Rants

Strange Use of Funds (cont.)

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This is a Culver follow up on the Burr Oak post, Strange Use of Funds, from last September. I still vacillate between amusement at the absurdity of that project and outrage at the wasted tax dollars.

Rainy Day

In any case, my bemusement extends to Culver and the thinking that went into the crosswalk from the southwest corner to the northwest corner of intersection of S.R. 10 & S.R. 17 at the end of Lake Shore Drive. First, it’s an absurd place for a crosswalk. As with some of those pointed out in the Burr Oak post, there is no connecting walk on the north side. Second, there are no storm drains or even right-of-way swales, so the condition pictured to the right, is pretty normal when there is any rain at all. Third, in the best of conditions, as shown in the picture below, the corner remains muddy after a rain, the walk is below the road and the surrounding grass, and it runs directly into a gas line marker and part of a stone wall!

On a “dry” Day

This was a Town of Culver project, but I assume this design falls squarely within INDOT requirements. Culver just wanted a sidewalk going west to accommodate Culver Academy students walking to the Family Dollar. This extra little feature was no doubt a INDOT requirement, costing several thousand dollars in engineering and construction. Money spent to solve an non-existent issue, while not fixing real issues, i.e. flooding and obstacles, that make this even less useful, if that’s even possible.

I often wonder if others see these things. For any of you that have looked at this and scratched your head, did you also notice the weird hump in the sidewalk just west of this intersection? The rest of the new walk pretty much follows the curb grade, except for the 20′ +/- section right there that rises up 4″-6″ and then back down for no discernible reason. I suspect someone kicked a grade stake and no one noticed until it was too late, but that’s just a theory. There could be many other explanations. It just looks weird though…

Keep your eyes open people. You never know what you’ll run across. Best to just be amused, because impotent outrage will just make you crazy.

Blight

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It seems odd to talk about Blight and missed opportunities at the same time, but here we are.

I attended the SBERP RDA ( South Bend Elkhart Regional Partnership Regional Development Authority) board meeting last week and heard presentations of several properties that would benefit from the Lilly Foundation funds that have been pledged to them for blight elimination. As a sign of the times, all of them included some form of housing, as additional and better housing is the biggest perceived need at this time. The project that would be most recognizable to those in our area contemplated a multi-million dollar renovation and repurposing of the old Kamm and Schellinger Brewery in Mishawaka currently known as the 100 Center.

Several properties in St. Joe and Elkhart Counties were submitted. Marshall County was conspicuously absent… thus the missed opportunity.

Blight, as referred to when talking about communities, is generally a reference to systemic vacancies. But it is sometimes referring to buildings with deferred maintenance. I’m sure we all can think of properties in our communities that would fall under one of these definitions. Without even trying, I can name seven properties that fit this definition in Culver. I can think of half a dozen in Plymouth. I know of several in LaPaz and Argos. I’m sure those familiar with Bourbon and Bremen could name similar properties there. So how did we allow this opportunity to pass us by? Couldn’t we have put together something? We are the smallest county by population in our three county regional partnership. There would have been strong incentive to try and share some of the largess if we would have presented something.

We’re at a disadvantage in these things that we need to figure out how to overcome. The internal staff available in South Bend, Mishawaka and Elkhart to throw at these opportunities far outweigh the capacity of any Marshall County community. One Marshall County is being touted as a possible answer to this, but they couldn’t muster the effort to make a presentation as they are still fighting to gain acceptance locally. This is sad, as this could have been an easy win for them that would have shown their value.

Just from attending public meetings, I know of three properties in Culver, two in Plymouth and one in LaPaz that have asked for help and would have qualified for this program. A Marshall County regional submission could have been a combination of projects that would have helped all of our communities. A rail transfer facility was floated at the PIDCO annual meeting for one of Plymouth’s blighted properties. There were opportunities there.

Submitting something would have helped our larger region as well. It’s been clear from the feedback from the Regional Partnership that they need to use some of the funding in Marshall County, but if we fail to give them something to spend it on, it’s hard for us to complain. At some point this could be a problem when the region goes for additional funding. The down state entities want to see the wealth shared.

