The number of stupid things that comes out of Mayor Greg Ballard's mouth is unbelievable. Lucky for him, he has a disconnected local news media in this town which could care less how incompetent he is as long as he keeps the money flowing to the professional sports teams and he keeps the downtown mafia assuaged. On his blockheaded idea to borrow $150 million against future transportation dollars the state may or may not continue sharing with the city, Ballard says that "everyone knows it's in the best interest." "Shocking" is his reaction to a council committee voting down his plan last week. "The borrowing is just against future transportation dollars," he says. "It' s not against income or property tax dollars. He continues, "Then we can leverage almost $200 million more out of that, and then we can have another big impact on the City of Indianapolis . . . fix every priority one and two surface road in the City of Indianapolis. . . many more sidewalks--over $50 million in new sidewalks . . . finish the connectivity plan for the trails and all that." "The fact that they we do that is shocking," he concluded. By the way, didn't he previously claim that the over $400 million he spent from Rebuild Indy funds from the sale of the water and sewer utilities addressed all of those priority one and two surface roads when he was running for re-election in 2011?
On the City's bid for a new Super Bowl bid in 2018, Ballard said, "We have the money to carry this out." Yeah, we may not have money to fund public safety or other basic city services, but we have millions of dollars to throw away chasing another Super Bowl bid. Ballard says that he's talked to Herb Simon about the additional subsidies that he is seeking. Ballard says that Simon ran Banker's Life Fieldhouse on his own dime for ten years "out of the goodness of his heart" but now says, "Hey, I can't do this anymore." The Mayor reasons that the Colts don't have to pay any of the expenses to operate Lucas Oil Stadium so why should the Pacers. As far as he's concerned, it's just fine if both teams get to use these taxpayer-financed facilities for free and keep all of the revenues they generate from both game and non-game events. After all, the billionaire sports team owners deserve that money more than Indianapolis taxpayers.
Read the full interview with our mentally-challenged mayor at Indy Politics here. Incidentally, while he takes a swipe at the council for voting down his reckless tax, borrow and spend policies, he and his wife are leaving the country on his ninth overseas junket financed by his pay-to-play friends for whom he really works right in the middle of intense budget discussions that he claims are so important. Nothing like keeping his own selfish priorities in order. If we had a real reporters in this town, they would have demanded years ago full disclosure of how much those trips are costing and which city contractors are contributing money to Develop Indy to pay for them.
It is simply not true that borrowing $150 million leverages $200 million. The $200 million is DPW's current projected expenditures over the next three years. The $150 million adds to that. It doesn't "leverage" that money.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter, Paul. The media has decided that whatever comes out of Ballard's mouth is what the downtown mafia has decided must be done and that ends the discussion. Don't confuse anyone with the facts.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking on international "press junkets"...one thing that is important to point out, but very hard to prove, is the likelihood that the J.W. Marriot gives free worldwide accommodations to political cronies and key decisionmakers in muncipal and state government. It's a dirty little secret, and without a massive investigation into it, impossible for the public to do anything about.(http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2011/08/jw-marriott-claims-video-surveillance.html)
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting the IRS to do anything about it; higher-ups from our local branch socialize with the Ballards! I think being handed free accommodations allows Ballard and his administrashies to forgive themselves of their trespasses. In my encounters with these folks, my impression is that they (the administrashies) delude themselves into thinking that they are an integral part of the local economy and are thus more than justified in "taking a little off the top" here and there. It's something that the rest of us who aren't good enough to be in the know would ever understand. In their minds they are heroes. They don't seem to have the decency or basic civility to understand the indignity and the harm they do by corrupting and eroding out institutions that provide for quality of life.
Unfortunately the local branch of IRS doesn't seem to want to audit Ballard or his many duckies who can't help themselves. It seems more and more that the so-called "elites" in this region don't go after one another as there is honor among thieves. It's you and me that they have contempt for. In their minds government is designed to keep the commoners poor by extracting larger and larger sums from the unworthy, and make officials and their cliques of clowns rich beyond their wildest dreams.We are nothing more than prey, lambs for the slaughter upon an altar of greed. If you have any question about their contempt ,just look at the effort they put into suppressing the sneers on their faces when they're asked a direct, honest, and fair question (re: footage of Ballard, or even recently Lori Miser). Welcome to the dawning of a new age of Serfdom.