Category Archives: taxes

Mitchel tosses hat in ring for Beavercreek City Council

Posted on December 1, 2008 by | 1 comment

Today John Mitchel announced he has requested the Beavercreek City Council consider him for appointment to Jerrod Martin’s open council seat. Martin will step down in January to serve as Ohio’s 70th House District Representative. Mitchel is an Air Force veteran of 22 years and currently works at Wright Patterson AFB as a systems analyst. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and has earned advanced degrees in business from Michigan Tech University and economics from Wright State. In 2006 LtCol Mitchel (Ret) self-published America at the Abyss: A View from the Heartland which has received acclaim for exposing fraud, waste, abuse and corruption in government as the primary cause of the current economic crisis in Ohio and the U.S.

In response to the announcement, Mitchel commented, “Beavercreek will surely miss Jerrod Martin, but his constituents in Greene County will be better off as Jerrod has been a steadfast advocate for Beavercreek taxpayers. If offered the privilege to serve, I will bring that same philosophy to the job. If appointed, my first priority will be to socialize among the other six council members an “It’s Not Our Money” mindset. Whether in good economic cycles or bad, that’s precisely what Beavercreek taxpayers want and what they deserve.”

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Don’t Bail Out My State: South Carolina’s Governor Says More Debt Isn’t The Answer

Posted on November 17, 2008 by | 1 comment

The Wall Street Journal published an article by the above title today. Its author was South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Gov. Stanford presents an informed argument against the Congress’ bailout of Wall Street and cash strapped states. He asks and answers a number of questions that are worth considering.

One of his questions is: Who bails out the “bail-outor”? What he means is who will bailout the federal government. His answer is what we already know. The federal government does really have any money. All of the money it plans on using to “stabilize” banks, Wall Street firms, automakers, and states will all be borrowed against every Americans future income. The answer, therefore, is either no one because foreigners and their governments are also experiencing the same deepening economic recession.

Gov. Sanford makes a point all taxpayers must seriously consider. He wrote, “Already, our nation’s unfunded liabilities total $52 trillion — about $450,000 per household. There’s something very strange about issuing debt to solve a problem caused by too much debt.” (Emphasis added.)

All of the talk about balancing the federal budget is nothing but hot elite air. Not only will the feds not be able to balance their budget, but their huge bailout borrowing extravaganza will hurt fiscally responsible community banks and fiscally prudent states, according to Gov. Sanford. As he indicates, the bailout will only benefit the bad boys.

Democrats want to increase the national debt even more by expanding health care costs. Gov. Sanford informs us that Medicaid expenses have been increasing 9.5% a year for the past 10 years, which is unsustainable. Add universal health care costs to the bill and what is already unsustainable becomes a catastrophic economic problem. Who will pay for it? The largest group of taxpayers in America is the middle-income group.

President-elect Obama is being billed as the next FDR. That should cause great concern to all because FDR began the big borrowing-big government programs. FDR helped to prolong the economic crisis of the 1930s. FDR jumped into World War II in order to borrow…borrow…borrow America out of the great depression. WWII was legitimated borrowing huge sums of money to put Americans to work. Does did really work? Only temporarily. What I have been hearing from various economists and money market experts is that each economic crisis has been getting worse since FDR’s big borrowing bailout.

Another important question Gov. Sanford asks is: Isn’t government intervention supposed to be the last resort and come only when it can make a difference? As he notes, Congress committed $2.3 trillion as a first resort solution to improving our economy. Adding another $150 billion is like adding a twinkie to truckloads of sugar already dumped to sweeten a lake. It won’t make much difference except to the taxpayers who will have to repay the insane amount of debt.

Maybe that is why millions of Americans have little savings, no retirement, inadequate health care, and little economic future.

Looking at the issue as a head of state, Gov. Sanford counsels against states accepting a federal bailout of states. Instead of is his solution to states effects by the economic crisis:

[T]here is something Congress can do: free states from federal mandates. South Carolina will spend about $425 million next year meeting federal unfunded mandates. The increase in the minimum wage alone will cost the state $2.6 million and meeting Homeland Security’s REAL ID requirements will cost $8.9 million.

