I missed this at the time, but it is still relevant: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/29/local/la-me-redevelopment-20111230 A couple of the best parts: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky said redevelopment over the years "evolved into a honey pot that was tapped to underwrite billions of dollars worth of commercial and other for-profit projects."
The projects "had nothing to do with reversing blight, but everything to do with subsidizing private real estate ventures that otherwise made no economic sense," Yaroslavsky said. "Proposition 13 created a kind of shell game among local government agencies for property tax funds,'" Werdegar wrote, quoting a planning guide. "'The only way to obtain more funds was to take them from another agency. Redevelopment proved to be one of the most powerful mechanisms for gaining an advantage in the shell game.'" Governor Brown is still in favor of this kind of scam, he only put a stop to it short-term, but the arguments against it are still valid.
The projects "had nothing to do with reversing blight, but everything to do with subsidizing private real estate ventures that otherwise made no economic sense," Yaroslavsky said. .
Yep
Villa Italia Marcellas Bow Tie Bombers Mex Radio Paul Mitchell Hampton Inn Galesi
Yep, our tax dollars (those of use who actually have our names on the tax rolls) are required to give to these wealthy political cronies.
What has this "economic development" done? Give money to the rich, kickbacks to the city/co/plex leaders, cause drastic reduction in the tax base combined with fewer government services and an increase in tax BILLS. Let's see who, if anyone, will dispute this AND provide the evidence.
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
Villa Italia Marcellas Bow Tie Bombers Mex Radio Paul Mitchell Hampton Inn Galesi
Yep, our tax dollars (those of use who actually have our names on the tax rolls) are required to give to these wealthy political cronies.
What has this "economic development" done? Give money to the rich, kickbacks to the city/co/plex leaders, cause drastic reduction in the tax base combined with fewer government services and an increase in tax BILLS. Let's see who, if anyone, will dispute this AND provide the evidence.
I suggest you get out there and campaign for HULL!!! oh.....and by the way.....expect and get ready for a new wave of 'walk-a-way' property owners.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Real taxpayers,homeowners who live here,would of been more impressed with econ.dev. if it was achieved by private company's who 100% invested their own $,w/o help from the taxpayers. This would of showed genuine belief in this market. With gov't assistance having caveats, the locating company could opt out once the corp. welfare term expires, or be denied additional corp. welfare if a job quota was not met. Then we will see just how much belief a company has in this area.
What I don't quite fathom is this - after all the 'investment' in downtown, are businesses still writing off the city? Cabela's and Costco, for instance. I understand that the Wolf Road vicinity has a lot going on, in part due to its location, but Erie Boulevard isn't that inaccessible from out of town, and it is more accessible than Colonie from some people coming from other directions. Is it that these 'investments' aren't doing any good, and Schenectady is just as undesirable a location as it was before all our money was spent, or do these would-be new businesses not know what we offer here? That would be bad, really bad, because it would mean that the people throwing the money around really aren't doing it right, in that they aren't casting a wide enough net, getting the message out. Of course, there is another, even worse, possibility. What if the sites are being "held back" until the "right" people come knocking? All this time, all this money. Subsidized gin mills. That's what we have to show for it.
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