Here’s part of the City of El Paso’s Strategic Plan, which I lifted from their website.
Look at 6.6.
Does any of that sound like it’s going to save you any money?
Where do you suppose those potential new revenue streams are going to come from? Are they going to sell dope from the police evidence locker? Hold a bake sale? Raffle off a cop car?
Any potential new revenue streams are sapping money from the taxpayers’ (or maybe just the citizens’) bank accounts, and that’s robbing the private sector of income. It’s socialism writ large, and I don’t mean the good kind of socialism like healthcare reform or raising the minimum wage. It’s the bad kind of socialism, like government intrusion into free enterprise.
Like the water parks. What business does our City Government have competing against private businesses for the community’s entertainment dollar?
Like the ballpark. What business does our City Government have subsidizing wealthy investors so that they can compete for the community’s entertainment dollar?
Like TopGolf. What business does the our City Government have giving tax incentives to convince an out-of-town corporation to move to El Paso to compete for the community’s entertainment dollar?
The City of El Paso should be taking care of their legitimate duties, like maintaining our streets, instead of looking for new endeavors that only cost the taxpayers money.
Maybe instead of looking for new revenue streams and holding bond elections, the City should learn to live within its budget.
Amen, Rich. Keep up the good work.
My favorite from the 2020 plan the #1 goal, “Multipurpose Cultural and Performing Arts Center construction underway with parking solutions identified.” Well. The MCPAC, aka “the arena” is not yet underway, and as for those parking solutions…but someone show me where the bond issue package included “CONSTRUCTION” of this center. It was for “IMPROVEMENTS!”
“I don’t mean the good kind of socialism like healthcare reform or raising the minimum wage.” Rich, typically you stand out as rather economically literate, especially compared with other local bloggers on El Paso matters. This statement, however, perhaps meant to make the economic illiterate more receptive to the rest of your message is still offering poison to the sick. Just one guy’s opinion anyway. Socialism is theft, and is destructive, no matter how you dress it up with bows and perfumes.
Healthcare and Education are two markets with continuous failing in quality provided by the state, alongside rising costs, alongside rising regulation and subsidy. So from where I’m standing if you want better healthcare and better education, cut out the socialism.
Minimum Wage is another poison pill, but I’m sure you’ve heard the arguments.
Excuse me, the state provides health care? Even on Medicare I go to private doctors…and before Medicare it was private doctors….fortunately I’ve been able to afford that care, even for cancer treatment, but I have many friends in the cancer community who’ve been unable to get the treatment they needed because their private insurance companies would not pay for it. How is that the result of “rising regulation and subsidy?”
James, we already have socialism in America for public goods. Stuff like public safety, and highways, and parks. Are you suggesting that we turn over all of those to the private sector? Without increasing the minimum wage? How do you suppose that will work out?