Here is the age-old wisdom of Constitutional government: Limited not only as to its powers but also to its spending, borrowing, and taxing.

Gov. Sanford apparently believes it is not too late for Americans to stop Congress from mortgaging our economic future with unsustainable debt to bailout Wall Street and states. Ohioans also may be able to stop Gov. Strickland and the Ohio legislators from the same.

You can contact Gov. Strickland by E-Mail, by fax at (614) 466-9354, by phone at (614) 466-3555, or by us mail at Governor’s Office, Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-6108.

To contact your elected Ohio legislators, go to the House of Representatives directory and to the Senate directory.

To contact your Congressional representatives, go to the House of Representatives directory and to the Senate directory or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 for Representatives and Senators.

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Greene County Commissioners “spreading the wealth around”

Posted on November 11, 2008 by | 1 comment

By John Mitchel

Republicans justifiably attack Senator Obama and the Democrats for their plans to redistribute wealth from those earning more than $ _____ (fill in the blank), to those at or below ___ (fill in the blank) times the poverty level. The simple truth is; Greene County Commissioners have been spreading around Greene County taxpayer wealth for years.

Take for example the BRAC Initiative Agreement running from 2003 to 2006 that sent $1.9 million to the Dayton Development Coalition. Those Greene County tax dollars found their way into a no-bid, no-work, no-oversight, no-value-added contract with The Greentree Group, a Beavercreek government support contractor, and also trickled down to Paul Magliochetti and Associates (The PMA Group), a Washington K Street lobbyist.

According to IRS filings, in 2005 Greene County taxpayers also helped pay the $285,854 salary of J P Nauseef, President of Development Projects, Inc., a Dayton Development Coalition 501(c)(3) front organization located at the same address as the Coalition. Total revenues in 2005 for Development Projects, Inc. were $1,390,723. I believe we can safely conclude that more than 20 percent of a non-profit’s revenue going to its President, who by the way contributed big-time to Dave Hobson’s and Steve Austria’s campaign funds, pretty much passes the “spreading the wealth around” litmus test.

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Xenia Deserves Better Schools Than Proposed By Issue 20

Posted on November 3, 2008 by | Leave a comment

By Daniel Downs

I agree with the many of our city leaders that Xenia needs new schools, but not now. The fact is Ohio Schools Facilities Commission funding will still exist for school districts needing capital to build new schools. What will no longer be available is the huge pool dirty money ripped off from tobacco companies whose products clearly state that if you consume their products you might get cancer or some other related disease. I realize many people don’t care where or how the money was obtained by the state. However, when you build upon fraud and injustice, the oozing toxins of injustice eventually spread.

I also agree Xenia needs good teachers and school facilities so that students will be prepared for good paying jobs, but I have to wonder how many residents work at good paying jobs located in Xenia. Jobs paying less than $35,000 a year are not good paying jobs they are less than average. Almost two-thirds of Xenia residents have below average incomes, and a third are at or below poverty level. These people cannot afford more taxes, inflation, economic recession, or anything else that raises their cost of living.

If Issue 20 passes, Xenia taxpayers will be paying off a $79 million levy for 28 years. The author of a letter published in the Xenia Daily Gazette by the title “Give intelligent voters real facts in Xenia” noted that the high school is only 32 years old. Will administrators then decide that Xenia needs another new one in 30 years?

Besides feeling bullied by the fanatical school levy cheer leaders, the same author observed that the schools have not been properly maintained. But, how could the administrators show how badly the school district buildings need replaced if they had kept them in good repair? Just look at the school budget. It is very low, which suggests that school administrators planned for their deterioration and obsolescence. Additional proof of this is present by one of the Xenia’s well-paid official cheerleaders, who wrote that the permanent improvement levy of $400,000 a year has not been enough to keep Xenia’s 10 school buildings in good repair. Gee, I thought it was an addition to the then maintenance budget and not meant to be the only funding source for maintaining good and healthy school buildings for the benefit of all of Xenia’s children.

