Government Richness

Okay, this one didn't happen in Omaha (but I wouldn't be surprised if it did).

A few days ago, I read a small news article about a tiny city in southern California that was voting to replace all but one member of its City Council. Apparently, these city council members had paid themselves 6-figure salaries – and all sorts of perks and bonuses – while running the city finances millions of dollars into debt. The one member who was not being recalled had accepted only $1500 for his part-time services. While the citizens were going to the polls, deciding on replacements, the council members being replaced were in court, facing fraud charges.

The problem with elections these days is that candidates have to be rich in order to run for even the simplest office. And it seems like the only thing rich people care about is obtaining more money for their own bank accounts.

Maybe we need a few more 'common people' in public office. I just can't figure out how to get them there, since they don't have scads of money to let people know they're running for office.

Open Letter to Last Night’s Hotel

Last night, it was our misfortune to select your motel as our resting spot for the night. We had been given a book of coupons when we entered the fine state of Georgia, and your hotel's coupon promised everything we needed; a frig for our healthy snacks, a wifi connection so we could send messages to friends, family and business partners, plus a cheap price, so important to a pair of new entrepreneurs trying to stretch every penny as far as it will go. Plus, it was on the edge of Macon, which was as far as we could expect to get in that day.

We should have changed our minds when we saw the place. As my partner slowly pulled in under the overhang, we were dismayed to see the ceiling was broken, the bare rafters showing through a large hole. We convinced ourselves that it was possible it was recent damage that the hotel had not yet had time to repair.

Tired from a long day of driving, we entered the lobby to request a room. The woman behind the counter was so slow, I rather thought we might still be there in the lobby when it was time to check out the next morning! We specifically asked about the wifi, and she nodded, indicating it was available, but didn't give us any instructions on how to log onto it.

When we finally got to our room, we set up our laptop and attempted to 'log on'. There were 2 wifi connections available, but neither had a name that would identify it as belonging to the motel, and neither was strong – the strongest had two bars out of five. Still, we attempted to connect, first with one, then the other. After an hour, we gave up, and resigned ourselves to not making those connections that night.

To top off the night, my partner found something – probably a spider – had bitten her during the night. And neither of us slept well, partially because the mattresses were like sleeping on cement, and partially because the neighbors were having a party, which we heard plainly through the wall.

Yes, you have a memorable motel. We will remember NOT to use it again, should we find ourselves needing to stop in Macon GA in the future.

Oh, Say, Can you See?

When I was young a few centuries ago, there were rules for the proper display and care of the national flag. As school children, we were taught the basics: raise and lower the flag with respect, fold it carefully, don't leave it flying in raid or snow, and when it gets tattered, replace it, sending the old one to be burnt with all due reverence. It was drilled into us that showing proper respect for our flag displayed our patriotistm.

Since 2001, more and more people and businesses have started to fly the flag. As I drive around town, it seems half the houses have a flag displayed. Flags are flown not only at government offices, but seemingly at every bank, grocery store and gas station. Everybody wants to display their patriotistm.

But are they?

I've been keeping my eyes on a huge flag flown by a local branch of a national bank. No matter when I wander by and look, that flag is up that flagpole. Even at night, although the flagpole isn't lit. Even in rain. Even in snow and sleet. It has flapped so hard in the wind that the edge has become quite tattered. It rather looks like something 'the cat drug in'.

Where's the respect?

Game or War?

Is it a game, or a war?

As a driver, you probably have routes you frequently drive – to and from work, the grocery store, your favorite restaurant. When the freeze of winter lets up for a couple days, you breathe easier, knowing you needn't worry about ice. Then >BAM!< you hit a pothole. You swear to yourself, but you don't have a blow out, so you drive on.

The next day, you try to locate exactly where that pothole is. Was it beside this drainage grate or the next one? >BAM!< Okay, it was that one. Meanwhile, more potholes have appeared, and a routine drive has become an adventure – a mix of an obstacle course and the desire to not become bumper cars.

One day, you turn the corner {not too tight, because there's a big—now hug the curb, or you'll hit the--} and you realize those holes have been filled. Hooray! You keep watch – who knows how far the road crew got? – but your drive is far smoother, and you sigh in relief.

