October 2013 Commentaries: The failure to raise all boats!

October 2013 Commentaries: The failure to raise all boats!: As I drive around Wake and neighboring counties I see the growth of the area thanks to an improving economy and a location which appear...

The failure to raise all boats!

As I drive around Wake and its neighboring counties I see the
growth thanks to an improving economy and a location which
appears to have endless opportunities and numerous amenities!

But, I also see beyond Wake county's horizon where the prospects
are not much better than when I moved here.  

These communities are falling behind, with little prospect of joining 

the counties thriving as they are the most desirous in the state. I'm
sure what I see is not limited to NC. Across the country the same

"recipe" is being applied, developers targeting prime areas and
ignoring most others.

States are aware of the problem, but unwittingly are doing exactly
what has created this problem, an economic divide. Among our 100
counties, the rich get richer while the poorer continue to struggle.

To combat this problem politicians offer manufactured govt.
solutions which rarely work for the long term in poorer counties.

Struggling counties use incentives to make them more appealing
based on the belief  this will  entice developers. Unfortunately,
any such enticement are rarely worth the cost!

No matter how many incentives are offered, demand to live and
work in the counties with the greatest opportunities will remain. 

Developers will continue to squeeze in as many businesses and
homes as they are allowed.  And, judging by the permits approved,
the "traffic signal" to control development is stuck on green!

Consider Cary, a town of 150,000, now 125,000 more than when
I moved here twenty-five years ago.  The projection is to grow to
200,000 within 3-4 years!  Yet, town govt. seems little concerned
beyond adding staff to provide services!

While Cary and other towns focus on their own responsibilities to
keep tax rates low by allowing excessive growth they are also sucking
the "oxygen" from so many towns on life support!

Wake, Durham and Chatham counties would be wise to limit
development and prioritize amenities for current residents.  There is
little need to build more schools for "growth". With a moratorium on development  counties can focus and invest to improve education for
150,000 Wake students rather than spend money to build new schools
for the next 50,000!

This is a very hard sell. Developers have no incentive to build in areas
where they will not  maximize their investment.

But, counties "incentives" must be more than greater revenue, its about
the quality of life for all North Carolinians, not only those who reside in
the high demand regions.

The evidence is clear.  Cary today would be unrecognizable to residents

living here twenty five years ago while hundreds of small towns across the
state look today as they did then.

Town officials in prosperous communities agree development should
continue as it has been the past fifty never.  But, they must recognize

what they do locally hurts countless communities across the state.

To aid small communities will take more than targeted tax breaks and
incentives. It will take a cooperative effort of rich and poor counties to
ensure development in prosperous communities don't hurt poorer ones.   ajbruno14@gmail.com

A Warning Worth Heeding, two-hundred and twenty years later!

"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, which in different ages & countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & repose in the absolute power of an Individual: and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty." 

 George Washington, September 19, 1796

George Washington said this six months before leaving office.  What he had observed troubled him, as he saw in America's future what most of us do not see in our present, the total disintegration of individual self-governing!

It may be more than odd that only the Washington Monument excludes a resemblance of George Washington.  Imagine if instead there was a statue of Washington's likeness peering down towards the Capitol to 'see' what he warned the nation of, not two chambers working in concert for the American people, but two parties working in conjunction to retain their power.

The American people have endured, even as the vitality of our nation slowly dies, leaving more than 300 million American solely dependent on a few hundred people who have amassed ultimate power over every part of our lives either directly with laws and regulations, or stealthy through the "conditioning" of American minds!

Our nation may survive, but not as it was intended to be. No, our corrupted governance has assured us it will never again rise to the heights our Founders envisioned!  We have swayed so far off the exact course painstaking developed we will never right our course until we have hit rock bottom where hopelessness triumphs over hollow acclamations that America remains the paragon of great governance.

There will be a time when the American people will get a peek behind the curtain and see the true intentions of those who govern.  They will see what they have never been told, that fraud, deceit, contempt and corruption are the tools of the political trade.  They will understand all the finger pointing is meant to delay actually doing something to address our nation's ills. For to heal our nation would mean to restore the power of governance to the American people.