A more important concern is whether the $79 million will result in better education. Ohio law requires the building of small schools—like many small neighborhood schools—while at the same time permitting large schools that the law acknowledges are ineffective learning environments. Although many Xenia High School’s 900+ students demonstrate exceptional achievement levels, students in other schools like Warner are not doing so well. Maybe it’s because those schools have too many students to be effective. Surely, people do not believe children from middle- and low-income home are learning somehow deficient (dumb)? As proven by education research, small schools are key to student achievement. The plan to combine schools into even larger units will not produce better prepared students.

The Xenia School Facilities Plan (Issue 20) is about getting money and not what is best for Xenia’s kids or the future of the community. Xenia taxpayers and parents of school children should demand the best educational environment their tax dollars can buy. That is another reason why Xenia should not vote for Issue 20.

My research of the Xenia School Facilities Plan includes:
Future of Xenia Under One Roof?

Xenia Community Schools Rebuilding Plan: What I Learned at the Forum

Xenia Community Schools Rebuilding Plan: Why Small Schools Are Best

Xenia Community Schools Rebuilding Plan: It’s All About the Money

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Future of Xenia Under One Roof?

Posted on October 24, 2008 by | 1 comment

By Daniel Downs

The Xenia Community Schools Under One Roof (UOR) plan is an exciting new innovative concept. A campus combining existing community organizations like the YMCA, Senior Citizens Center, hospital, Athletes in Actions, and others sharing costs and resources is popular and unproven. For example, a hospital serves people from outside the community as well as local residents. Connected facilities increase the potential for our youth to be targets of unsuspected criminals. A previous writer raised concerns about post-9-11 requirements for enhanced security and UOR increases that need even more. The UOR model like the Lake Local School High School in Union Ohio is too new to know what problems may or may not occur with great confidence. It is also not likely those that already have occurred will be advertised.

Another issue that needs to be raised is why should high school students alone benefit from the UOR plan? Why not junior high and elementary students? I understand why only senior high students would benefit from a hospital-based medical training facility. An on-campus hospital would provide beneficial services to both athletes and the elderly. That’s all good, but shouldn’t other Xenia students also benefit from the YMCA, Athletes in Action, medical services, potential interaction the elderly, and from similar affiliations?

I believe neighborhood schools with small class sizes and real parental involvement are the best kind. In California, Colorado, New York, Texas, and other states tried supersized schools and found them very problematic. Reports shows they have returned to small neighborhood or specialty schools because they are more effective and less problematic learning environments. That’s why Xenia’s plan to supersize elementary schools is a bad idea. An alternative to both supersized and neighborhood elementary schools is building small neighborhood sized elementary schools and middle schools on planned UOR campus. Why not revise the UOR plan to include all schools so that all Xenia children benefit? Yes, it would increase the current plan costs considerably. It would even increase the cost of busing, but it might be worth it.

What does not make sense is replacing one of the newest buildings in the school district. At least three elementary schools, all of them older than Warner Jr. High, actually should be rebuilt. If Xenia is going to invest in the UOR plan, why not go all out and either rebuild all schools on the new site, or rebuild other schools in their neighborhoods with an Olympian size swimming pool, health service facilities, upgraded science labs, and high tech communication and computerized infrastructure. Why let politics and unjust government funding strategies (government rip off of tobacco companies) rule Xenia’s future? Why not spend the extra dollars to build the best possible educational facilities meeting future needs today?

Well, here is a brief answer. About 62% of Xenia households cannot afford more taxes and the rising cost-of-living. The annual income of 32% of Xenia families and their children is at or below the poverty line. Another 30% have incomes at or below $40,000. Families with that level of income are also eligible for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). We should not forget that about 11% of Xenia householders are senior citizens. They certainly cannot afford more taxes along with rising cost of gas, food, heating, water, and most everything else. That leaves only 38% or nearly 4,100 households to pay for most of the over 50 million dollar Under One Roof bill. That is if the bond issue passes.

