🐓 When Bills Come Due 🐓
What will happen when the rich have to pay their fair share?
Dabo Swinney got shoved into a pine box and I’m not going to lie… I got a new coffee table coming to me and also there may be some typos today. I’m sorry but it’s only so often you can see a Christian Charlatan crash and burn in 21st century America.
Yeah, go ahead and fast forward to next December when No. 1 Ohio State faces No. 4 Clemson in the College Football Playoff Semifinal.
Until then big congrats to the LSU Tigers and everyone in Louisiana except these asshole cops who think their words hold any power in New Orleans:
If you’re bored and/or hungover at work today here’s the latest episode of The Sadcast where we discuss the Browns’ doom:
ROBBING THE POOR TO PAY THE RICH
The Corporate Democrats that run Columbus deflect criticism about their wanton use of real estate tax developments by pointing out that no city council member that has ever voted for a tax abatement has been voted out.
That of course ignores the how the Establishment has stacked the electoral deck in its favor over the years, but nobody ever said the Centrist Mind wasn’t a magical palace of half-truths and hypocrisy.
Eventually these abatements will run dry and the people that own them will be expected to pay their fair share in taxes? What happens then? Let’s see how the liberal NPR covered the issue.
From Nick Evans of wosu.org:
"What I really see when I look at the Short North is a great example of the successful use of incentives," says Michael Stevens. "And how to strategically drive investment not only for job growth but residential growth."
Stevens is Columbus’ interim director of development. He’s right that the Short North has become one of the most desirable swaths of real estate in the region, and that property tax breaks have played a significant role in that growth.
Ah! Well first up we have the city employee whose job is to propagate the idea of development in Columbus. Hard to believe endorses his bosses’ ideas.
John Royer has worked in real estate for the past three decades, with a front row seat to the area's growth. We met up in a bustling café on High Street just before the after-work rush.
"It’s changed dramatically in 32 years, rest assured," he says, cracking a grin.
Royer is a big believer in tax incentives, but he cautions overplaying their direct impact.
"I don’t think the abatements have propped up the real estate market in the last five years in the Short North, so I don’t believe there will be a drag just based on the abatements rolling off," Stevens says. "I believe that as the economy continues to grow in Columbus and the region, we’ll continue to see that market staying strong."
But the strength of that market—the attractiveness of the neighborhood for commercial and residential development—have some wondering if it’s time for abatements in general to go away.
Ah! A real estate agent! Another totally unbiased person in this debate. And yet even he realizes that abatements do little else than give money to rich developers.
Meanwhile these abatements take money out of the coffers of local public schools. Somehow this is simply the price of progress in Central Ohio where we don’t even have light-rail service.
SHOCKING: HOMELESS PEOPLE LIVE IN BIG CITIES
“Homelessness” is a topic that has been in the news lately primarily because President Business Deals, the fake billionaire president, has used it as an issue to convince working people that America’s problems are caused by people without housing.
Apparently homelessness is on the decline throughout Ohio except in the one metro area that is growing.
From Nick Evans of wosu.org:
Around Ohio, most metros showed decreases in 2019, including double-digit drops in Cleveland and Youngstown. Cincinnati’s count dipped by nearly 3%.
But in Columbus, officials tallied roughly 1,800 people, which represents a 5.5% increase from the year before.
Community Shelter Board executive director Michelle Heritage is part of the Columbus and Franklin County Continuum Of Care—the organization that runs the survey.
“More people in this region mean more people are also going to be experiencing homelessness,” Heritage explains. “And we predict anywhere from 100-150 additional people will become homeless each year just in Franklin County because of population.”
Across the state, Ohio counted a total of 10,345 people experiencing homelessness in 2019. That’s a slight increase compared to 2018, but about 18% lower than in 2010.
When it comes to the survey’s impact on local policy, Heritage cautions making too much of the annual count - saying it’s a sledgehammer, not a scalpel. That’s because the survey is only a snapshot, and variables like the weather can make a significant impact on the count.
I could go on a five-mile walk in Franklinton and the Hilltop and probably find more than 300 vacant homes. The only reason homelessness is a problem is because our politicians don’t care enough to do anything about it.
But the homelessness “problem” doesn’t just belong to the Columbus Democratic machine. It also belongs to the State Republicans who talk about being pro-life while 25,600 homeless students try to get an education in the school system their state government stripped of adequate funding.
From Jake Zuckerman of capitalblogohio.com:
On any given weekday, about 25,600 homeless students — 1.5% of all enrollees — walked into Ohio’s K-12 schools, according to state data from the 2018-2019 school year.
Thirteen years ago, it was 7,560, or 0.5% of enrolled students.
The data comes from the Ohio Department of Education, which is required under the 1987 McKinney-Vento law to track the number of homeless students enrolled and provide them certain resources like transportation and meals.
As a student my parents always had a house. I never worried about where my next meal would come from. And I was still a mediocre student. Obviously some students will rise above those circumstances but many more won’t. And then these same Republicans who set them up for failure will spend the rest of their careers telling them it’s their fault for not pulling themselves up by the boot straps before sending them to prison for possessing seven grams of heroin.
NATIONAL MEDIA DISCOVERS COLUMBUS HAS FOOD OPTIONS
[Photo: Way Down Yonder Restaurant, located in an old Long John Silver’s]
Lord knows I criticize Columbus. However one of the best things about our growing city is the expansion of quality food in all parts of the town. The national media is starting to take notice! Who knew us bumpkins could cook some cuisine?
From usatoday.com:
Clustered on the northeast side of Columbus, some of the city’s ethnic restaurants are located in former fast-food joints. For instance, Dabakh Restaurant is located in an old Burger King eatery.
…
Najmeddine Gabbar displays his signature lamb mandi plate, which he cooks fresh several times daily at Yemeni Restaurant. Gabbar, a native of Dearborn, Michigan, imports spices, tea and other staples from Yemen to make his food as authentic as possible. “Ninety percent of my customers have never had Yemeni food, but it’s very well known in the Middle East.” he says. “It’s very authentic, like a homemade food.”
…
Tarek Abu Kweik uses specialized spoons to shape balls of falafel at Mediterranean Food Imports and Grocery in Columbus. Mediterranean Food Imports has two stores in Columbus, including one in the Ohio State University area.
This is one example of why smart cities welcome immigrants and Americans from other states. Despite what Fox News might say, immigration is a boon for cities in every sector.
Because I don’t know about you but I would rather have a local business that serves international food than a Burger King or Long John Silver’s or whatever the fuck.
WOMEN WHO THINK ABORTION IS MURDER: OHIO REPUBLICAN PARTY IS SYSTEMICALLY SEXIST AGAINST WOMEN
The Ohio Republican Party failed to endorsed four extremely right-wing candidates who are women, chief among them Candice Keller the state representative who blamed the Dayton mass murder on gay dope-smoking pagan NFL players who kneel during the nation.
A group of fellow Republican women who think abortion is murder are now on the brink of realizing the state party doesn’t respect women.
This is like when President Business Deals attacks Jeff Bezos He’s right… but not for the reason he thinks he is.
THOSE WMDs. Nine words that will bamboozle you… Who signs up for a fight? Makeup of U.S. recruits shows a glaring disparity… My decade as a fugitive… I felt I could be killed at any moment… The day that never happened… Why do so many incompetent men become leaders?