Quad Cities Watchdog Sniffing out government's lack of common sense

8Nov/090

Vote Clears Way for Illinois Abortion Notification Law

The AP released a news article stating that the State of Illinois Medical Disciplinary Board has decided not to extend a 90-day grace period put into place in August.

Illinois' law had been passed in 1995 that forced abortionist doctors to provide parents with a 48 hour notice of girls 17 and younger who intended to get abortions.  That law, however, was never enforced because of constant court actions to prevent it.  Organizations such as The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois intends to ask for a new temporary restraining order to keep the state from enforcing the law.

This is where things start to get a little interesting.  You see, as a Libertarian I believe that individual right to privacy is an important natural right and should be observed at all times.  However, we are dealing with the murder of an innocent baby for no other reason than the immature and irresponsible nature of a teenager who made a foolish choice.




I think that is why I call myself a Conservative Libertarian because Morals must come into play at some point and we aren't the Wild Wild West and so no baby should suffer such a fate.  How about this, lets encourage these teenagers to have the children and put them up for adoption and possible force child support on them to help pay for the baby until it has been adopted by another family.  That way our taxes are mitigated and the teenager(s) learn a continious lesson on what they have done.

Now, some of you out there might say something along the lines of, "...if we start charging teenagers money for babies they won't want they will force the abortion upon themselves without the aid of medical professionals, wont they?".  I can see that as a legitimate concern for some of you out there but you are forgetting that I'm treating the forced and intentional abortion of a child as MURDER.  The punishment for finding out that a teenager forced the abortion would be tried as such in a court of law and so it would highly encourage teens not to perform such an act.

I'd love to hear what all of you have to say about this.  Don't be shy, no matter what side of the fence you are on let your comments rip.  But I remind you, please use fact-based evidence to backup any statement you might make.

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7Nov/090

Obama Administration Using Cloward-Piven Strategy To Topple U.S.

If you haven't heard of the Cloward-Piven's Strategy then you are probably confused as to why Obama and his administration are doing some of the things they are doing.  However, once you've been schooled on the subject everything will become much clearer to you.

To give you a quick background on the Cloward-Piven's Strategy I recommend you take a look at this video provided by Glenn Beck as it is the best one I've found as of yet.  If you can find a better one please let me know by using the comments section below.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the strategy I highly recommend you dive down into the details by reading the following article provided by DiscoverTheNetworks.org.  Click on their name to learn even more about the strategy and other topics of interest.

First proposed in 1966 and named after Columbia University sociologists Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven, the "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.




Inspired by the August 1965 riots in the black district of Watts in Los Angeles (which erupted after police had used batons to subdue a black man suspected of drunk driving), Cloward and Piven published an article titled "The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty" in the May 2, 1966 issue of The Nation. Following its publication, The Nation sold an unprecedented 30,000 reprints. Activists were abuzz over the so-called "crisis strategy" or "Cloward-Piven Strategy," as it came to be called. Many were eager to put it into effect.

In their 1966 article, Cloward and Piven charged that the ruling classes used welfare to weaken the poor; that by providing a social safety net, the rich doused the fires of rebellion. Poor people can advance only when "the rest of society is afraid of them," Cloward told The New York Times on September 27, 1970. Rather than placating the poor with government hand-outs, wrote Cloward and Piven, activists should work to sabotage and destroy the welfare system; the collapse of the welfare state would ignite a political and financial crisis that would rock the nation; poor people would rise in revolt; only then would "the rest of society" accept their demands.

The key to sparking this rebellion would be to expose the inadequacy of the welfare state. Cloward-Piven's early promoters cited radical organizer Saul Alinsky as their inspiration. "Make the enemy live up to their (sic) own book of rules," Alinsky wrote in his 1972 book Rules for Radicals. When pressed to honor every word of every law and statute, every Judaeo-Christian moral tenet, and every implicit promise of the liberal social contract, human agencies inevitably fall short. The system's failure to "live up" to its rule book can then be used to discredit it altogether, and to replace the capitalist "rule book" with a socialist one.

The authors noted that the number of Americans subsisting on welfare -- about 8 million, at the time -- probably represented less than half the number who were technically eligible for full benefits. They proposed a "massive drive to recruit the poor onto the welfare rolls."  Cloward and Piven calculated that persuading even a fraction of potential welfare recipients to demand their entitlements would bankrupt the system. The result, they predicted, would be "a profound financial and political crisis" that would unleash "powerful forces … for major economic reform at the national level."