Besides the money issue, education is not about swimming, sports (can I hear a boo?), sex, or computers. It is about learning to read, write, do math and science, understand the lessons of literature and history, prepare for good citizenship and a profitable career. When it comes to school facilities, warm, cool, dry, safe school buildings are of utmost importance not the latest and greatest technologies and services, big high-tech labs, pool facilities, or sports stadiums. However, the amenities would be pretty nice and maybe even beneficial.

So what can Xenia residents do? First, remember the UOR bond issue is our school officials’ latest plan to get Ohio School Facility Commission money to build new schools. If memory serves correctly, they’ve been trying to get a bond issue passed for 10 years or more. Second, low income and elderly citizens must also vote this November making sure their voice is heard concerning the UOR/school rebuilding plan. If Xenia citizens (especially, the 38% who will pay the most) decide to rebuild better schools now, why not go the extra mile and make sure the best plan for the best schools are built and paid for now. The often-chanted mantra is still true: ‘Costs will only go up’ and the nearly $50 million in tobacco industry ‘blood money’ will no longer be available.

Originally published on February 27 in the Xenia Daily Gazette

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Xenia Community Schools Rebuilding Plan : It’s All About the Money

Posted on October 23, 2008 by | 2 comments

By Daniel Downs

Part Three

If Xenia taxpayers want new schools or even the Under-One-Roof plan, they need to consider the costs. Xenia can change the structure of the school system and rebuild all but two new schools plus a new central office just to get the state to pay 46% ($56 million) of the total costs.
Under the new plan, the central office building, Cox, Shawnee, Simon Kenton, and South Hill school buildings will require reuse plans. The YMCA is moving whether or not voters approve of the Under-One-Roof plan. The library is considering using the YMCA to expand its services. The Senior Citizen Center is hoping to move as well. Other buildings in the downtown area requiring reuse including the old historic library located across the street from the both the Senior Citizen Center and YMCA, and the list goes on…. If these buildings will be reused for public purposes, Xenia taxpayers will have to foot the bill for any repairs or renovations. Ideally, private investors would be attracted to purchase any abandoned school buildings.

During the Xenia Community School District Forum, I suggested reusing Brenner Field House as a theater for plays and musicals. Unfortunately, the filed house was built over a garbage dump. So reusing Brenner may not such a good idea, according Robert Smith.

If all of the school buildings are going to be rebuilt per voter approval, why not build all of them on same property along with a new YMCA, Senior Citizen Center, Kettering Hospital out-patient center, and branches of several colleges. That way the elementary and middle school students would benefit from the YMCA, nearby health care, and possibly interaction with wise and caring senior citizens. It’s true project costs would be higher and busing cost would probably increase as well, but the benefits might exceed the additional costs.

As the meeting proceeded through old building reuse ideas, it dawned on me that almost all of the attendees except for maybe a half-dozen residents were past or present educators. There may have been two or three parents with children attending Cox or other Xenia schools at the forum. There were a lot of teachers present. One of them asked a pertinent question: what will happen to their jobs. What board member Bill Spahr didn’t say was that all of them would be placed in new positions at new schools.

Beyond reuse and employment issues, the bottom line is whether Xenia residents can afford a $66.5 million or more bond issue. As I pointed out in my February article titled What is the Future of Xenia Under One Roof, 62 percent of Xenia residents qualify for the hot welfare program called State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Nearly a third of Xenia residents have incomes at or below the poverty line. That leaves about 38 percent who still might be capable of handling more taxes on top of the rising costs for gas, food, and most other goods and services.

What happens if Xenia voters do not approve any rebuilding plan? Will any money still be available for renovating or rebuilding school facilities in the future? I asked the Ohio School Facilities Commission that question, but I never got a response. The tobacco securitization funds will no longer be available after 2009. After that time, a portion of any funds the General Assembly budgets for school renovation and construction will be available to deserving school districts to help fund building projects.

