Principal Arrogance

Updated below (11:00am and 12:30pm and 2:00pm):



From the (holding my nose and linking) Des Moines Register:

Meredith Corp. posted table tents in the cafeteria urging its 1,150 part- and full-time employees in the Des Moines area to "Say yes on July 10," said Jenny McCoy, a spokeswoman for the company. Mercy Medical Center sent messages to its 6,000 employees through electronic and paper employee bulletins about today's election. A spokeswoman said Wells Fargo also sent out a "get out and vote" message urging employees to get educated about today's election.

Combined, the three companies have donated $155,000 to the Yes to Destiny campaign.

Principal Financial Group, one of the metro area's largest employers and property owners, also touted the sales tax plan and, in a company-wide e-mail sent Monday, encouraged employees to vote. The company has donated $100,000 to the campaign.

Principal's e-mail explained why the company supports the plan - to retain and draw employees - and provided employees with a link to the Yes to Destiny Web site. The opposition was not mentioned.

"It's an endorsement of Project Destiny from the Principal's standpoint," said Senior Vice President Mary O'Keefe. "We really don't try to be so presumptuous of people as to tell them how to vote."

What a liar.

One year ago, when Project Destiny was put on hold, a Des Moines Register news story said:

A plan that would have asked voters in November to approve a 1-cent sales tax in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties has been put on hold for a year.

Advocates of the plan generally agreed that the political climate was not right for the proposal to gain the majority vote needed to pass. They cited the cesspool of mistrust in elected officials created by the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium salary scandal.

Controversy over how Polk County school officials have spent sales tax money also has hurt the chances that the proposal would pass, they said.

And a year ago, this blog replied to that with: "Like sentiment is going to change in the next year?"

And don't forget the tone deaf Register Editorial Board's take last summer:

There were other strikes against the sales-tax proposal besides the poster child for government ineptitude. It did not help when local governments were unfairly thrashed during the Legislature's battle with the governor over eminent domain...

The basic concept is a good one...

The decision to push the sales-tax referendum until next summer was a recognition of an altered electoral climate.

And this blog's reply:


"OK, whatever you say, Register Editorial Board."

And, finally, my predictions Jack Germond from last summer:

Can you imagine how nasty the climate will be then? Archie Brooks and Tom "Rubber Stamp" Vlassis will probably still be on the Des Moines City Council because they'll have to die before they'll resign. More CIETC scandal stuff will keep trickling out. People will continue to talk about this, especially us bloggers. Project Density is so fucked.

Brooks resigned in early August. Tom "Rubber Stamp" Vlassis is still around. CIETC stuff is still trickling out. People kept talking, largely in part to the Comments sections of Des Moines Register stories about Project Destiny, which have been entertaining and amusing.

That's a pretty good batting average, eh?

Back in December, this blog predicted that Destiny would lose: 80% No and 20% Yes. I stand by those numbers.


11am update:

From the comments section of the tax vote story in today's Des Moines Register (holding my nose and linking):

"All I've ever heard from the opposition is no, No, NO, HELL NO, and F NO. What about offering a solution instead? What should be done to sustain the economic vitality of the region? I'd love to hear your lack of ideas. "

What a loser.

The unemployment rate in the Des Moines metro area is 3%. That's three point zero percent. In Dallas County it's about 2.5%. And it's about 2.8% in Warren County. What sort of economic problems could possibly be going on with unemployment rates so low?

The problem here is that greedy corporations, flush with profits and arrogance, think they can buy off the local politicians, newspaper, and taxpayers on the cheap by implementing a scam that gives them a property tax break.

Local politicians in Des Moines (mostly Democrats), notorious for corruption, nepotism, and greed, need more tax money in order expand even further. They can't jack up property tax rates at double digit percentage levels forever, you know.

Just remember this: Tax abatements and TIF financing to every company with their hand out didn't solve their problems. Gambling didn't solve their problems. A local option sales tax for schools didn't solve their problems. State grants haven't solved their problems. And Federal funding of nearly everything else didn't solve their problems.

You know, 25 years ago the Iowa sales tax rate was still 3%. Public schools were funded with community property taxes. How in the world did we manage back then? 25 years ago, Des Moines still had a zoo, numerous parks with trails, the Civic Center, Vet's Auditorium, a botanical center, and many other attractions. Principal Financial Group was always a big deal downtown, as were all the other insurance companies, banks, and publishing firms that support the Destiny scam. They were somehow able to manage growth and hiring employees without falling apart.

This insatiable lust for tax money by government and corporate fools has got to stop.


12:30pm update:

I got an email from Ed Fallon the other day:

Regarding tomorrow’s vote on the proposed local option sales tax for Polk, Dallas and Warren counties . . . we’ve been asked to share our opinion on the matter. (For those outside the Des Moines metro, this may be relevant in your community some day, so please bear with us.) After lots of study and dialogue, we’re recommending a “no” vote, but not without significant excitement about the plan itself.

Here's how delusional Ed Fallon has become, the email continues:

Yes, we need to do a lot more for culture, the arts and trails. Investing in these amenities will help make Iowa and the Des Moines metro even more dynamic and sustainable places to live and work.

However, the trails discussion has been almost exclusively about recreation. The focus should be on trails as part of our biking transportation infrastructure. Like other places that take biking seriously (the Netherlands and Portland, Oregon), there’s absolutely no reason the Des Moines metro couldn’t see 25% of its commuters getting to and from work by bike most of the year

Oh.

No.

Please.

Ed.

Shut UP!!!

It gets worse:

So, what should happen? First and foremost, Destiny proponents should join with those of us who have been working for years to support a slate of legislative reforms that would provide more than enough money to pay for Destiny-type projects, not just in central Iowa but across the state. Build a statewide coalition to:

• Allow local governments to enact an income surtax to pay for Destiny-type improvements

Stop right there.

Oh, Ed. What are you smoking? Is it crack? Jesus Christ, you've lost your mind.

Look around at any city with a local income tax and you will see shitholes of corruption and crime. Or property values so expensive that only the super rich can afford to live there.

You want Tom "Rubber Stamp" Vlassis in charge of more money? You want somebody like Archie Brooks in charge of the revenue from a local income tax? John Mauro?

Somebody drug test Ed Fallon, please.

Fallon does have some other suggestions, like reducing TIFs and tax abatements, which are good ideas. BUT.... the "income surtax" was first on Fallon's list of suggestions!

2:00 pm Update:

Scroll down to the comment at 1:55pm by "altoonacat" in this story:

Well, that small, unscientific sample is 80% no, 20% yes. Hopefully it is somehow representative. Hopeful, especially given the Register's history of sugar coating Deadstiny.

Did you notice the one "yes" person said they hoped property taxes "would not go up"? Loved that!

Me, too.

And no, I'm not "altoonacat"!

80% NO, 20% yes. Where have you heard that before?