of Indiana that has held the tax at 3 percent. Adjacent counties have raised their tax to the 5 percent level and St. Joseph County is at 6 percent.” Mr. Woolfington then goes on to talk about our loss of a major hotel chain. Somehow I doubt that this was because they suffered a decline in business because they weren’t charging enough! How is raising our tax rate to match surrounding counties going to attract people to stay here?
My second issue with this has always been the Marshall County Visitor’s Guide. Despite the Innkeeper’s Tax, the first thing the newly formed Visitor’s and Convention Bureau did was to start shaking down local businesses and Chambers of Commerce for ads in their new visitor’s guide. Currently more than that 10% of the Culver Chamber of Commerce’s annual budget goes toward an ad in this guide. I was on the Culver Chamber Board when this went into effect and I voted against that budget item and the passing of the budget including that item until I left the board and I continued to vote against it as a Chamber member for several years after. (I now generally skip that meeting as my meal doesn’t sit well after that vote…) I considered it then and now a phenomenal waste of precious dollars…dollars requested by a tax funded entity of a volunteer organization. Dollars which wouldn’t need them if MCCVB was effective in it’s mission!
Community Conversation Follow-up
Recap of Community Conversation in the Pilot News, November 18, 2010
I was pleased to see a diverse representation of our County at the Community Conversation last Wednesday. Unfortunately I had a prior commitment and was unable to participate in the entire program, but I was able to hear the keynote speaker, Richard Longworth, as he spoke about the challenges Marshall County faces. He also took questions from the audience, which were insightful as well as indicative of where those in attendance thought we were headed.
Second Page of Pilot News Article
I hope this is the first of many such “conversations” about Marshall County’s direction for the future. Plymouth has just completed a Wheels of Progress survey. Culver’s Second Century Committee is in the process of reexamining their goals. I’m sure the other communities in Marshall County have their own steering committees to plan for the future. If I took anything out of the conversation Wednesday, it was that we all need to shake off the boundaries imposed by towns, counties and states. We should allow ourselves to think regionally and market ourselves in the same manner. Otherwise we will continue to be left behind. Mr. Longworth indicated that the Midwest didn’t just enter a recession two years ago, but is 30-40 years into a recession that could last a century if we’re not careful. Something for all of us to think about!
Last Word on Walorski/Donnelly
The Walorski/DonnellyCongressional Race for the Indiana 2nd District was a pretty bitter fight. It was a pretty tight race up to and including the final days of the race. Interestingly, there was a Libertarian, Mark Vogel, in the race. I consider myself fairly politically savy, but I was unaware the third candidate until the weekend before the election when I received a glossy mailer touting Mr. Vogel as the “true conservative” in the race.
Despite serious campaign fatigue it caught my eye because of some of the positions being proclaimed, such as abolishing the IRS and the income tax. All of them were conservative to the extreme.
Looking at it a little further, another thing caught my eye… The return address: The Indiana Democratic Party!
Whether you want to call it dirty pool or extremely smart politics, apparently the Indiana Democratic Party didn’t think Joe Donnelly could beat Jackie Walorski in a head to head battle, so chose to spend precious dollars on promoting the third candidate. Also, it appears they were right since the majority of those voting did not vote for Mr. Donnelly. According to Mr. Vogel’s website, the ad was sent without his knowledge or consent, nor was it sent with the consent of the Libertarian Party. A complaint has been filed with the FEC for violations of Federal election laws.
Thank you Obamacare…
The news is saying that today is the day that the Obamacare changes start to go into effect. Our insurance renewal is next month. In anticipation of Obamacare, our rates went up 29%. Last year it was around a 10% increase. When President Obama talked about bending the curve, I thought he was talking about reducing the rate of increase, not tripling it!