Maybe what Xenia needs is a very wealthy patron saint or at least a few generous patrons. If a golden giver is not available or willing, maybe Congress would be disposed to redirect some of it golden earmarked pork to Xenia to cover the cost of building new schools. It would probably be more effective than the current stimulus plan and certainly healthier than their economy-killing subsidies to the ethanol industry. If Congress doesn’t have a heart to share more of its pork with Xenia, maybe the State of Ohio would give us back our 9 cent surcharge on all of our gas and electric. It seems only fair seeing the state no longer intends to give any of it to citizens for windmills or solar energy and similar renewable energy enhancements. The state didn’t give much of it to homeowners anyway. A lot of it was redirected to cover other state programs. The question we should be asking is why renters and homeowners are subsidizing the energy industry instead of education. Let business subsidize their own growth and innovations. Of course, the problem is convincing those who represent us in the Ohio General Assembly that it is a better idea than those propositions being argued by industry lobbyists.

Originally published on April 29 in the Xenia Daily Gazette.

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Xenia Community Schools Rebuilding Plan: Why Small Schools Are Best

Posted on October 22, 2008 by | 3 comments

By Daniel Downs

Part Two

As mentioned in part one, Xenia school administrators want to rebuild four elementary schools and convert Central Middle School into another. The rationale for reducing the number of elementary schools from seven to five is based on the state’s contradictory 350 minimum enrollment rule. The state will fund neither school renovations nor new buildings with projected enrollments under 350 students. For Xenia, super-sizing our schools mean almost all 1,100 middle school students will travel by bus to what is now the high school. It also means no more neighborhood schools for families now attending Spring Hill, Simon Kenton, or Cox.

I find two additional problems with both Ohio’s 350 rule and Xenia’s rebuilding plans. The first is with the Ohio Revised Code regulating school buildings. Ohio law requires the “[s]upport and facilitation of smaller classes and the trend toward smaller schools” while also requiring projected or actual school enrollment to be 350 or more. The Ohio School Facilities Commission may also waive this rule when “topography, sparsity of population, and other factors make larger schools impracticable.” Here is an apparent contradiction in Ohio law that needs changed to reflect acknowledged best practice criteria, which also related to the other problem.

Urban school districts have tried super-sized schools. Both student behavior and academic performance declined significantly enough to cause many urban districts to return to smaller neighborhood schools. These are facts revealed in a study titled Reducing the Negative Effects of Large Schools. A national study called Smaller, Safer, Saner Successful Schools found schools with less than 350 students have better learning environments in which academic achievement is higher, dropouts are less, behavioral problems are fewer, and teacher satisfaction is greater than for larger schools. However, an older study by Kathleen Cotton titled School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance sets the maximum at 300-400 for elementary schools and 400-800 for secondary schools. As mentioned in Ohio law, the best schools are small schools.

Under Xenia’s rebuilding plan, enrollment at all combined elementary schools, except Tecumseh, will likely be over 400 students. The combined middle school enrollment will be over 1,100 and the high school currently has over 1,400 students. The above research presented case studies of successful large schools that were reorganized into smaller schools or units. Many were restructured similar to the magnet school concept but the various specialty schools were all located in the same building. By creating smaller schools under-one-roof, teacher and student interaction increased resulting in greater satisfaction and higher achievement.

Still some question whether super-sizing Xenia schools will adversely affect teacher performance and student learning. Fairborn City Schools latest test results suggest that students in larger elementary school settings can perform relatively well—comparable to some of Xenia primary schools. Yet, a comparison of all Xenia elementary schools shows that the top performing schools have enrollments under 300. In three of the four top performing schools, 54 to 62 percent of students come from economically disadvantaged homes. The percent of students from low-income homes at the fourth and the highest performing school is about 24 percent. This school also has the fourth highest percentage of minority students. Two of the other higher performing schools had the highest percentage of minorities in the school district. All of which points to smaller schools as the primary factor for more students achieving a proficiency score or higher on state achievement tests. The four highest performing schools also produced a higher percentage of students achieving accelerated and advanced scores locally and two of these schools exceeded state averages as well.

