Northwest Indiana Comical Politics

Purdue Calumet, Mayor Junior and Economic Development

It is now time for the President and the Board of Trustees to be held accountable for the lack of monetary and developmental commitment for higher education to NWI's economic development.  So far they have contributed little in significantly improving the financial status of either campuses Purdue Calumet or Purdue North Central.  Their main contribution is to increase the value of the Purdue Foundation's holdings in Crown Point by creating a huge mall.  The numbers in an earlier blog to this show that Purdue Calumet asked on its ultimate wish list for the lowest increase of any campus in Indiana.  This first means they have no plan as to how to develop in NWI.  Next year PUC will receive $10 million per year less than IUPU Fort Wayne.  Why?

Even by Purdue University's own definition of a high technology incubator, the thing being built in Crown Point with federal tax dollars does not fit what Purdue is advertising in West Lafayette.  Even the President of Purdue recognized that when he dedicated it by pointing out that it is too far from anywhere to be a technology incubator.

Mayor Junior, and his so claimed allies at Purdue University, should be able to deliver funding and development of a complete university to NWI.  But the actual data, in an earlier comment on this blog, shows that PUC did not even as for enough funds in its best wish list.  Its request was the lowest of all the campuses in Indiana; it will also receive the lowest amount of any campus in the State. 

For Junior and his staff of hangers on, like Jake, to claim they understand anything about economic development is an outright joke.  There is no doubt that McJunior is one of the most incapable politician and public servants to have set foot in NWI, but most especially in the arena of economic development.  It does not take a genius to realize that the $10 million NWI and Hammond are loosing every year is real development money.

Purdue and its Board of Trustees are selling PUC short.  They put in the smallest request for PUC's wish list of all the campuses in Indiana.  As a result they are going to get the smallest increase .5%.  There is no plan to develop a real university in NWI and to support economic development; quite the opposite.  Mammon Powers is the token NWI representation on the Board and he has not brought anything to the table in NWI in his whole life that was not handed to him as an exception. 

Don Powers was the last economic development visionary in NWI.  Junior is the opposite; an anti-visionary who can only look at micro problems.

If there was any real desire for economic development, than the Quality of Life Council would call them, Purdue, on the carpet for an explanation of why these funds are not flowing to NWI.  What the Quality of life Council is doing now in place of real development is useless. 

The bottom line is where is the money flowing and it is not here.  More studies and wishful thinking will not change that.

There is now the additional information that the administrators of higher education from Commissioner Stan Jones to the Presidents of the universities are a failure.  The data comes from the new report showing that Indiana has droped to number 46 from 43 of the fifty states during these peoples' tenure.  Indiana is now 46th in ranking of states in the number of people over 25 with bachelor's degrees.  It is pitiful how poorly these people are performing and collecting their paychecks.

By the way, Purdue's president is the highest paid in Indiana and Indiana's private funding is about fifth in the country.  So there are no excuses.

NWI Economic Development

NWI lacking the three keys for economic development

Feb. 24, 2005

By Maurice M. Eisenstein
Post-Tribune guest columnist

In a recent e-mail discussion with Gary Mayor Scott King, it was obvious that he is knowledgeable of the nuances of economic development. King discussed the three “T’s” theory — Technology, Talent and Tolerance — currently one of the world’s most accepted explanations for development in some areas, but not others including the cultural values needed to attract development to a geographical area. Retail businesses and bedroom communities are not economic development; only high technology can fit that need. Why then have King and NWI been unable to make significant strides during the past 15 years in attracting and keeping the “creative class”?

• Technology: Although technology is NWI’s best competitive advantage, it is the least unique and is easily reproduced by other localities. Even where there is some capital expended, it is to reproduce what others have, not to create new ideas. For creative technology, one needs only to look at Lafayette, Bloomington or Indianapolis where the state and the universities’ presidents have created cities — with NWI taxes — that are among the top 10 most attractive cities for development in the country.

In a moment of candor three weeks ago during the House Ways and Means Committee budgetary hearings, Purdue President Martin Jischke presented the future development of a technology research triangle between Lafayette, Bloomington and Indianapolis. Even though he was chastised by the NWI members of the committee for ignoring the northern part of the state, the reality of what he presented remains in place.

• Talent: We are not producing a ready pool of knowledgeable workers.

