Ben Franklin: "A penny saved is a penny earned."

Our Politicians: "A dollar unmatched is a dollar wasted."

These guys don't have a clue. Business makes investment when there is a minimal uncertainty environment. Borrowing more money for make-work projects at taxpayer expense only adds to the lack of confidence in the "public sector".

Anyway, 66&67 took away the last reason for a business to increase gross sales. And the State STILL doesn't have enough money.

What he really means is "If you put in a streetcar, Weston, Homer, and Edlen will build apartments next to it." And "Mike Powell wants his own condo tower."

"cities, counties, Metro and businesses throughout the region to tackle looming financing gaps and inefficiencies"

That sounds like halting Milwaukie Light Rail.

But what he is really doing to joining in the plot attempting to avert the collapse of the Urban Renewal ponzi scheme, "Tax Increment Financing", as the public awarenes and outrage from the taxing jurisdictions mushrooms. Especially public safety.

Metro, The League of Oregon Cities, counties and cities are busy scrambling to preserve this weapon of mass dysfunction.

It's time to but kill the TIF beast once and for all.

Slam every news story and public official
with comments condemning it.

This is how the ponzi scheme works

http://bojack.org/images/urbanrenewalgraph.pdf

This is about Metro exerting more control over the local governments. Mandating that they "invest" in town centers, urban renewal, transit-oriented development, and other density. All the planner's wish list that we're so familiar with in Portland.

Well, it seems that places like Fairveiw and Sherwood just aren't blowing enough public money... sorry, I mean "investing" enough in these projects to satisify the Robert Liberty types, so golldarnit, Metro is just needs a bit more say-so over the matter.

Once you understand that Metro is simply a mechanism for Portland interests to exert power over the smaller cities in the region, all this stuff makes much more sense.

OK, let me get this right. METRO likes it when we throw money at publicly built stuff or METRO sanctioned (read Homer/Gerding-Edlen) contractors.

However, when private builders want to do stuff they'll throw up every excuse in the world about slow-growth or anti-sprawl, even though these guys usually have a lot better idea of what the buying public wants.

I'm no Voltaire, but time for a little "écrasez l'infâme"

A bunch of them must need expense account reimbursements (in the millions) in order to cover their monthly loan payments (in the millions). Meanwhile the interest rate will kill you in the long run.

Holy Salmon P. Chase (dead prez on the now defunct $10,000) save us now and at the hour of our elected pilferers fiscal irresponsibility. Ka Ching!

One commotion 'theme' I have been seeing in rightwing rancor during recent months, is repetition of false blame on 'communities' (such as municipal 'projects') for not supporting businesses -- since no one has any money to buy stuff -- so the businesses are forced to close up shop, cash out, and leave.

True blame goes on the business owners acting first -- cashing out, retreating into retirement obscurity ,and 'swimming' in their Scrooge McDuck-size 'money bins.' Then, second and consequently, storefronts are boarded up, people are out of jobs, the 'municipality' has no money in circulation and 'communities' can't fund the 'public' part of public/private developments that businesses have schemed and skimmed off for many many years.

Overall, 'business' and 'banking' are acting in coordination to bankrupt The Economy and, as they do it, they are pointing blame at Obama, 'liberals,' social comity, and of course leftist hippie baby boomers.

Well, y'know what? Bloody business capitalists might be almost to face a day of reckoning. F'r instance, that 'Tony' guy who was head of BP when the oil erupted in the Gulf, and then got sent to Siberia. It seems like a good idea to fetch him back and into Court for questioning of What he knew and When he knew it concerning the eleven employees who were killed on the job for him, with his documented records of ignoring safety violations and bribing inspectors and regulators.

Here in Portland some Big Names should have their assets liquidated to pay for the bankrupturing SoWhat scheme. Some Big Names are politicians, some are businessmen and realty/banking types. No difference, it's all the same gone-too-far greediness, and it's time they were put on the stand, under oath, and asked What they knew and When they knew it.

They MOST DEFINITELY do NOT get to steal newsmedia oxygen with "a series of documents warning that cities and counties had better shape up." And inside newsmedia there is a strained rift between the faction of profiteering business owners 'pulling the plug' trying to take the money and run, being confronted by 'working journalists' coming to realize it sells more newspapers and TV ratings by reporting news of 'white collar' 'executive' criminals on trial and at their 'reckoning.'

.

I think Metro and their light rail/urban renewal mafia are panicking.

This is quite special.

"The cost of doing nothing
Making these critical investments is more difficult than ever in an era of limited resources, growing environmental and economic challenges, and voter distrust in government, but the results of doing nothing impacts the future of the region and the daily lives of residents: We'll spend more time in traffic, breathe more pollution, lose more farmland and lose our competitive edge to other regions. For example, by the year 2035:"

blah blah blah

But this next quote is one of the most stunning pieces of local government propaganda I've ever seen.

Metro, who's goal is to deliberately congest our roads in a perpetual pursuit of utopia by making driving miserable actually claims that if we don't let them continue clogging our roads:

"during the evening commute the region's roadways could be 106 percent more congested during the evening commute and
the cost of delay for moving freight on the region's roadways during the peak shipping period could increase by 582 percent "

Those are their own goals.

Their idea of helping traffic is billions wasted on Milwaukie Light Rail while the Sellwood bridge collapses, billions more on a CRC design that forces light rail on Vancouver, light rail down the middle of Barbur Bvld and H99,
a trolley to LO and few more streetcar lines running in chaotic circles.

That's going to reduce congestion?

Yeah we need to pull out all the stops and dump more money into their plans.

Why would anyone distrust government?

"when taxpayers invest in public structures and public systems it demonstrates a commitment that gives businesses the confidence to make long-term investments in their communities."

Um, you mean like the sewers, police and schools? Of course, TIF will take any upside towards those systems.