Issues
Golden Fleece Award – Issue #47
For Sale: Bathroom With Spectacular View – Just $131,000!
A Bathroom with a View…at Quite a Cost
This week’s Golden Fleece Award is proudly presented to your Federal Government for (literally) flushing $97,000 of your bucks down the toilet.
That’s right. The Feds sent this tidy sum to Oregon to partially pay for a floating toilet.
After raising the entire $131,000 for this double hulled aluminum contraption your Oregon Marine Board planted it smack in the middle of once lovely Timothy Lake, near Mt. Hood, which most people thought was a crappy (sorry) idea because it ruined the view.
In case you’re wondering, the answer is “No – The Oregon Marine Board will not be bringing the potato salad to the Mensa picnic.”
Want a Highrise Next to Your Home? No? How About a Pig Farm?
Do you think it is a good idea to give the Department of Housing and Urban Development unchecked power to put an apartment building in your neighborhood? HUD has proposed a new rule that could do just that.
In July, HUD published its long-awaited proposal on “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” in the Federal Register. It is a sweeping set of land-use regulations that has attracted little national attention. The agency wants the power to dismantle local zoning so communities have what it considers the right mix of economic, racial and ethnic diversity. A finding of discriminatory behavior, or allegations of discrimination, would no longer be necessary. HUD will supply “nationally uniform data” of what it thinks 1,200 communities should look like…
HUD and Westchester are battling over local zoning that arose from a 2009 settlement (signed by my predecessor) to build 750 affordable-housing units in 31 mostly white communities. Westchester is well ahead of schedule in meeting these obligations. Almost 400 units have financing and 124 are already occupied. But HUD isn’t satisfied because it wants to control local zoning and remake communities.
– Robert F. Astorino, The Wall Street Journal
Lane Solutions Replies
So – HUD knows exactly what 1,200 communities should like. And Westchester County, NY, should look just like the other 1,199. And if it doesn’t, HUD, in its bureaucratic wisdom, will withhold $17 million that it had promised to the County to build new sidewalks, playgrounds, and other good stuff in poor communities.
What’s that you say? Westchester is already the fourth most diverse county in New York in terms of Blacks and Hispanics? HUD’s federal monitor found no evidence of exclusionary zoning based on race or ethnicity? HUD doesn’t know what its new rule will cost or if it will work? Why does it matter to Lane County what happens in New York?
It matters because if the Feds can “…dismantle local zoning rules” in Westchester they can do it (and more) in Eugene. Or Creswell.
It matters because if you take money from Washington it can tell you what to do with it. And it can take money from you.
It matters because the Feds think they’re smarter than you. This is rule #1 of Liberalism (oops, we meant “Progressivism”). So they can tell you who should be able to build what next to your house.
Oh, and did we mention that complying with HUD’s new rules will cost Westchester between $3 and $9 million? What could it cost in Eugene?
Build It and They Will Pedal
$580,000 Bike Boondoggle Coming Soon?
A draft study is encouraging public agencies and area businesses to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost the number of bike racks and lockers in the Eugene-Springfield area to help support and increase two-wheeled ridership over the next decade and beyond.
The Regional Bike Parking Study, set to be finalized later this month after three years of work, concludes that such facilities are needed in the two cities’ downtowns, at transit stations and at more than a dozen shopping centers, major employers and civic venues…
The government-funded $100,000 study reaches those conclusions even as its data, while limited, showed the existing supply of bike parking exceeding the use in some of the studied areas…
The study estimates it would cost nearly $342,000 for materials and labor to add recommended bike parking spaces to 100 blocks in downtown Eugene and Springfield…
The study estimated it would cost about $238,000 to install 30 new and retrofitted bike lockers at some LTD transit stations, as well as secure cages at the stations in downtown Eugene and the Amazon neighborhood…
The study also examined the bike parking needs at 14 “activity centers,” such as the Hult Center, Oakway Center, Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and the Royal Caribbean office in Springfield, but didn’t provide cost estimates.
Even though the study recommended adding more bike parking spots at these centers, the data appeared to indicate the supply exceeds demand. The study counted 509 spots at the 14 locations, but recommended nearly doubling that number — even though only 55 spots were being used at the time of the survey…
Maffei (who lead the study) said the inventory was taken on Oct. 16 and 17, and there wasn’t enough money to perform more than a single count in a given study area…
Duncan Rhodes, a member of the Greater Eugene Area Riders Cycling Club, or GEARs, who served on the committee, said quite a few local spots could use more bike parking.
“Until you build something, you will never know if it will be used or not,” he said…
– Christian Hill, The Register Guard
Lane Solutions Responds –
“A $100,000 study recommends spending $580,000 to add thousands of spots” (Register Guard print edition).