Unfortunately, no one knows when this time will come, or the state of our nation when it does.

Welcome to share with others....

Oct. 8  "Our Establishment Government"

You may believe, as I did, when we selected a party to join we chose one which

would best represent our view on governance. However, when we take the time to

evaluate both major parties' positions on issues and the performance of elected

officials it  is difficult to distinguish either one from the other.

 

Now, if you are a Democrat this should not concern you, as most Democrats are

pleased with what has occurred over the last seventy years, the growth of the

Federal government with the addition of new agencies that involve themselves in

every aspect of our lives.

 

But, if you are a conservative Republican (not many conservative Democrats are

ever heard from) you must feel unrepresented as your elected official supported

the growth of government at the expense of principles the party said it stood for.

 

I have yet to see the Republican party seriously attempt to reign in any Federal

agency in the thirty-odd years it controlled the White House.  Nor, has a GOP

controlled Congress ever reduced funding of any agency.

 

The message is clear if you bothered to look, we do not have two political parties,

merely two branches of the "American Establishment Party".

 

But, this is not only true of  the US government, it is equally clear at the state

and local levels as well. 

 

Consider how each state administers education and health programs. No matter

Democratic or Republican led, they do what is required to ensure they  are in

compliance with the Federal agencies which use funding and regulations to keep

states in line, ignoring  each state was created sovereign NOT subservient!

 

Yet, to our elected officials at the state level the word "sovereign" has no meaning.

It has been replaced with another word, "compliance" for this will ensure Federal

dollars will continue to flow to states which bow at the alter of Federal authority.

 

And worse, even members of Congress do not fight for the states they claim to

represent as they too prefer Federal control rather than state control.

 

And, let us not forget municipal governing bodies, although most citizens rarely

take the time to learn what is occurring so close to their doorstep.

 

In cities and towns across the country, no matter which party is in control, whether

they are thriving or barely getting by, all defer to Washington and do what is

necessary to gain Federal dollars.

 

This can be seen in projects approved and how they are funded. Even for projects

public do not want local governing bodies approve them,  driven by self-interests.

 

The evidence can be seen throughout our country; local municipal councils support

the desires of business which fund their campaigns and compliance with Federal

standards to receive Federal dollars.

 

No matter, a new school or development, both will get approved...whether needed

or not.  It is rare when such projects are rejected as the justification is usually "solid"; 

school growth demands a new school, and economic growth requires another mall.

 

This is what we have become, an audience being entertained by political theater.

Tune in any night, listen to what these well rehearsed  "actors" (elected officials) 

have to say.

 

Notice how serious is their concern, and how quickly they have a solution, no matter

the complexity of the problem. They immediately know what is best, and offer

a neatly wrapped package enclosed with  more government control and taxpayer

money to fix the problem.

 

But, the performance of these actors will wear thin as the cost gets heavier with

each law passed, regulation applied, bond referendum approved and commercial

development built.

 

At some point we will be unable to sustain the wasteful "lifestyle" of the people we

elect.  The day is near, when the clock will strike twelve and their party will be over!

 

This is what happens when a nation founded without political parties creates two

distinct bodies and allowed them to morph into one, the American Establishment Party

which deliberately isolates itself from the American people.

 

There was a time when I believed conservatives could become a force in the 

Republican Party but I doubt it now. 

 

My view has changed for its current leadership has failed conservatism. And any 

claim this is not true is made by someone in denial.

 

Our original pray God Bless America was answered, perhaps its time He helps America.

 

 Oct. 18  "Mistaken Identity"

 

If you been following the news of what is going on in Washington you may have been 

led to believe the problem was within the Republican Party. The media, reading from 

the same script "reported" it was the Tea Party that hijacked the party, led by 'radical'

Ted Cruz.

No matter what station you tuned into...the message was the same, the Tea Party 

was the cause of the stalemate.

But, if you take the time to go beyond the label, something the media has not done 

since the Tea Party formed more than five years ago, define it.

And for good reason, to define it is lay in front of the American people the foundation

upon which our nation stands.....the US Constitution!