Their article called for "cadres of aggressive organizers" to use "demonstrations to create a climate of militancy." Intimidated by threats of black violence, politicians would appeal to the federal government for help. Carefully orchestrated media campaigns, carried out by friendly, leftwing journalists, would float the idea of "a federal program of income redistribution," in the form of a guaranteed living income for all -- working and non-working people alike. Local officials would clutch at this idea like drowning men to a lifeline. They would apply pressure on Washington to implement it. With every major city erupting into chaos, Washington would have to act.

This was an example of what are commonly called Trojan Horse movements -- mass movements whose outward purpose seems to be providing material help to the downtrodden, but whose real objective is to draft poor people into service as revolutionary foot soldiers; to mobilize poor people en masse to overwhelm government agencies with a flood of demands beyond the capacity of those agencies to meet. The flood of demands was calculated to break the budget, jam the bureaucratic gears into gridlock, and bring the system crashing down. Fear, turmoil, violence and economic collapse would accompany such a breakdown -- providing perfect conditions for fostering radical change. That was the theory.

Cloward and Piven recruited a militant black organizer named George Wiley to lead their new movement. In the summer of 1967, Wiley founded the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO). His tactics closely followed the recommendations set out in Cloward and Piven's article. His followers invaded welfare offices across the United States -- often violently -- bullying social workers and loudly demanding every penny to which the law "entitled" them. By 1969, NWRO claimed a dues-paying membership of 22,500 families, with 523 chapters across the nation.

Regarding Wiley's tactics, The New York Times commented on September 27, 1970, "There have been sit-ins in legislative chambers, including a United States Senate committee hearing, mass demonstrations of several thousand welfare recipients, school boycotts, picket lines, mounted police, tear gas, arrests - and, on occasion, rock-throwing, smashed glass doors, overturned desks, scattered papers and ripped-out phones."These methods proved effective. "The flooding succeeded beyond Wiley's wildest dreams," writes Sol Stern in the City Journal.  "From 1965 to 1974, the number of single-parent households on welfare soared from 4.3 million to 10.8 million, despite mostly flush economic times. By the early 1970s, one person was on the welfare rolls in New York City for every two working in the city's private economy."As a direct result of its massive welfare spending, New York City was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1975. The entire state of New York nearly went down with it. The Cloward-Piven strategy had proved its effectiveness.

The Cloward-Piven strategy depended on surprise. Once society recovered from the initial shock, the backlash began. New York's welfare crisis horrified America, giving rise to a reform movement which culminated in "the end of welfare as we know it" -- the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which imposed time limits on federal welfare, along with strict eligibility and work requirements. Both Cloward and Piven attended the White House signing of the bill as guests of President Clinton.

Most Americans to this day have never heard of Cloward and Piven. But New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani attempted to expose them in the late 1990s. As his drive for welfare reform gained momentum, Giuliani accused the militant scholars by name, citing their 1966 manifesto as evidence that they had engaged in deliberate economic sabotage. "This wasn't an accident," Giuliani charged in a 1997 speech. "It wasn't an atmospheric thing, it wasn't supernatural. This is the result of policies and programs designed to have the maximum number of people get on welfare."

Cloward and Piven never again revealed their intentions as candidly as they had in their 1966 article. Even so, their activism in subsequent years continued to rely on the tactic of overloading the system. When the public caught on to their welfare scheme, Cloward and Piven simply moved on, applying pressure to other sectors of the bureaucracy, wherever they detected weakness.

In 1982, partisans of the Cloward-Piven strategy founded a new "voting rights movement," which purported to take up the unfinished work of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Like ACORN, the organization that spear-headed this campaign, the new "voting rights" movement was led by veterans of George Wiley's welfare rights crusade. Its flagship organizations were Project Vote and Human SERVE, both founded in 1982. Project Vote is an ACORN front group, launched by former NWRO organizer and ACORN co-founder Zach Polett. Human SERVE was founded by Richard A. Cloward and Frances Fox Piven, along with a former NWRO organizer named Hulbert James.

All three of these organizations -- ACORN, Project Vote and Human SERVE -- set to work lobbying energetically for the so-called Motor-Voter law, which Bill Clinton ultimately signed in 1993. The Motor-Voter bill is largely responsible for swamping the voter rolls with "dead  wood" -- invalid registrations signed in the name of deceased, ineligible or non-existent people -- thus opening the door to the unprecedented  levels of voter fraud and "voter disenfranchisement" claims that followed in subsequent elections.

