tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post7305798038183999483..comments2024-03-25T13:42:25.771-05:00Comments on Advance Indianaâ„¢: The Kabuki Dance Begins: IMPD Understaffed Because Taxpayers Aren't Paying Enough TaxesGary R. Welshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-9740933738549384712013-07-19T19:55:28.899-05:002013-07-19T19:55:28.899-05:00The fact of the matter is any developer who does n...The fact of the matter is any developer who does not demand a subsidy for downtown development is a chump. Bart and Greg have gotten them so used to being at the trough, developers cannot imagine not getting a boon from the City. We need a n entire new way of running the City. Here's hoping someone turns up.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08991215289688585215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-2770097169793572212013-07-19T15:59:03.010-05:002013-07-19T15:59:03.010-05:00"There is one simple reason there is not enou...<i>"There is one simple reason there is not enough funding for public safety: the corrupt politicians have diverted hundreds of millions in tax dollars to slush funds they use to finance the private development projects of the pay-to-play fat cats who essentially pay bribes to them to get public subsidies for their private development projects. Until we can find an honest prosecutor who starts sending corrupt politicians to prison for this corrupt practice, no level of taxation will be adequate. The more you are taxed, the more our government is plundered by these corrupt bastards."</i><br /><br />-Truer words never spoken! CircleCityScribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12691157547732269477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-74963401267048378902013-07-19T11:36:10.513-05:002013-07-19T11:36:10.513-05:00The Star article was pathetic as usual. A few quot...The Star article was pathetic as usual. A few quotes and nothing more. No real analysis of why we are on this road. If a Pacer or Colt was having hang nail surgery you would have columns and columns of print with the most trivial details. <br /><br />Our city resembles a Hollywood Set. Downtown is a a false front of prosperity, propped up subsidies. <br /><br />If crime was limited to certain areas it would be ignored. However it is spilling over into downtown. Downtown is like the "Green Zone" in Baghdad it must be protected at all costs. Thus, we now have this media-political concern about crime. If the rest of the city suffers-too bad, but we cannot downtown crime problems. Floggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10383015097067413086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-58881913767308838732013-07-19T09:50:20.630-05:002013-07-19T09:50:20.630-05:00The problem is that these new projects are (a) all...The problem is that these new projects are (a) all downtown; and (b) all located within a TIF district. That means none of the new tax dollars created from the new development generates tax revenues to fund other units of government; the new revenues are all diverted into the TIF slush funds to keep the Ponzi scheme alive. They claim the TIF base is protected, but a study of them proved that the tax base in several instances has been driven to zero in some of these Indianapolis TIF districts, meaning no revenues of any sort flow to benefit other units of government. <br /><br />The City operates from the position that no new development will take place downtown unless it is subsidized. I reject that premise. As long as the developers understand how the game is played, they are always going to demand subsidies. Why wouldn't they? If you're giving a developer $25 million to build a new hotel, I want the same to build a luxury apartment building. When efforts first began back in the 1970s to revitalize downtown Indianapolis, the subsidy may have been needed. But it was never envisioned that it would become a permanent way of conducting business. Downtown looks great, but so much of the rest of the city sucks--no sidewalks, bad streets, poor sewage system, a large number of abandoned buildings and so on. A vibrant downtown alone will not produce a vibrant city.Gary R. Welshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-73599474277106151682013-07-19T09:29:38.807-05:002013-07-19T09:29:38.807-05:00The argument holds, if you assume everything that&...The argument holds, if you assume everything that's built under subsidy would be built if there were no subsidy. If that's true, tax dollars are being diverted.<br /><br />If, on the other hand, what's being built under subsidy wouldn't be built without the subsidy, then nothing is being diverted, and, in fact when the properties so built do come onto the tax rolls, there will, in fact, be more money for the general fund.<br /><br />The problem, of course, is creating some sort of Vulcan mind meld into the psyche of individual developers to ascertain precisely what they would do under what circumstance, as opposed to taking them at their word.<br /><br />That's not easy, requires some level of expertise that may not currently exist in government, and currently leaves each development the subject of endless debate. <br /><br />Interesting world.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com