The folks over at the Kent County Taxpayers Alliance have helped out the group Walker Yes to get an issue on the ballot in November to let voters in Walker decide if they want to stay part of the Rapid’s tax district. As they’ve pointed out, the requirement of getting signatures of 20% of voters from the last gubernatorial election is the highest standard in state law. It takes 15% to get any other issue on the ballot in Walker, such as amending its city charter. It takes 10% to amend the state constitution. It takes even less for a state initiative or referendum. Yet, the Rapid’s boosters think that 20% really isn’t a sign of discontent in Walker.

In fact, the Rapid’s folks seem to think that the voters in Walker voting “no” on the Rapid’s tax requests in the last two elections to the tune of about 67% each is nothing to worry about. But voters in Walker, Grandville, Kentwood, and Wyoming have been saying no pretty consistently. What does the Rapid do? Nothing. They just pretend that it’s ok to subject entire cities to their higher and higher taxes without their permission.

Then they act surprised that a group like Walker Yes pops up and puts the issue on the ballot. No doubt, the Rapid’s people will claim that the world will end and babies will be murdered if Walker votes “yes” to withdraw from the Rapid’s tax authority. Of course, Walker would have the choice of whether to contract with the Rapid for the same service, like several townships already do. But the Rapid’s people aren’t interested in cost effectiveness or even democracy. They have their eyes on a plan that’s completely disconnected from reality.

Have you heard of the Rapid’s “Transit Master Plan?” Probably not. I’d bet that maybe 0.5% of the local population has. And that’s probably a high number. Well, this plan not only aims for two Silver Line bus systems, but it also plans to tear up downtown and install streetcars, which are pretty much trolleys. The cost for this? Only about half a billion dollars. And that’s just to build the thing. Tack on another $100 million a year to run everything.

Guess whose taxes they plan to raise to pay for this…

But they insist, laughingly, on calling the Transit Master Plan “the people’s plan.” What a joke. I don’t know how more disconnected from reality they can get. But wait, they can!

This week the Rapid’s board of directors, which is not elected by the way (the people’s board of directors?) decided to give a raise to Peter Varga, the head guy who insists on calling himself the CEO. Yes, a government agency has a CEO. He now makes over $200,000 a year, plus a free car on the backs of taxpayers. Of course, you’ll remember him from the video embedded at the end of this post. Yep, that guy makes more than the governor of Michigan. Even several of the Rapid’s own board members seem to be getting some sense of reality. One of them is quoted as saying that the whole thing doesn’t look to good when they voted on the pay increase. No kidding.

This was summed up pretty well by a line in a recent article on the city commission putting the issue on the ballot in Walker: “Walker City Commissioner Chuck Deschaine said officials with the Rapid should have seen this coming a year and a half ago, when Walker residents voted down, by a 3-1 margin, the most recent millage increase to expand the Rapid.”

Bingo.

What does the Rapid say in response? And I quote, “surveys show that nearly 750,000 riders have ridden the bus in Walker this year alone.”

One commenter on that article makes a good point. I looked this up. Walker has about 25,000 residents. Maybe 12,000 or so that are working age. The Rapid wants us to believe that everyone in Walker rides the bus an average of 30 times a year? Every single man, woman, and child?

Of course the Rapid has a credibility problem, they blatantly lie to the public, regularly… and the GR Press just goes on printing this nonsense with no critical thought whatsoever. Simple common sense tells you that 750,000 is beyond ridiculous, but it’s become clearer and clearer that the Press is really just the Rapid’s PR department.

Enjoy watching you tax dollars at work!

This is incredibly good news. The war on drugs has been the most destructive government program in the history of our nation. More crime, cost, death, and pain comes out of making marijuana illegal than the drug itself could ever cause. The constitution is regularly violated and trimmed back in the name of the war on drugs. Government programs proliferate, costing us billions a year. Thousands of people are murdered each year, here and abroad, all in the name of “stopping the supply,” which clearly is a gigantic failure.

I’m hoping that this will open up a debate on the failure of the war on drugs and an eventual focus on treatment rather than criminalization. Already, one city commissioner has shown that he’s more interested in protected vested interests and the status quo than fixing this failure. First Ward City Commissioner Walt Gutowski has already come out against the ballot question. That’s unfortunate. When the pros and cons of the war on drugs are weighed, it is by every possible measurement a failure. Perpetuating it only perpetuates failure.

If you can afford it, please send Decriminalize GR a few bucks to fund the coming educational campaign to get Grand Rapidians to embrace policy sanity.

The ballot language is available online.