The new "voting rights" coalition combines mass voter registration drives -- typically featuring high levels of fraud -- with systematic intimidation of election officials in the form of frivolous lawsuits, unfounded charges of "racism" and "disenfranchisement," and "direct action" (street protests, violent or otherwise). Just as they swamped America's welfare offices in the 1960s, Cloward-Piven devotees now seek to overwhelm the nation's understaffed and poorly policed electoral system. Their tactics set the stage for the Florida recount crisis of 2000, and have introduced a level of fear, tension and foreboding to U.S. elections heretofore encountered mainly in Third World countries.  

Both the Living Wage and Voting Rights movements depend heavily on financial support from George Soros's Open Society Institute and his "Shadow Party," through whose support the Cloward-Piven strategy continues to provide a blueprint for some of the Left's most ambitious campaigns.

What do you think of this strategy?  Do you think, as I do, that Obama and his administration are in fact really trying to pull this off?

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6Nov/090

Is Obama Poised To Cede US Sovereignty?

The following video and text references are quite scary and when you stop to think about them you can realize just how possible (likely?) this is and how bad it would be for us if it were to take place.  Quick Fact:  Did you know that foreign treaties take precedence over our Constitution (that is actually written in the Constitution)?  THAT is why it is so scary!  Video after the following statement.

The following text was taken directly from the video comments:

On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton gave a presentation in St. Paul, MN on the subject of global warming. In this 4-minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty that is scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.

A draft of the treaty can be read here:

http://www.globalclimatescam.com/docu...

Chuck Norris has an article in WorldNetDaily with a good analysis of the treaty:

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE....




There has been considerable debate raised about Monckton's conclusion that the Copenhagen Treaty would cede US sovereignty. His comments appear to be based upon his interpretation of the The Supremacy Clause in the US Constitution (Article VI, paragraph 2). This clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. TREATIES as the supreme law of the land. Concerns have been raised in the past that a particularly ambitious treaty may supersede the US Constitution. In the 1950s, a constitutional amendment, known as the Bricker Amendment, was proposed in response to such fears, but it failed to pass. You can read more about the Bricker Amendment in a 1953 Time Magazine article:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/art...,9171,806676-1,00.html

Lord Monckton served as a policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher. He has repeatedly challenged Al Gore to a debate to which Gore has refused. Monckton sued to stop Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" from being shown in British schools due to its inaccuracies. The judge found in-favor of Monckton, ordering 9 serious errors in the film to be corrected. Lord Monckton travels internationally in an attempt to educate the public about the myth of global warming.

UPDATE:

Check-out this story from the 10/29/09 Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...

What do you think about this?  Can this really happen!?

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1Nov/090

ACORN – Bruce Braley Responds

A couple of months ago I wrote a letter to Congressman Bruce Braley asking him to defund and investigate ACORN in the hopes that he would vote for the Defund ACORN Act.  Of course, as is always the case with Congress, this bill isn't perfect but is a start.




I received a respond from Congressman Braley on the 28th of September (yes, I'm behind posting these as I do have a life ya know.).  Here is the respond I received in its entirety:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your concern about federal funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). This is an important issue and I am glad you have shared your views with me.

You may be pleased to know that the House recently passed a motion to recommit attached to H.R. 3221, Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, titled the Defund ACORN Act. This motion bars ACORN or their subsidiaries from receiving any federal funds or support, pending investigations into accusations against the organization. I voted in favor of this motion when it passed the House by a vote of 345-75 on September 17, 2009. Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind should further issues related to ACORN be considered on the House Floor.

Thanks again for contacting me. I occasionally provide electronic updates on issues I think my constituents might be interested in. If you would like to receive my E-newsletter, please sign up at my website at http://braley.house.gov. On my website you can also view my voting record, and get information about issues important to the First District. If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Bruce Braley

Member of Congress

As you can see, we've won a small victory in this regard.  I hope all of you will continue to fight against extremely corrupt organizations such as ACORN and write your Senators & Congressman as I do on a consistent basis.

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2Oct/090

Union Facts Challenge – Part 3

NOTICE:  This is PART 3 of a 3 part series.  Please click on the Introduction & Beliefs (Part 1) link below to start from the beginning of the series.

  1. Introduction & Beliefs - Part 1
  2. Factual History of Unions - Part 2
  3. Final Thoughts - Part 3

In PART 2 (Factual History of Unions) I provided a brief (as brief as I could be) history of how unions came about and how they have evolved over the last 200+ years now.  I tried to provide factual evidence to support the history of the unions and so now we'll move onto PART 3 (Final Thoughts).  Without further ado, PART 3...