The next day, you don't watch as closely, and >BAM!< you hit a pothole, one of the same potholes you avoided last week. Every one of them is back, with no sign of the patches they'd been given.

Every city has potholes, and every city wages war on them. Well, except San Francisco. I understand SF went for 2 decades without doing any street maintenance. I can't imagine what those streets were like at the end of that. Were the street crews laid off, or assigned jobs that they (possibly) were not qualified for?

This morning, I daydreamed about arming cars with road patch missiles. The press of a button would shoot out a 'smart' glob of asphalt, which would find the impending pothole and plop into it just before the tire ran over it. "Take that! And that! Die, you Evil Potholes!"

Okay, probably not going to happen in real life. So, why doesn't somebody create it as a videogame? Wouldn't be any weirder than some of the games I've seen kids play.

The Pothole War Game. Wonder which side would win?

How Cities Spend Money

Okay, so governments have been hit by dire financial straits. In the midst of cutting back on replacing worn out equipment and cutting back services, they find new ways to spend the money they 'don't have'.

Take Omaha for example. Yeah, I beat up on Omaha quite a bit. That's because I have several friends who live there, so I get to hear about all the stupid things that happen.

So, what's the stupid method Omaha found to spend money it didn't have? Other than the obvious one of building a new convention center and a new baseball field to replace the perfectly good ones they already had.

It popped up on at least one of the local radio stations, and it wasn't even a news story. It was a traffic report. Several traffic reports, actually, scattered over a few weeks. "This traffic report sponsored by the City of Omaha."

I'm pretty sure 'sponsored' means 'paid for'. I don't know how much it costs to sponsor a traffic report – several traffic reports – but it's not something I'd want to do on my retirement pension. Common people have a saying, "Every penny counts." I don't think government heads have heard it.

Why would they sponsor a traffic report? Obviously, as a bit of PR, to show the citizens how much the government cares for their well-being. I see it as a waste of money, because if the city had not sponsored those reports, I'm sure the station would have found a business to do it. So, another example of money wasted on the unnecessary. No wonder governments are in such bad shape. Financially.

Spending Money

I've been hearing for years about how the City of Omaha is in dire financial straits. Even before the general population knew much about it, my friends who worked for the city would complain that their legally negotiated contract was broken by the City, which claimed it could not afford to give them the miniscule "cost of living" raises that contract had promised. The union would negotiate a three-year contract, and its members be lucky if they actually got the promised raise in one of those years. This happened several times.

Of course, the City Council members couldn't countenance going without a raise two years in a row. None of the mayors in the past decade have been the least bit embarrassed about hiring Personal Assistants for an exorbitant salary. And somehow, they've come up with the money to build a new sports arena to replace a recently renovated sports field.

That's not the way I was raised; when you don't have enough money to pay your bills, you don't go out and spend even more. Maybe that's because I'm working class, not a business person like the mayors and most of the council members. Spending money you don't have seems to make sense to businesses.

Working class people who are in a financial squeeze tighten their belts and delay purchasing anything they don't absolutely HAVE to have. When they do buy, they may buy cheap. Yes, they know it won't last as long, but they're looking for something to get them through the bad time, until they can consider spending a little more for better quality.

Business people who move into politics just don't make sense. They declare finances are a shambles and demand that every department tighten its belt – old fire trucks and cop cars are not replaced, and then the mechanic who can keep them running is let go. But on the other hand, a replacement for a perfectly good sports field somehow becomes a necessity.

And they wonder why the citizens are ready to rebel.

Is This the Dream?

I've been talking to my friend who is working at big bank, trying to make plans for a little daylight get-together. I thought President's Day might be a good time. It's a holiday, so I figured the bank would be closed, but it isn't such a big holiday that restaurants and stores would be closed. It had worked for Martin Luther King Day last month.

However, it turns out she doesn't get President's Day off. This just seems wrong to me. I don't mind that the bank closed for Martin Luther King Day – he certainly deserves to be acknowledged for his accomplishments. But President's Day is intended to celebrate TWO of our Greatest Presidents, and that is certainly deserving some acknowledgment, too.

I don't want to claim racial prejudice – somehow, no one takes you seriously if you're white. But I do wonder if this an example of the Dream that Dr King talked so eloquently about. It doesn't seem likely.