We have a hard time finding a logical argument against gay marriage. The most-often used argument is that marriage is part of the fabric of society and that if marriage is “ruined” to allow gays to marry, society will somehow collapse. In fact, the proposed amendment’s own wording says that the intention is to preserve the benefits of marriage “for the children.” But, exactly how would gay marriage harm children or be any different than today’s world of straight-only marriage?

* * *

But an even more fundamental question comes to mind. Why should we mess with our constitution on an issue that has purely emotional effects? We can’t determine one real, tangible, societal effect gay marriage would have. Who would be harmed by gay marriage?

Our constitution is designed to do two things – define the rights of citizens that government cannot infringe upon and define how government operates. It does not define social issues that should be handled solely by the legislature, nor should it.

Since then, several states have expanded the institution of marriage to same-sex couples, either through court rulings or legislative action. And guess what, no negative effects can be discerned. In fact, interestingly, divorce is actually lower amongst gay couples than straight couples (gasp!). According to a study by the Williams Institute:

The percentage of those same sex couples who end their legal relationship ranges from 0% to 1.8% annually, or 1.1% on average, whereas 2% of married different-sex couples divorce annually.

Oops! What do the “pro family” wingnuts have to say to that? Well, nothing of course, because their position isn’t based on rational decision making, it’s based on emotion and irrational distaste for people who are different from them.

But, even more interestingly, the support for same-sex marriage has been on the rise across the nation. In fact, it has increased in every single state since the rash of anti-gay constitutional amendments was unleashed in the mid 2000s. A funny thing happens when you get to know someone who is gay; you realize that they want the same things that everyone else wants — a good job, a decent house, a car that runs, and a family. That’s why minds are changing so quickly, because people realize that the anti-gay position is irrational.

According to a recent study from Georgia State University, a plurality of states now has majority support for same-sex marriage, whereas no state had a majority just a few years ago. The rate of change is stunning. In Michigan in particular, the rate of support has increased from 29% in 2004 to 42% now. That’s an average annual increase in support of about 2.5%. At this rate, our state will reach majority support in just a few years.

You can see the rate of change across the whole nation by viewing the study here.

Hopefully, in a few years the voters of Michigan will have an opportunity to reverse the mistake they made in 2004 by constitutionally banning same-sex marriage. I believe that the anti-gay spasm of the mid 2000s will be seen an an historical embarrassment.

Deer in the Headlights

I just had this video forwarded to me by a friend and it is a must see! A local media outlet finally took on The Rapid and its lies and waste. Normally local media, like the Grand Rapids Press, just regurgitate every press release that The Rapid puts out with no critical analysis at all. Or, as we saw last year during the “Silver Line” vote, the Grand Rapids Press reporter was essentially the Propaganda Minister for The Rapid, reporting false information and ignoring facts that The Rapid found uncomfortable. Frankly, the local media’s inability to report anything negative on The Rapid is baffling when they regularly go after Grand Rapids Community College or the City of Grand Rapids. This is despite the fact that The Rapid is the most wasteful government agency in the area.

Nonetheless, David Bailey of Channel 3 took them on and the result is epic. Peter Varga, the director of The Rapid, is a deer in the headlights when he is confronted with facts. Watch the video below and marvel at how incomprehensible his argument is — that is, when he can actually muster up the ability to speak.

UPDATE: Watch part two of the video report below. It’s even better than part one!! See Peter Varga, the “CEO” of The Rapid, walk out of the interview because he can’t handle the questioning!

Let’s start at the beginning. First, Mike Sak is relatively well-known as a do-nothing state rep. No one I speak with remembers anything he did in the six years he was in office. Oh wait, everyone remembers one thing Sak did:

According to a state police memorandum, Sak’s demand for a ride came during the convention and was part of an evening of bizarre behavior by the western Michigan legislator.

The memo indicated that Sak left the Grand Traverse Hotel July 20, carrying a glass of what appeared to be beer, walked to a sport utility vehicle, opened the front passenger door, then asked a trooper if it was all right to get into the vehicle.

When the trooper told Sak he was not leaving his assigned post, Sak laughed, got into the vehicle and left the area, the memo said.

Later, Sak approached the trooper again, “obviously very intoxicated,” and demanded a ride, the memo stated.

After the trooper declined the request, Sak identified himself as a “Democratic state representative in charge of appropriations” and claimed he was responsible for saving the jobs of state troopers who were facing possible layoffs.

And this guy wants to be in charge of our City’s finances?

Politicians are, by their very nature, power-hungry ego-maniacs. But demanding a free ride from a state trooper while intoxicated is a perfect metaphor for the corrupt politician. Drunk with power and disdain for the public purse, Sak had no problem demanding the use of public resources while threatening a government employee with budget cuts if he wasn’t pandered to!

The only other candidate is Donijo DeJonge, the city’s current comptroller, according to the Kent County elections web site. DeJonge has a web site, available here.