This is a perfect segway into our next video that will help to explain how unions and government have worked together to benefit each other and at the same time screw the American People.  Take a look:

If that doesn't scare you then I don't know what does!?  So lets talk about what should be done...

Labor unions are now so corrupt, so ingrained within our government, and so worthless there are no longer any reasons to have them around anymore.  No really, what do they do?  Oh sure, the standard response would be, "They help ensure companies provide a safe environment, decent wages, great benefits, and job security."   Really, do they?  No, not really.  You can still lose your job, you can still lose your benefits, and you still have to pay dues, and now you have to support corrupt government officials you probably don't even agree with.



So what should be done?  All of the laws I previously mentioned should be repealed and ALL union contracts cancelled immediately; then we go back to basics.  The employees should sit down and decide if a union is really what they want now or do they want to individual renegotiate their current wages and benefits on their own.  If they should decide to form a union then they should do so with a system of structure to their liking (democratic, republic, etc) and then negotiate directly with the employer.  The employer is NOT obligated to accept the union and if not then the union members must either negotiate individually or risk losing their jobs.  If the employer agrees with the union and a contract is signed then so be it.  The ONLY function the government should ever serve in this scenario is that of protecting the sanctity of the contract.  If a dispute arrises as to either the employer or the union violating any part of the contract it should be taken to court via a standard lawsuit and a judge will rule on the outcome based on the merits of the complaints and what is written in the contract each party signed.  That is exactly how unions should work and no other way.

I think I have done a pretty good job of explaining my case here on how the unions have become corrupt and how the government is aiding them.  But even if I somehow failed to prove to you that any law specifically ensures unions have power over the companies they work for then let me leave you with this final thought on the subject:   If there are no written laws providing unions with unprecedented power then why is that they are donating millions and millions of dollars each and every year to campaign contributions?  What benefit would they receive if they weren't being helped somehow?

I invite you to comment on this and ask any questions you might have and I will do my best to answer them for you.  This is QC Watchdog bring you, yet again, only the facts, evidence, and common sense in keeping a watchful eye on our government.

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1Oct/090

Unions Fact Challenge – Part 2

NOTICE:  This is PART 2 of a 3 part series.  Please click on the Introduction & Beliefs (Part 1) link below to start from the beginning of the series.

  1. Introduction & Beliefs - Part 1
  2. Factual History of Unions - Part 2
  3. Final Thoughts - Part 3

In PART 1 (Introduction & Beliefs) I spoke about being a Libertarian and my feelings on how unions and business should interact and on what government's roll should be.  I welcome you to PART 2 (Factual History of Unions) and want to warn you that some of the information below can get a bit history classy so bear with me.  Without further ado, PART 2...

Unions have been a part of our country almost since the day of our founding.  In the late 18th and early 19th century many unions formed in companies that specialized in printing, carpentry, tailoring, and weaving with the purpose to keep product quality high and to prevent non-skilled and foreign labor from taking their jobs.  The 1830's presented an era of industrial growth which naturally caused unions to be a more prominent fixture within the workplace; that is until the financial Panic of 1837 destroyed the economy.

Nearly 20 years later the Civil War erupted; at its end in 1866s a new union was formed by the name of the National Labor Union.  The NLU was founded with the principles of abolishing convict labor, establishing the eight-hour work day, and restrictions on immigrant workers.  Unfortunately the NLU fell apart when it entered the political scene in 1872.




Lets fast forward about 60 or so years to the early 1930's.  As you may know, these were the years of the great depression and as you might guess it was at this time that unions reappeared and did so explosively.  One such union was called the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) created by the offspring of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).  It was during this time that President Franklin D. Roosevelt took it upon himself to try to improve working conditions and to facilitate the development of trade-union organizations.

Woah, stop the presses!  Did I just say that someone in the government actually had a hand in CREATING and AIDING trade unions?  Yes I did and not only that... it was the PRESIDENT!  Let's continue...

It was President Roosevelt and Congress who passed the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act of 1935.  The NLRA massively enlarged the rights of unions and created the National Labor Relations Board and helped enable the protective labor legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.  Most well known though, and I'm sure you've heard of it, was the passing of the Social Security Act of 1935.  Don't worry, we're not done here... I still have lots of proof to provide you on how our government SUPPORTS and ENABLES unions.  Lets continue...