Its time every American who either is a member of, or support the

Tea Party, be proud 

that one group of US citizens understand the Federal government is not following the 

Constitution as it continues to erode individual freedom and state sovereignty. 

Its shameful that more citizens do not embrace what the Tea Party is doing, and 

worse, state legislatures do not stand up to the Federal govt as well.

Something to think about when you hear the media attack the Tea Party as obstructionists.

Oct. 29 "Our Mega-cities...what went wrong"

If we look at the older, major cities in the Eastern United States we can see a similar 

pattern,concentrated populations made up of primarily poor, under educated citizens.

When observed from the outside it is easy to see most of the citizens are minorities. 

And from this observation too many may conclude this has something to do with the 

poor conditions these people live in, and only a greater infusion of govt. aid is what

is needed.

But, this conclusion appears to made by noticing the "trees"  rather than the many 

"forests", which are the mega-cities built out of necessity due to the rapid growth in 

the early part of the Twentieth Century.

What we saw then but do not see now has been population shifts of non-English 

speaking immigrants learning our language, getting educated, gaining employment, 

saving, and leaving the cities...to suburban America.

This was the formula which helped our country grow into the largest economy in the

world. No 'smoke and mirrors' were required. only initiative, opportunity...tempered 

with patience.

But, something happened in the last fifty years which needs to be examined. The 

mega-cities have been transformed into unguarded prisons where citizens are 

incarcerated. 

Thanks to the 'helping hand' of govt. even the least educated citizens understands 

his or her own initiative could not be beneficial in the short term as govt aid would 

be lost. And, without the patience of previous residents in our mega-cities, they set

aside initiative and settle for a quality of life they do not prefer but feel resigned to 

accept.

But, why is this?  What happened in our mega-cities which held so much promise?

Simply, it is a problem of MASS overwhelming OPPORTUNITY.  There are too many 

peopleseeking too few jobs to allow them to follow in the footsteps of earlier 

generations of mega-city dwellers. 

Drive through these cities and you will see most jobs can be found in retail, food,

and a variety of low wage industries.  Only govt or

the

financial industry provide what 

I call "moving up and out incomes".

Consider

,

in a city of five million working adults approximately four million jobs pay

just enough for these workers to remain imprisoned in public housing and depend

ent

 

on govt assistance in the form of rent control and govt programs.

How can we prevent what occurred during the past fifty years from happening over the 

next several decades?

First, it is the recognition a mega-city only works when it is created with the aspiration 

of its citizens in mind, not merely the desires of city planners.

Second, let the aspirations once again become a reality....rather that a long past fable

told time and again about people who moved away and now enjoy a better quality of

life.

Third, the big question is HOW?  My answer may seem too simple, but I am a realist to
know it will not be easy as there will be strong resistance from the 'beneficiaries', the
politicians, govt. agencies, developers and other business interests who desire to leave
things as they are.

The answer is this, scale back population growth, no matter the demand. Increasing the 

population in an already overgrown mega-city does more harm than good, it worsens 

the problems of current residents and does not provide the benefits new residents desire.  

In short, a worsening condition for more people.

The only sure winners are the developers who benefit when manufactured supply/demand

drives up the value of their properties, but does nothing for residents whose dream of 

home ownership....is just that....a distant dream.

Scaling back development is not as easy as proposing it.  But, it can be done.  And the 

forces to achieve this are already in place....its the current residents of the mega-cities.  

Once they are convinced THEY are the power to make "meaningful changes".

These Meaningful Changes....are not an increase in federal aid, or any other benefit they 

are entitled to.  It is much more!

The changes include a moratorium on residential growth, for this is the one thing which will

allow current residents to better themselves as the cost of govt services will

stabilize and 

there will be less competition for scarce better paying jobs, and provide better education in 

less crowded schools.  

 

This single step would put in motion these essential change which will to a better quality of 

life as put opportunities within reach for anyone no matter his circumstances.

These will be the seeds that will allow the next generation of the mega-cities residents to 

be become better

prepared than their parents....and get to a place where most long to be,

on a path to greater opportunity....something every American truly desires.

As always, appreciate your feedback....