Some of the issue has been disorganization and some has been a lack of cooperation. Both should be things that can be remedied for the greater good. The sad thing is that most Marshall County residents don’t even know about this missed opportunity. It is likely that most of the property owners of the above mentioned sites don’t know they missed an opportunity. But by definition of the program, the projects must be put forward with government support. Unfortunately, I would guess that the majority of our elected representatives aren’t aware of this either. At least that’s my hope. If they knew and did nothing, that is worse.

There will be more opportunities like this coming down the line. We need to take steps so they aren’t missed too…

What’s in a name?

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I’m pretty unhappy that I know the name of the shooter that attempted to assassinate former President Trump. If you don’t know his name, I’m not going to be the one to enlighten you…

My personal feeling is that it’s unconscionable that the press puts the names of such people out there. Law enforcement must, in the name of full disclosure, but it’s the press that gives them posthumous fame. My distaste for this is not because of concern for their families. Often their families are complicit, through ignoring red flags, if nothing else. My reasoning is that many of these individuals are doing it for that fame. How many other disturbed people see this and think, “At least I will be recognized”? What other heinous acts are being contemplated by disturbed individuals seeing this shooters name plastered across all media?

I knew the names of the killers from Columbine. I knew the name of the Boston Marathon Bombers. I knew the name of the Aurora, Colorado shooter and the man that shot up the music festival in Las Vegas. I know the name of Sharon Tate’s killer cult. I know the names of the brothers famous for killing their parents. I know the name of President Reagan’s attempted assassin. I know the names of JFK’s assassin and clear back to Lincoln’s assassin. I’m sure this is enough to bring many of those names to your minds… None of this information is valuable to us nor does it protect us. All of this could be the catalyst that causes a continuation of this murderous loop.

What’s in a name? For some people, this is their way of achieving their 15 minutes of fame. Let’s stop making that possible.

Inflation Allegory

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I just heard another sound bite with President (and candidate) Biden touting his administration’s success in bringing inflation down. The 2019 inflation rate was 1.81%, a decrease of 0.63% from 2018. The inflation rate for 2020 was 1.23%, despite or because of Covid. The 2021 inflation rate was 4.7%. The inflation rate for 2022 was 8.0%. The inflation rate for 2023 was 3.4%. As of today, the 12 month rate of inflation is 3.5%… While there is no denying that going from 8.0% to 3.5% is better, it does not make the 8.0% rate (that occurred two years after he took office) go away.

So, here’s my favorite explanatory allegory… explained in pounds. Fat pounds, not British pounds…

Skinny ’21
Inflated ’24

Lets say your heathy weight is 160 lb. You’ve maintained that weight for years, but at your annual check-up in 2021, your doctor notes, “You’ve put on 4.7 lb. You need to keep an eye on that.” You note it. You watch your weight, but at your 2022 check-up, your Doctor’s not happy. “You’ve put on another 8 lb since your last visit. Here’s some diet and exercise suggestions to get this under control.” You make an effort. You weigh yourself before going to your 2023 check-up. You’ve gained another 3.4 lb. What do you think the chances are that the Doctor congratulates you on ONLY gaining another 3.4 lb? Hmmmm… Zilch. Nada. Not gonna happen. He’s going to tell you to get your ass to the gym and get a lock for the refrigerator because in the last three years, you’ve gained 4.7 + 8.0 + 3.4 = 16.1 pounds! You now weigh 176 lb!

Inflation accumulates in a similar matter. Even at the Fed’s target 2.0%, that means things are 2% more expensive every year, so what costs $1.00 this year would cost $1.02 next year and $1.04 the next year.

Inflation is equivalent to a regressive tax, as in the less net worth you have, the harder you’re hit by it. If you have $10 to your name and inflation is 8%, you have to spend it for whatever you can afford at the inflated rate. If you have $1,000,000, your spending money is affected in the same way, but inflation increases the value of your house, stock portfolio and provides a higher interest rate for you at the bank. All the things you have when you’re worth $1,000,000 that you didn’t have when you were worth $10. Makes it damn hard to get from $10 to $1,000,000!