The 30's, as you now know, were a huge launch pad for unions and it had become so important that the two largest unions (AFL & CIO) fought tooth and nail throughout the 30's and 40's trying to get their greedy hands deeper into government and business now that they had their foot in the door.  However, at some point (1955) the two decided that they could do much more damage and gain much more power if the worked together and so that is why we have one of the biggest unions today called AFL-CIO.  So what happened?  Well, since the AFL was the largest of the two it was given the larger share of the management of the newly formed union and placed its president, George Meany (the name fits doesn't it?), at its head.

Does the name AFL-CIO seem to be ringing any bells?  I'll give you a minute.   Its on the tip of your tongue, right?  Ok, I'll give you the answer; check out this video that will explain all you need to know about who the AFL-CIO organization is today:

The book, End of Prosperity, was mentioned.  Learn more about it HERE <- Click Me.

Ok, so now you've had a refresher on just where the AFL-CIO is today and you know how today's President(s) are interacting with them.  Does anyone else picture them holding hands and skipping through a flowery meadow with soft music playing in the background?  Anyway, lets continue on...

Ok, so in 1955 the AFL-CIO was created, so then what happened?  Well, later on in the 50's the Senate Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor Management Field (McClellan Committe) revealed that abuses and collusion between dishonest employers and union officials, extortion, violence, and the misuse of funds by high-ranking union officials were all be perpetrated.  Yup, it had been less than 5 years and already this union was proven to be corrupt!  Because of these findings the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 had to be enacted to try to correct the abuses.  Don't forget, this was only the start of things.

Let's skip ahead now to around the Vietnam war.  Nearly one-third of all American workers in 1960 had belonged to a union, except that by 1997, nearly 14% of them dropped out because they faced foreign competition, financial trouble, layoffs, and were even forced to accept reduced wages and benefits by around the mid 1980's.  Because of these hardships and the loss of members unions had to work hard to improve their image and try to convince people they were still worth their salt.  So, in the late 80's and early 90's the unions reduced the number of strikes to record lows and concentrated on negotiating more job security rather than wages and benefits.  It was also during this time that huge campaigns were created to try to recruit more members and attempt to swell their ranks.

Up to this point most unions, and their membership, consisted mainly of government employees.  The problems they were experiencing were due to our country moving away from industrial work and into service based work that women and college educated folks gravitated to; the industrial jobs were farmed out to foreign countries.  In fact, in European countries, unions tend to created their own political parties and work towards creating a favorable government structure.  Whereas, the American unions have preferred to work within the two-party system and have chosen financial influence, voter fraud, and other forms of corruption to earn their share of favorable government here in the States.

This concludes Part 2 of the Unions Fact Challenge series.  You can see Part 3 (Final Thoughts) here.

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30Sep/090

Unions Fact Challenge – Part 1

While visiting a relatives house yesterday, and of conversation over politics, I was challenged to prove my theory that Unions' main power base comes from laws created by our Federal government and that it was our Federal government's laws that allowed the Unions to become so corrupt as they are today.  The length of my article is really long so I've decided to split it up into a three part series as follows:

  1. Introduction & Beliefs - Part 1
  2. Factual History of Unions - Part 2
  3. Final Thoughts - Part 3

Before getting into my theory and backing it up with FACTS I thought it would be appropriate to explain exactly where I stand on the issue of business, government, and unions.




As most of you know, I am a stanch Libertarian who bases my intellectually charged opinions on facts, research, and common sense.  Some of the people that I look up to, study, and refer to as my mentors are Ron Paul, Sheldon Richman, Ludwig von Misus, and others.  So, in my point of view, people have the right to organize into a union only if they and the employer agree.  The employer has the right not to agree because the business in which the employees work is the property (property rights) of the employer and whereby you enter into someone else's property - you do so on his terms.  Equally though, employees have the right to refuse to work, whether individually or as a group, if that is their choice.  However, that would mean they are putting themselves out of a job and are taking a personal risk to do so.

Because I whole-heartedly believe in a true free market, employees walking off the job and employers refusing to allow a union to be formed could be seen as incongruous and self-defeating.  So how do I think the government plays a roll in any of this?  Easy, because the employees and employer are free to write up any contract or agreement they deem worthwhile. It is then the government's responsibility to hold each party accountable to their role in the contract just as any contractual relationship happens to anyone else in the economy.

Now that you know where I stand I think it best to continue into how and why unions were started in the first place.

This concludes Part 1 of the Unions Fact Challenge series.  You can see Part 2 (Factual History of Unions) here.