One attendee at the Xenia Community School District Forum brought up another issue that Xenia residents should consider. By 2011, Wright Patterson AFB will have gained 1,100 new military personnel who are being transferred mostly from the Brooks City Base located near San Antonio, Texas. They will be looking for new homes. Families with children will be looking for communities with the best schools and good neighborhoods. Xenia will have a hard time attracting them without bringing our schools up-to-date. As noted above, the best schools are small schools. According the study titled School Facility Conditions and Student Academic Achievement, the best schools also include safe, well lighted, and temperature-controlled learning environments with the presence of windows.

During the building tour, Robert Smith said state maintenance leaders rate Xenia maintenance staff and schools very high. Nevertheless, schools like Cox need building upgrades and repairs. One of the pictures on the School District website shows standing water near the building. Current environmental safety law, also known as Jared’s Law, mandates the elimination of the causes of any standing water near school buildings, flooding, or any other water damage. The law also mandates that plumbing and electrical systems be in good operating condition. As mentioned in part one, Cox requires considerable plumbing and well as well as electrical system renovation. One of the boilers is inoperable, some of the piping needs replaced, and bathroom facilities needs renovated. The electrical system is inadequate to handle computers and air conditioning and its circuit breakers are obsolete. In other words, Cox needs increased electrical service as well as new service panels and breakers. How much the repairs would actually cost was unknown.

Therefore, I think it would be beneficial to Xenia taxpayers to see an actual building-by-building detailed cost estimate of needed repairs and renovations renovations to compare with estimate costs of the current rebuilding plans.

Originally published on April 28 in the Xenia Daily Gazette

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Xenia Community Schools Rebuilding Plan: What I Learned at the Forum

Posted on October 21, 2008 by | 3 comments

By Daniel Downs

Part One

While growing up, I attended public school in Xenia. I went to GJVS, Xenia High, West (now Warner) Jr. High, and the infamous Cox Elementary. On April 2, I returned to Cox. No, I was not having a senior moment. I was not attending a children’s program nor was I attempting to get in touch with my earlier self—whatever that means. I returned to Cox to attend the second of three Xenia Community School District Forums lead by Wright State University Center for Urban and Public Affairs (CUPA) staff.

The program began with a tour of the building. Leading the tour was maintenance supervisor Robert Smith. He presented a history of Cox Elementary school expansions, renovations, and problems. Smith pointed out several current problems such as an antiquated electrical system not capable of being properly maintained or handling needed computer systems and air conditioning. Another issue was old plumbing and bathroom facilities needing renovated as well as a collapsed drainage pipe and occasional flooding. When asked about the cost of fixing those problems, Smith said he would not venture a guess. He did indicate that those repairs would entail a major renovation.

I think Smith committed a Freudian slip when he said, “I will have plenty of money for maintenance whether new schools are built or not.” That statement led me to believe the school district has enough money to fix the current problems. But, in light of the nearly $122.5 million building project, I might have committed a subliminal misunderstanding.

After the tour, WSU-CUPA staff presented a general overview of the present situation. The state has determined that no Xenia school building except the current high school and the Central High School meets the two-thirds rule. The rule means the state will not fund any building renovation that would costs two-thirds or more of the cost to build a new facility. Originally, the Ohio School Facilities Commission had condemned all Xenia school buildings under the two-thirds rule but Xenia school officials argued that the two newest facilities were compliant with disability regulations. They also proposed a reuse plan for the current high school and Central Middle School. The high school would house all middle school students and Central Middle School would be converted into an elementary school. The state liked the reuse plan and consequently waived the two-thirds rule.

According to the state law, it is possible to renovate schools even when costs will exceed the two-thirds rule. The Ohio School Facilities Commission will waive the rule based on factors such as the historical significance of a building, adequacy of a school’s structure, space, classroom size, and egress. Other factors used to evaluate schools are quality of lighting and air, long-term durability, and the ability to meet American Disability Act standards. Consequently, Xenia could possibly renovate the historically significant central office building and most of the schools.