If Sak wins, I will have lost all faith in my fellow Grand Rapidians.

Just some quick facts:

• National Debt in January 2009: $10.632 trillion
• National Debt as of today (June 30, 2011): $14.025 trillion (a 32% increase in 30 months).

I HOPE YOU LOVE DEBT

• Number of employed Americans in January of 2009: 140,436,000
• Number of employed Americans in June of 2011: 139,334,000

UTTER GOVERNMENT FAILURE

So the federal government spent (borrowed) $3.4 trillion in the last two and a half years and nothing was accomplished. Just remember, that $3.4 trillion now needs to be serviced with interest payments and eventual repayment (theoretically).

We have the politicians in Washington posturing about raising the debt ceiling and President Obama beating senior citizens over the head with the threat that he’s can’t guarantee Social Security payments if the debt ceiling isn’t raised. But wait, I thought there was a trust fund that would last decades into the future to pay Social Security? Not. The President just admitted that the Social Security trust fund is a sham and scam.

Whether or not the debt limit is increased is irrelevant at this point. The federal ponzi scheme will fail, it’s just a matter of when, not if. Are you ready for the result of an immediate 50% drop in federal spending when the Treasury suddenly can’t borrow any more because the world has had enough or our failed monetary policies?

Truth Wins Out’s blog had an excellent response to Glenn’s failure of brain power, which I would like to quote, because I couldn’t say it any better:

Part of wingnut hatred of gay people. . . comes from their very real jealousy at the idea that millions of people around this country live more interesting lives than they do, are happier than they are, and are smarter, more productive and more creative than they are. . . Indeed, it makes them seethe that absolutely no corporation is trying to find ways to attract more fundamentalist Christians under the headline of “best and brightest.” They just hate it.

So instead they spew their usual litany of lies — because they’re liars, of course — partially to make their sheep feel better, but partially also to make themselves feel better. Being gay is not the cause of mental illness or substance abuse or AIDS. All sane, intelligent people know that. Only the truly brainwashed and stupid are susceptible to such silly notions. The only offensive thing here is that the actual scientific study on the subject has shown that it’s precisely people like Linda and Gary, and their accompanying spiteful, pig ignorant worldview, that leads to higher rates of depression in gay youth. There’s even a good bit of data that has shown that people are more likely to put themselves in dangerous situations with drugs and unsafe sex when they don’t have the support of friends, family, church and society. And who keeps that cycle going? Again, people like Gary [Glenn]. . . .

It seems as though the owners of Bartertown are serious about their commitment to socialist ideals. They intend to make the restaurant employee-owned and enforce “equal pay and equal say.” The specifics of how they intend to do so aren’t outlined in the article.

The owners will also force all employees to be members of the Industrial Workers of the World union, which advocates for the abolition of the wage system. IWW is a has-been union which declined dramatically in membership in the 1920s after an internal split. Once able to claim 100,000 members, it claims about 900 members today. IWW is far hard-left communist/socialist and way out of the mainstream of unions today.

I’m going to reserve judgment on this plan, but my instinct and understanding of both economics and human nature tell me it won’t last very long. Equal pay and equal say may sound nice on the surface, but they are completely unsustainable concepts in the long term. In a business environment, there are at times competing interests. While employees naturally want higher wages and fewer work hours, owners/managers must ensure that such demands are kept within a framework of cash flow and profitability. Is it possible that collective decision-making can maintain a well-run business establishment? Well, maybe. I’m not going to discount it on a very small scale, such as in a restaurant, but my inclination is that it won’t work long term.

With all of the talk of communist revolutionaries and international communist unions, we can see, at the local level, how communism and socialism really are tyrannical at their very roots. As mentioned, all employees of Bartertown will be forced to join one, pre-determined union. This is the nature of communism – the abolition of choice. Groups like IWW would impose such a restriction on all workers, if they could. I often hear people say “well, communism is a good idea on paper…” No, it’s not. It necessitates subjugation of the individual to the will of the collective. This concept has almost universally evolved into a brutal dictatorship and oligarchy, enforced through violence, suppression, and at the point of a gun. Dissenting opinion is simply not allowed.

Will Bartertown become a brutal dictatorship? Of course not. But the historical narrative is that in order for the concept of a worker-owned, wage-free “paradise” to work, it must be enforced with force.

That’s why Bartertown won’t last.

What’s next? The Rapid will add a bunch more buses to existing routes and not expand service one bit. The Silver Line will clog Division, Monroe, and Michigan streets with double-long accordion style buses at the price tag of $700,000 each. Lanes will be shut down so only these boondoggle buses will be able to use them, congesting traffic and pissing people off.

But hey, it’ll make young professionals want to live here!!

The Rapid