Technology companies will not come to a location where they have to attract qualified employees from outside. NWI’s ISTEP scores speak for themselves; they are a local human tragedy. The East Chicago and Hammond superintendents are charlatans and Gary needs to fire everyone and start over. In a business environment, the people in charge of these districts would have been fired years ago.

The other component of talent or “creative class” is higher education. In this capacity, NWI has been sold a bill of good for decades. The tax dollars from NWI have promoted the development of significant state universities in central Indiana, while NWI has gotten the crumbs. With the exception of Valparaiso, there is not a significant presence of higher education culture in the region.

In the 2005-2007 budgets, Purdue trustees requested the lowest increase for Purdue University Calumet of any state campus. The result in the first passage of the budget bill is a mere half a percent increase for PUC, the lowest in the state (Lafayette’s and Bloomington’s are 3 percent). It is also economic undevelopment — NWI dollars going to support other areas.

• Tolerance: This is tolerance of new ideas, not the usual platitudes about tolerance of different races and ethnicities. It is sufficient to see that tolerance is not part of our ongoing culture when “Dr.” Chester Dobis is our senior representative in Indianapolis. This man must go because he is out of touch with 21st century values. Legislators, such as Sen. Earline Rogers, who defended his Neanderthal message, should also resign because they lack recognition, which the “creative class” demands.

The three areas will be dealt with in my next three columns — with no holds barred, analyzing the problems, the villains and alternative solutions, including budget cuts. My purpose is to create change, not to create new friends.

Maurice M. Eisenstein is a professor at Purdue University Calumet. E-mail him at [email protected].

Hammond Mayor

It is now official, Hammond's Mayor, McJunior, and his ally in higher education has worked at undermining economic development for Hammond and NWI.  The new budget for Purdue University Calumet is the lowest in the State for any campus.

This is the result of the original request from PUC being the lowest request of any campus in the State.  This is the direct result of the Chancellor's attempt to keep the Campus at a no growth, no development, no improvement status.  There is no other explanation.

IUPU-Fort Wayne will be receiving in the next budget cycle $10 million per year more than PUC, that does not include additional money for them for the medical school and for building funds.  That money would have gone a long way if not completely ended the property tax problem.  Without it there is no economic development for NWI.

The only possible explanation, outside of benign neglect, is that there is a concerted plan from Lafayette not to allow this part of the State to compete effectively.  There work is succeeding.  As close as we are to Chicago; the last new development here was at the turn of the last century -- the steel mills.

Where is Mammon Powers?  Who is on the board of Trustees.  Why cannot we have a man with real intelligence in the job -- Don Powers. 

As best the can be said; except for the steel mills, there will be no development in the norther part of Lake County.  It is just not going to happen in anyone's current life time.  There is no real reason for it to occur now.

Thanks again Junior for a great job of developing Hammond.  My claim continues that Junior and his administration have no plan or knowledge for economic development. 

He is the emperor with no clothes and I am letting everyone know, not to fool themselves, he is naked.