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30Sep/090

Sand Hill Venable Elementary School Indoctrination Video

Remember last week when we saw a video of children signing, "Barack Hussein Obama" to the tune of 'Jesus Loves Me'?  Remember when they made Obama sound God-like when they said 'equal in his sight'?  

Well, a new video was released today showing the indoctrination of our children hasn't stopped yet.  North Carolina school Sand Hill Venable Elementary School is indoctrinating our kids as well; heads should roll:

What do you think about these schools and what should be done about them?



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7Aug/090

Davenport, IA – A how-to on fixing rising crime rates…

Davenport, IA is a city adjacent to the one I'm currently living in and as a neighbor (and previous resident) of Davenport I have noticed that crime seems to be an even more pressing issue lately.  In fact, I can't remember a time where I've looked in the morning newspaper and can daily find an article stating that someone has been stabbed or shot.  These crimes seem to generally happen and stem from certain population areas of Davenport that the police just can't seem to get under and keep under control.  So, here is my Libertarian idea of how I would resolve the problems if I were the Mayor and/or Police Chief of Davenport:

The number one way, and most popular way, is to spend more tax money by hiring more police officers to patrol the streets.  However, even though Rudy G. in New York proved this method can work at what tax ramifications are we shoving down the throats of the city's citizens?   I believe I have a better idea; although half-baked I thought I would list it here and see what kind of comments I could drum up from the audiance.

My plan would be to designate swafts of population centers that seem to house those who cause the most issues.  For example, take the area between Locust, Bridge, 14th, & Brady and call it Zone Alpha.  Zone Alpha properties will now be given special tax breaks in order to make them highly appealing to investors.  For example, the average home price in that area is probably around $60,000 and the age of the home is nearing 70-100 years old and in fairly poor condition.  However, these homes were built during a time where bigger was better and hardwood floors, stairs, and other areas were all the rage (as we know these features are in major demand now-a-days as history repeats itself like clockwork) and with excellent square footage and great bones can be turned into beautiful masterpieces.

So lets give investors the tax breaks as follows:

  • Investors who purchase a property within the next 18 months will be given a 100% break on capital gains if they bring the property up to code and refurbish the entire home and lot with 12 months.
  • Investors will be required to sell the property within 24 months from the 12 months refurbishment deadline giving them a total of 3 years from start to finish to fix and sell the property.
  • Investors will not be required to pay property taxes on the property during that 3 year period.  In addition, to help spur sales new homeowners will not be required to pay property taxes for an additional two years from purchase of the property.




I believe this plan could work because investors would automatically make a large % of their flipping profit on the capital gains tax savings and the property tax savings right off the top.  That doesn't even count the spread they will make from the original purchase price and final sales price with appreciation factored in as well.  The city may lose out on some tax revenue initially but in the long run they will make much more because the values of the properties will have massively increased (thus increasing property tax income) and because the purchase price of the properties will be out of the range of previous tenants and incoming hooligans which would immediately reduce crime.

Two major questions come to mind when I present this scenario.  1.) How would you get current homeowners and/or renters to move out? and 2.) Where would these people go?

Well, the first question can be complicated but I think I can tackle it.  Let's say that someone purchased one of the properties in this area two years ago for the average $60,000.   Well, an investor could come in an offer a 5% premium over the current assessed value of the property (maybe more) and convince the owner to move.  Afterall, the neighborhood knows that the prices of the homes will only come down due to the age of the properties and violence in the neighborhood so I could take an educated guess that very few, if any, would pass up such an opportunity.  Afterall, the investor stands to make an automatic profit from the tax savings alone and so has a lot of room to negotiate an acceptable offer.

Secondly, we must answer the question of where would these people go?  Well, once the neighborhood properties have outpriced the previous owners/dwellers they would be forced to rent/buy elsewhere.  Of course some will find local homes in other local neighboorhoods but many will generally move out of the city.  In fact, if this plan takes place all over the city there will be nowhere for these people to reside within the city or surrounding areas.  So then it begs the question of, "What about neighboring cities, won't they have to deal with these people and the crime?".  Honestly, yes they will and with that being said I say, "Who cares."  No really, we resolved the problem here and so when these hooligans move out of our city where do we care where they go, as long as they aren't here to cause us problems it truly is... no longer our problem.  Those cities will have to deal with the issue in their own way.

I'd love to hear comments about my idea and perhaps someone can shoot me down and explain why they believe this wouldn't work.  So fire away!

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