Giving more tax revenue to 'incompetents’ seems insane June 6, 2005
By Maurice Eisenstein
The last savior for Lake County’s economic sanity now is the Lake County Council. It may pass two taxes raising more than $40 million for Northwest Indiana economic development — a county income tax and a food and beverage tax. This would transfer more money to the county’s three largest cities and, just like the Regional Development Authority, will ensure the rest of the county continues to pay for the financial disasters of the incompetents and thieves of north Lake County.
Regrettably, there is nothing else to call it. The thievery continues to be established by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This level of thievery is not going on everywhere and, despite protestations of innocence, it is concentrated in the northern part of Lake County. It is endemic to the individuals populating the local ruling political party, the Democrats.
Incompetence, including lack of ethics, is also concentrated in the northern part of Lake County — in part because they have the money and most of the projects that permit them to show their incompetence. Again, despite protestations otherwise, it is difficult to find other areas with such universal incompetence concentrated in one local political party.
During the past 20 years, despite huge sums of money coming into county and city government, I am not aware of a single successful economic development project that has been undertaken.
Municipal governments have raised their levies almost to the maximum each year, state government took over more of the local education funding and NWI has received more than $1.5 billion in gambling revenue since 1996. The consequence of these revenues is that NWI is the crime capital of the country, while producing functional illiterates out of its educational systems. The area qualifies for quality-of-life rebates and the young people who are able to are leaving as fast as possible.
No citizen can determine whether this misery is caused by illegality and/or incompetence. U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen must sort out that question and prosecute when necessary. But every NWI citizen, even those with a vested interest, must recognize that those are the only two options. Our leadership is functioning illegally or incompetently; there is no third option.
The Democrats have always prided themselves with removing unethical behavior from the federal government and sending the perpetrators to jail. The Tom McDermotts, father and junior, are indicative of the unethical leadership that ails NWI.
With the father being paid an hourly fee by Cabela’s and the son threatening retaliatory action against private entities on behalf of Cabela’s, it is the very definition of a conflict of interest. They do not recognize that ethical standards require that the father not have any interest in a company doing insurance business with the city. Now, these two people want the rest of the citizens of NWI to support Hammond’s incompetent, unethical leadership through a countywide increase in taxes.
How many times must the citizens of NWI be fleeced before they say no?
I challenge anyone to name a project that has been carried out by these leaders, elected and civic, that is a success when compared with the public money expended. Now, the County Council wants to turn over more money to these same people? That is the true definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and expecting different results.
Maurice Eisenstein is a professor at Purdue University Calumet. E-mail him at [email protected] comments do not represent Purdue University.
Published in The Post-Tribune
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