Higher Education

	2004-2005**	2005-2006**		2005-2006**		2005-2006
	Actual	Requested		Recommended		HB1001		FALL	In State	Funding		Difference
	Appropriation	Operating		Operating		Operating		FTE per	Hoosier	per       Hoosier		from
University	$	$ Funding		$ Funding		$ Funding		CAMPUS	FTE	FTE	Rank	Average
IU, Bloomington	$191,369,935	$205,084,957	7.17%	$195,251,210	2.03%	$195,251,210	1.99%	32,740	20,954	$9,318.27	3	$2,411.66
Purdue. W. Laf	$234,587,839	$254,656,916	8.56%	$240,172,228	2.38%	$240,172,228	2.33%	36,429	25,136	$9,554.91	2	$2,648.30
Ball State	$122,930,932	$135,875,543	10.53%	$124,874,106	1.58%	$125,904,106	2.38%	16,342	14,708	$8,560.36	4	$1,653.76
Indiana State	$77,843,886	$82,946,169	6.55%	$78,929,473	1.39%	$79,013,473	1.48%	9,159	7,968	$9,915.94	1	$3,009.33
Univ of S. Indiana	$33,013,832	$39,798,335	20.55%	$33,696,185	2.07%	$34,661,625	4.89%	6,846	6,298	$5,503.31	12	($1,403.29)
IUPUI	$86,452,657	$100,512,968	16.26%	$90,343,396	4.50%	$91,391,396	5.47%	15,098	14,041	$6,508.83	6	($397.78)
Purdue Calumet	$26,523,449	$28,174,704	6.23%	$26,547,810	0.09%	$26,680,810	0.59%	5,560	5,171	$5,159.90	14	($1,746.71)
Purdue N. Central	$10,245,798	$10,989,846	7.26%	$10,255,208	0.09%	$10,789,624	5.30%	2,096	2,075	$5,199.72	13	($1,706.89)
IUPU, Ft. Wayne	$33,009,643	$36,987,871	12.05%	$34,152,780	3.46%	$36,950,335	11.54%	6,628	6,495	$5,688.66	11	($1,217.95)
IU, Northwest	$17,146,348	$20,397,818	18.96%	$17,173,419	0.16%	$17,541,419	2.30%	3,025	2,874	$6,104.02	8	($802.59)
IU, Southeast	$19,156,421	$20,637,841	7.73%	$19,186,666	0.16%	$20,259,903	5.75%	3,703	3,407	$5,946.97	10	($959.64)
IU, Southbend	$22,551,314	$25,272,131	12.07%	$23,014,419	2.05%	$23,143,919	2.57%	4,205	3,869	$5,982.51	9	($924.10)
IU, Kokomo	$10,083,897	$11,329,263	12.35%	$10,099,818	0.16%	$10,258,818	1.73%	1,570	1,460	$7,026.11	5	$119.50
IU, East	$7,586,591	$8,245,395	8.68%	$7,598,569	0.16%	$7,820,575	3.08%	1,366	1,257	$6,223.01	7	($683.60)
										$96,692.50
									AVERAGE:	$6,906.61
*Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Student numbers from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education
**From State Budget Committee Report

Again the local politicians have betrayed NWI with their incompetence.  Compared to Fort Wayne, Hammond has just left $10 million on the table in higher education funding -- that is money that would come here to develop the economy and add to property value.  Higher education by itself could get NWI out of its property tax problems if we had politicians with a little on the ball and some notion that there is a need for education. 

Where was the Mayor of Hammond, McJunior?  Must have been too busy trying to lobby for $10 for some strange program that nobody cares about.  There is truly a load of complete incompetency with Junior Hammond Mayor.

Why was Pabey or King not lobbying for this huge amount of tax dollars?  Could it be that none of the Mayors could figue out a way to steal their fair share of the money? 

NWI Economic Development

Finally after over ten years an event has occurred that actually puts NWI on the road to some economic development.  This has to do with sustainable and economically attractive development.

Forget about all the jokes you have heard about before that were somehow to get NWI onto some road of economic surge.  This is the home run perspective of economic development usually attempted by lazy politicians and their cronies that do not have any better idea.

The home run syndrome has to do with one major development, like a sport team, that will somehow energize the are to look attractive to those that won't come here.  This has not happened with all the money from gambling; it is not going to happen with the airport; and it is not going to happen from any development in transportation.  All of those may be good in and of themselves but they cannot do anything for this region. 

Further retail development and housing tracts is not economic development, it only creates a bedroom community.  The new "incubator" is not an incubator only a big shopping/office mall by another name.  There is no such thing as a "high-tech" incubator in the middle of nowhere away from a highly regarded university.

But finally there is a change -- ever so small but it is a beginning.  This change comes from the Indiana House of Representative Ways and Means Committee which has developed the first draft of the next two year budget for the State.  For once higher education in NWI did better than its "partners" in central Indiana.

There cannot be, as every study has shown, economic development without the central development of universities with superior quality and for this goal NWI has been short changed for over fifty years.  It may not have mattered fifty years ago; but, it has for the past twenty.  That is why we are at a stand still from which we cannot get out. 

But now we are moving thanks to two members of that committee who have finally come through for NWI: Representative Ayres and Representative Aguilera.  You can forget everything else you have heard about economic development this improvement of PUC, IUN, and PNC (among others around the State) is the best value we have ever developed for NWI and as a return on investment for the State coffers.

I will have the exact figures tomorrow.  But this bodes really well for the Region; we just need to keep it in the final bill.