Several elements of this study jumped out at us, nearly causing us to bang our helmeted heads on the potted pavement as we toppled off our sustainable, green, locally produced bikes.
First, they figured need for additional bike facilities by counting actual bike rack use just once. Think it might vary by time of day and month?
Then there’s the fallacy of adding hundreds of bike racks at five “activity centers” when “supply exceeds demand.” Failing to estimate costs for this only makes it worse.
Third, at six locations they counted 44 of 355 bike racks being used and concluded that we need 727 additional racks.
It’s a perfect example of government imposing its social engineering fantasies on citizens and wasting buckets of bucks turning them into an unwelcome reality.
Here, local wizards, lashing themselves to the mast of urban density and “green” transportation, decided that even if current racks aren’t being used, what we need is more. So they tossed $100,000 after their obsession and may throw another $580,000 into the same sump hole.
Oh, well, “Until you build something, you will never know if it will be used or not.”
Golden Fleece Award – Issue #46
This week we award what’s really a “Golden Lamb” Award – Because the money you earned and your “Public Servants” in Salem wasted wasn’t that much. If it weren’t your money it’d be worth a laugh.
In case you were about to shed a tear for the Beaver State’s cheese industry, don’t bother, because the Oregon Cheese Guild has scored a cool $50,000 to produce videos featuring cheese farmers, cheese experts and cheese history. We hope they’re not too “cheesy” (sorry).
Remember that old ad “Is your dog getting enough cheese?” Maybe they could blow some more bucks by running their video on pay TV’s The Dog Channel!
A Grateful State of Oregon Thanks You!
Washington Candidate Wants $15/Hr. Minimum Wage
Those in Oregon who are tired of hearing about how much better Washington’s business climate is have reason to watch the November election results in Seattle.
Several of the candidates are at least talking about the possibility of raising the minimum wage in the city, even though Washington already has the highest rate in the nation. And at least one City Council candidate — Socialist Kshama Sawant, who finished second in the May primary to qualify for the November ballot — is campaigning hard for a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
– The Oregonian Editorial Board, August 25, 2013
Lane Solutions Responds
We say “Go for it! Why not $30/hr? Do we hear $40?”
We applaud our neighbors to the north’s attaempt to give Oregon a more competitive business environment! And if you’re joining us, keep it a secret that labor is, like anything else anyone buys, a commodity subject to a basic economic principle: lower the price – demand increases. Raise it – demand goes down.
Keep it between us that when the minimum wage goes up a McDonalds that could only afford the cheapest, least experienced labor (teenagers) can now afford to fire them and hire experienced workers.
If you keep these secrets, our buddies up north will keep their big, dark secret about why they really like minimum wage hikes. No, it’s not love of the “Little Guy.” It’s because a lot of union wage contracts are hitched to minimum wages. Raise them and union workers get automatic salary bumps.
Here’s what Socialist Sawant will never, ever tell you: When Washington, D.C. passed a minimum wage law in 1938, hotels immediately fired dozens of (probably black) maids and other low skilled laborers.
Now that we think about the consequences for the real “Little Guys,” your humble editors will be governed by their better angels, face north and scream “Stop! Do you really know what you’re doing?”
When Compassion and Moral Hazard Collide
What Happens When You Try to Help and Just Make the Problem Worse?
People defecating on the public Park Blocks in downtown Eugene, the site of the popular Saturday Market, has led the city to indefinitely cordon off two areas.
During the past week, several piles of human feces were found on a lawn and a landscaped area on the east Park Block, at Eighth Avenue and Oak Street, said Jeff Perry, the city’s facilities director.
People also had urinated there, creating potential health hazards, he said.
The Register Guard, August 24, 2013
Compassion’s an admirable human emotion – it tells us to respond to suffering and help when we can.
But compassion is still an emotion, like anger or sorrow. Left unchecked it runs away with us, making us do things that actually bring on harm.
Moral hazard occurs when our attempts to do good create incentives that encourage people to engage in destructive behavior.
Could we be witnessing moral hazard as a result of knee jerk compassion as we try to give transients a place to sleep in Eugene? Are we encouraging destructive behavior? We think it’s worth considering.
By designating a “safe” camping ground downtown we’ve made it easy for transients to (you guessed it) camp downtown. This will result in more campers because it’s convenient and safe. Making it easier to leave home and camp will inevitably draw in those who sort of wanted to camp but didn’t know where.
The result? More people who have to use a bathroom, resulting in a health hazard to Saturday Market vendors and customers.
We’re not taking sides here. But we are asking Eugene and Lane County officials to consider the probable results of what they see as compassion.
You May Not Know When You’re Offended – But I Do!