According to board member Bill Spahr, another state rule is that all schools must have at projected enrollment of at least 350 students to receive Ohio School Facilities Commission funding, which explains why Xenia school administrators plan to reduce the number of elementary schools from seven to five. Super-sizing Xenia schools also means almost all middle school students will travel by bus to what is now the high school. It means no more neighborhood schools for families now attending Spring Hill, Simon Kenton, or Cox.

The plan to build new schools at current school locations with sufficient land makes sense. Doing so will allow students to continue meeting in the same buildings until new ones are built. However, I see a conflict with the 350 rule and the current rebuilding plan. For example, building a new school at Tecumseh will not change its enrollment of 280 students. Up the road towards town is Shawnee with an enrollment of 288. Children now attending Shawnee will likely attend what is now Central Middle School. Because a complete renovation is not planned for Central, the 350 rule doesn’t apply. School administrators are not planning to rebuild at Spring Hill. So where will its students go? Will the 219 children attending Spring Hill be bused to Central or will a new school be built to service both Spring Hill students and those living at Wright Cycle Estates? Or will children living in the areas between South Detroit and Bellbrook Avenue get a new school? If so, will the 380 children attending Simon Kenton combine with the 383 at McKinley instead of the 239 students at Arrowood? Where does that leave the 346 children attending Cox? Where do school officials plan to bus them? To Tecumseh?

I think building a new school at Cox would be a better use of school property. It would at least give Cox students a school in reasonable proximity to their neighborhoods. Remember, those most affected by the rebuilding plan are elementary age children and their parents.

Originally published on April 26 in the Xenia Daily Gazette

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Ohio Led-Democrats Trample Down Law to Get More Votes

Posted on October 1, 2008 by | Leave a comment

According to a report by the Washington Post, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled late Tuesday to deny the Ohio Republican Party’s emergency motion for an injunction limiting same-day early voter registration and voting. Under the direction of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, county boards of election are allowing voters to register and vote on the same day, during a one-week window from Sept. 30 through Oct. 6.

Republicans argue that because state law requires voters to be registered for 30 days before casting a ballot, the procedure should be banned. Brunner said the process should continue because the votes will not be counted until Election Day. The Supreme Court of Ohio and a federal district court in Cleveland on Monday agreed with Brunner.

Politicians making it easier to register and vote is good policy. Shredding current law with the blessing of the Courts is another, which what SS Brunner and her blacked robed supporters sitting on high did.

Is it really to reduce long lines or to enfranchise more voters? Not really. Violating current law can never be justified by great political schemes. Scheming democrats know leftist activists are in the hoods convincing people to register and vote. The hint is that if they do their brotha’ will help them become more middle class through better community welfare programs. This is standard policy of get-out of poverty by voting for their Democrat (read it quick and cough a few times) benefactors.

This practice has been going for a long time and the poor are still poor. They still have the same issues with blighted neighborhoods, poor city services, low-income, crime on every street corner, little good health care, poor diets, and on and on. Unless they are true believing dependents on sugar daddy uncle Sam, they still have the same problems they have had for decades.

Some of advocates like ACORN, and others are seeking to help the poor. Sometimes they do. They helped them get loans and mortgages that they cannot not pay. They often have had to pay 3-4 times more to get payday loans for quick cash. Some inner-city poor actually work hard but still have little hope to achieve the American Dream. Many are single parenting moms, who should vote.

The problems is–and I have worked for ACORN while living in another state–multimillion dollar activist organizations like ACORN do not help people move beyond poverty they maintain. It’s true they make being poor a little better. With the cooperation of Washington politicians and rich elites, many poor are enabled to enjoy much of the good life, meaning having a decent place to live, cars, cell phones, computers, nice clothes, good food, and other stuff. It must be wonderful to have all that stuff only for the price of human dignity, much dependency, and little freedom.

Leading Ohio Dems desire to continue their paternal role over their poor benefactors. They also want the blessing of the superiors in party and on Capitol Hill. I’m sure Obama and company will shower may blessing on them and their grateful children.

