Saving Toledo’s ship of state
Written by Tim Higgins | | letters@toledofreepress.comEven in the midst of winter, we continue to sail the waves here in Toledo; and like any ship plying its trade in such weather, we search the horizon for ice.
There is little doubt as to why we do so, having suffered so long under the captaincy of Mayor Carleton S. Finkbeiner. For while he was praised in some quarters as the city’s No. 1 cheerleader, there is little doubt that his true legacy will be that of a misogynist misanthrope and maniacal ego-maniac who terrorized co-workers, antagonized business owners and neighboring governments and abused perhaps his best and only friend (a dog). He was truly a danger to the ship he sailed.
This image first came to mind as I listened to Brian Wilson on WSPD discussing the inaugural speech by Mike Bell, as he talked about taking charge of a sinking Titanic. There is much to recommend this comparison. I believe his point that this ship of state must first have the hole in its side plugged if any of the passengers aboard are to be saved is a valid one. I would take it even one step further perhaps, and say that it must first be recognized that there is a hole in the ship before we can begin to plug it.
Many of our local politicians have paid lip service to this impending doom, talking about finding a way to deal with the ever mounting debt of the city, but few have made concrete proposals to deal with it. Pouring city money into the Erie Street Market, the Imagination Station (COSI for those of you who don’t recognize the new name yet), Southwyck and the Marina District hardly seems the way. Yet such behavior seemed to pass with little notice or objection by City Council members during our recent past as they continued to pile good money upon bad for one nonsensical project after another.
Those doing with less alas were the taxpayers, paying increased trash fees to get a system of rotating trash days and finance trash cans and trucks that none seemed to want, while calls to privatize the system went unheeded. Unheeded as well, went calls to go back to private ambulance service and eliminate the need for the overtime budgets of city firefighters to fill the gaps in service.
New contracts were negotiated with city workers, even in the midst of this impending crisis, which called for apparent sacrifices by some of Toledo’s unions, but their offerings were illusory and temporary, with future budgets to bear the burden of shortsightedness on the part of both unions and city negotiators alike. But how could unions take the piteous cries of the city seriously when there was always money for swimming pools or flowers? How could anyone be asked to take the city’s mounting debt seriously when those minding the purse strings of the city so recklessly ignored it?
Our new mayor cannot be content with paying lip service to the issues, playing the same tired old tune (like the band on that ill-fated vessel) in yet another attempt to distract us while the ship of state slowly sinks beneath the waves. For much like those traveling on that great liner, there are not enough lifeboats for all of us, and any help that comes is still beyond view in the distance. He cannot be a hidebound captain in dealing with the situation. Levying higher taxes and decreasing city services will serve no better than pumping the water out of the bilges and into the cabins of the ship.
He cannot expect to keep the vessel afloat with the temporary patches of selling some of the city’s real estate holdings. While they will perhaps buy him a year’s time, doing so in a depressed real estate market will do nothing to affect the long term sinking of the ship.
I have to say that I am happy with the state of the lifeboat drill going on in the City of Toledo. Before we know what departments might be thrown overboard to lighten the burden of the ship, we are warned that there might be new sacrifices to be made. Before the mayor can truly know how great are the resources the city might yet possess, he begins to float proposals to take more from its citizens.
Yes, Bell and Wilson are right that the ship of state must have the wound in its side plugged, but I fear that much of what we are seeing may prove of little use in the process. This time, Captain Bell, “more of the same” will not fill the gaping hole visible to all and save this ship of state.
Tim Higgins blogs at http://justblowingsmoke.blogspot.com/.
Tim,
The honest answer if that there is no amount of tax you are willing to pay. You want civilization, but find it offense to your ideology to pay for that civilization.
Your taxes are too high, but when you call 911 because your loved one needs help or because your home is on fire and no one comes, I doubt very much you will think to yourself, “well my relative just died when he or she didn’t have to, but my taxes are low so I’m OK with the tradeoff.”
The response is always if we just got rid of the waste in government then the taxes we pay now would cover it. Except you will always think there is waste in government because it is a slogan. There is no amount of tax you will ever be willing to pay regardless of how efficient government services are.
If you will promise to never use any government service – never use a road, a hospital, a public school, never take advantage of police protection, never use the benefits of of civilization (I doubt your business would run very well if there were no laws preventing theft… those are laws enforced by the government after all) – promise me all that, and then maybe I’ll listen to you whine about your tax problem and give you the tiniest bit of sympathy.