Gov. John Kitzhaber last week served notice again that he plans to veto a bill allowing schools to retain Native American mascots, despite a statewide ban, as long as the schools get permission from a nearby tribe. –
Albany Democrat-Hearald
Lane Solutions Replies…
Do Native Americans know that they’re offended by West Skunkville Jr. Hi calling their football team the “Chiefs,” “Warriors,” “Tomahawks” or whatever? Maybe not. But, thank the Happy Hunting Ground, Guv Kitz sure does!
So the Native American students at WS Jr. Hi may think the nickname is great. Nearby Native Americans may be honored by it. But Gov. Kitzhaber knows that they should be offended.
And so goes the march of progressivism, where those we elect are just so much smarter than the rest of us that they can tell us what we ought to think, feel and do. And all without asking or listening to us!
This is the mindset that gave us the plastic bag ban and federal mandates governing how much water we have flowing through our shower heads and toilets.
We prefer to think that most of us can make the decisions that govern our daily lives without the help of government. That Native Americans can decide for themselves when they’re offended. That we don’t need Gov. Kitzhaber to “Get our minds right.”
Thanks, Gov. Kitzhaber, but we’d really like you to get out of the mascot business and find a way to cut some timber.
We’re Shocked! Shocked!
Accounting Error Causes 16.2 Million Shortfall to Implement Oregon Healthcare Exchange…Before it Even Starts—Expect Millions More in Shortfall Before it is Done
State officials organizing a new health insurance exchange are planning to ask for more federal grant funding to plug a projected $16.2 million shortfall.
The shortfall stemmed from an accounting error that caused state budget and fiscal analysts to misproject when the state would use up funding from a grant to partially launch a computer system for the exchange.
Oregon’s exchange, called Cover Oregon, is an online marketplace where individuals and small business owners can comparison shop for health insurance and apply for financial assistance.
qwong@StatesmanJournal .com
Lane Solutions Responds…
We’re shocked! We just don’t believe it…a government program short $16 Million because of an “accounting error”? Has this ever happened before? Surely not for the Affordable Care Act (AKA “Obamacare”), of which Cover Oregon is a part!
What’s that, Dear Readers? You say that it has? That the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan for “uninsurables” – people with serious illnesses like cancer – has nearly run through a cool $5 Billion and needs big bucks from the states?
That Obamacare itself, originally set to cost $898 Billion over 10 years, is now projected to ring up $1.85 Trillion in costs?
But there’s no need to worry…because the government can always reach into your wallet to make up for its shortfalls, cost overruns or just plain ol’ “accounting errors.”
Golden Fleece Award – Issue #44
This week Lane Solutions’ coveted Golden Fleece Award, presented to a government entity that wastes humongous amounts of your money, goes to Obamacare, which is blowing $20 Million to create and run TV ads educating Oregonians on the wonders of Cover Oregon, the online shopping mart for health insurance, money to pay for it and free pizza and ice cream (just kidding on that last).
To the sounds of mellow folk singers and strumming guitars Oregonians will be introduced to Obamacare, which commands all Americans to buy health insurance by next January 1 or pay a fine.
Soon our dewey Salem based folkers will yield to the Portland hip-hop duo “Lifesaves,” who’ll tout the wonders of Cover Oregon to the younger set.
Yes, readers, it takes a cool $20 million to ”… create a positive vibe associating the (Cover Oregon) brand with Oregon’s cultural identity.” No doubt the crooners and hip-hoppers will be sporting Birkenstocks, crunching vegan granola, and flashing their Oregon Trail cards.
Gov. Kitzhaber’s Guide to Cost Cutting
SALEM, Ore. — Gov. John Kitzhaber has signed a bill he hopes will curb the state’s prison population. Kitzhaber signed the measure during a ceremony in his office Thursday, flanked by district attorneys and sheriffs. Among other things, the measure reduces sentences for certain drug and property crimes and driving with a suspended license. It’s projected to keep the prison population flat for about five years. Kitzhaber sought to limit prison growth for a decade, but he made concessions to win support from the law-enforcement community.- Associated Press
Lane Solutions Responds…
Congrats to Guv Kitzhaber for finding the golden key to cutting costs. Want to save money on prisons? Presto – Cut the punishment for crimes. Maybe we can save money on the Oregon Highway Patrol by raising the speed limit to 95 MPH. Save hospital costs by treating all strokes and heart attacks as outpatient cases?
Here’s what we won’t do to save money on prisons: Ask why, of the 14 states with populations of 2 to 5 million, 10 spend less per inmate than Oregon and 9 of those are right-to-work states. 3 of the 4 that spend more are, like Oregon, forced-union states.
Nor will we ask why Oregon entry level correctional officials pocket 24% more annual take home pay than nearby states’ officials.
Heaven forbid that we ask why, in the Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office study of Oregon and 11 surrounding states, Oregon was the only state in the sample which paid the entire employee contributions to the retirement plan and health insurance premiums.
We conclude that it’s just easier to turn criminals loose on Oregonians than rein in unions.