I think the poor would show less prejudice by voting for McCain and Palin. They would be better off if while doing so they speak with one voice their demand for serious investment in their community, more justice economic policies to assist all willing to work to move out of poverty in order pay their own way. And just think, real prosperity and productivity would increase the local tax revenues and circulation of earned money, more consumerism, more employer-employee purchased health care insurance, paid more genuinely qualified loans, and the economic and political elites would still see the wealth trickle up into their coffers.

Wouldn’t that make a better world in which to live?

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Dayton Avenue Redevelopment : Will It Be Apartments, Houses, or YMCA

Posted on July 10, 2008 by | Leave a comment

by Daniel Downs

Have you noticed the empty space on Dayton Avenue where Kroger’s and other retail stores were once located? Xenia official’s Downtown Strategic Plan envisions the vacant site filled with townhouses and a mini-park. That is why Paran Developers of Cleveland purchased the land. They want to build those apartments, but council members are still debating whether it right thing to do.

I’m wondering why any city official would welcome another apartment complex especially across from Cox Elementary? Would it bring in more tax revenue? Would it create more profit for Allison Avenue businesses? Would it improve the residential area that exists on both sides of that vacant space?

Council members John Caupp and Dale Louderback addressed the first question during a June council meeting. Councilman Caupp said that renters do pay property taxes because those taxes are included in their monthly rental rate. By adding more high-end apartments like those at Deer Creek, Caupp believes Xenia would benefit by more tax dollars. Councilman Louderback, who is involved in the real estate market, disagrees with Councilman Caupp. He said “very little [tax] revenue is generated from apartments.” He also pointed out that there is little demand for more apartments evidenced by three unoccupied apartment buildings and no waiting list at the newly developed Deer Creek complex.

Although the City may get some tax revenue from more apartments, the relatively little amount alone does not justify more of them.

Looking at the Plan, I count about 44 rental units. If half of high-end apartment renters would buy gas from the nearby Sunoco station, some food from Aldi, pizzas occasionally from Cassano’s and Domino’s Pizzerias, and occasionally some prescription drugs, those businesses net profits would increase but not by very much. Using US Department of Commerce 2006 data, net profit margins of retail gas stations is about 6.5 percent. For grocery stores it is around 5 percent. The average profit margin of pharmacies is 3 percent and probably 3 percent or less for Pizzerias. If each of the 22 new residents purchased 20 gallons of gas each week plus cigarettes or food items, Sunoco owners would see annual net profits increase about $5,950. JB Williams claims retail profit on gas alone is only one cent per gallon. If so, Sunoco’s annual profits would only increase by $228 if the hypothetical new residents only bought gas. Likewise, if 22 of the new residents bought $30 in groceries from Aldi each week, Aldi’s annual net profit would increase about $1,716. Other nearby store would benefit even less. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Council could justify the building of more apartments based on any substantial benefits to nearby businesses.

It must be admitted any quality development in that ugly empty space would be an aesthetic improvement. However, an apartment complex towering between nearly houses would look odd. Like the residents who signed the petition against this development—which by the way, never stopped any such development in the past—the planned apartment complex does not seem like a good idea. Single occupant houses or condos would be a better design. This type of development might not give the developers residual income but it would be more appropriate to the exist housing.

There is another reason to oppose the proposed apartment complex. In the city plans, a recreational development also was proposed. Councilman Caupp said, “the council would love to have the property developed for recreational use. Unfortunately, no one has come forward to purchase that land to make that type of investment in our community.” The YMCA has considered building its new facility on the vacant site. It is understandable why there has been little mention of it. The Council, Xenia School Board, and many others are hoping voters will approve the plan to build new schools and especially the Under-One-Roof plan.

With various financial experts claiming the effects of recession will last several years, voters approving a $66.5 million bond issue is a very big contingency. There is no guarantee citizens will be crazy enough to increase their tax burden. With the apartment proposal not likely to ease their tax burden, the City Council should not approve any proposed development plan until after November elections. Who knows, the council may get its wish for a new recreational development.

Councilman Louderback is right; whether voters approve the bond issue or not, city council should not approve any plan until they know what the area residents want. It is their neighborhood; it is their city, not residual-profit seeking developers.

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