And just as a preemptive… Ty, you wrote a response recently about how service men and women should be respected for their service… Marcy Kaptur is working to get a new veteran’s hospital in Toledo for those who have served. It would be an earmark. Tell me why a hospital for veterans is a bad use of government money and tell me why I should hate Kaptur for helping those Toledo vets.
This comment was posted on January 29th, 2010 at 11:09 am“Tell me why a hospital for veterans is a bad use of government
money….”
The response should be clear and succinct, the veterans system is not in the Constitution, there is nothing in the document about providing support to the vets.
Following that line of thought, most of what is in place, is
unconstitutional, so dismantle it and be done with.
But the twisting in the chairs start, because rationally, how does one dismantle all that has been put in place, especially when the claim is that it is unconstitutional.
This comment was posted on January 31st, 2010 at 11:46 amIt is in the Constitution:
“To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.”
It doesn’t say anything about airplanes either, are you saying you’d like the FAA made unconstitutional? The words “child labor” aren’t in the Constitution… you OK with that too?
This comment was posted on February 1st, 2010 at 1:53 pmCollege funding for lifers in prison IS in the Constitution.
Free health care to illegal aliens IS in the Constitution.
Funding ACORN, to lie, cheat, and steal elections for the lying, thieving, cheating, Demonrats, is in the Constitution.
Bribing Senators, is in the Constitution.
Forcing citizens into fines and eventually into prison for not buying into ObaMaoscare, is in the Constitution.
Farm subsidies for cotton/sugar Ag billionaires, is in the Constitution.
ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, is in the Constitution..just ask any dimwit liberal…they’ll point right to the ‘general welfare clause’, and swear to GOD, that’s EXACTLY what the Founding Fathers, meant !
And Toledo, has 13 Fortune 500 companies in the city….well, they did in 1982…before Kapturd, invaded like the Asian carp, is about to.
…and the band played on…
This comment was posted on February 1st, 2010 at 6:35 pmHey pal. Could you stop pounding on that keyboard so hard? We can hear it in our home! Asian carp? Kapturd? Demoncrats? We see (and hear) you pounding away on your 286 in your Dad’s basement well into the night. (We’d appreciate it if you’d put on some clothes, by the way.) We know you have no friends and you quit Woodward High before you graduated. So we’re trying to leave you be. But you’re SO angry and SO frustrated and, to be honest, you’re creeping the entire neighborhood out. Ya gotta get help, buddy. You’re wacked, loopy, bananas. (And you still haven’t exactly explained just what happened to several of the neighborhood cats.) Like I said before. Stay away from my porch, keep your distance from my kids and uh… please close your curtains… (shrinky dink).
This comment was posted on February 2nd, 2010 at 8:01 pmTy,were you at Woodstock? Had you already eaten the Brown Acid by the time they announced not too? You sound delusional and stuck in some kind of time warp.I haven’t seen you post anything constructive so far, only how much better it was when Bush, Cheney and Rummy were filling their and their pals pockets and doubling the federal deficit.
Hey does your gardener have his green card?
This comment was posted on February 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 pmOhhhh just GREAT !! Bird droppings on my web page…from bird brained twerps…messy, smelly ,and terminally unhygienic…like all Demonrats !
This comment was posted on February 3rd, 2010 at 3:09 pmBetter get some penicillum on those many, many, MANY, open sores you vomit eaters have.
An occasional bath , with soap works wonders, you septic zeroes.
Now post to someone who reads your drivel and to someone who cares…
ObaMao, needs a teleprompter in front of kindergartners…where as, beauty pagent contestants DO NOT !!??
Sounds perfectly STUPID, to me…
Your ego loves the drivel Frazier.
This comment was posted on February 3rd, 2010 at 8:38 pmGive Ty some sympathy. There’s a black president and that’s hard for him.
This comment was posted on February 4th, 2010 at 10:05 amIs it any wonder Toledo and Lucas County is in such terrible decline?
With the Democrats controlling everything, there is no accountability. Nothing ever changes. Just a rigged game of musical chairs for worthless career hack politicians with the letter “D” after their names.
This comment was posted on February 4th, 2010 at 4:40 pm