Take From The Rich, Give To The…
May 1st, 2008
One of my beliefs that has changed since I first got elected is that I don’t believe government does a good job being charitable. There’s just too much mischief that takes place when strangers get to spend strangers’ money. Davy Crockett approached it from a different angle to come to the same conclusion over a century ago.
A great example was highlighted in the Las Vegas Sun this week, which told the story of the Las Vegas-Clark County Urban League.
The story starts with the “executive board” of the “non-profit”:
gathered in a $10.5 million community center that hadn’t even opened to the public. The room was bordered by soft leather couches and chairs so new that tags from the factory still hung from them. The league’s center was built with county and federal funds. “We don’t have enough cash on hand … to fully implement programs,” Raihl told his fellow board members. “Cash flow is extremely tight.”
What? This group has taken ten million dollars from Nevada’s families under the auspices of fighting poverty, and instead built itself a palace?
It gets worse.
It turns out this group:
is attempting to fill a void left by another nonprofit organization, the Economic Opportunity Board, which fell apart in 2006 under the weight of mismanaged finances and programs.
Having failed to fight poverty but succeeded in enriching a few once before, it seems government does the same thing all over again.
Las Vegas accountant Lynda R. Keeton was scheduled to work at the group’s Owens Avenue office for the last two weeks of April at a cost of $10,000. That money would come out of the $2.8 million federal grant administered by the state.
A grand a day. Sweet deal, if you can get it. And it wasn’t just the consultants who were pillaging taxpayers under the banner of charity:
the local Urban League affiliate had what appears to be a top-heavy administration, with chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer and communications/government affairs positions overseeing a full-time staff of 48.
Turns out those four, plus a computer tech, were averaging $100K per year each, plus benefits. Looks like a great deal for everyone except taxpayers… and the poor.
“Non-profit” agencies are cursed with a great deal more transparency than government agencies. The reporters who were allowed to observe and report on this management meeting would never be allowed into the meeting of top bureaucrats for a government meeting. Once in a while, an audit, like this one, is released… but most of government’s “anti-poverty” fight is hidden and unaccountable.
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I see this a lot in big cities.
I have lived in four major cities.
Many of these help-the-poor grants are just trophies and awards by politicians to their pals and buddies.
Do they help the poor? Yes they do.
But they are extremely wasteful and not efficient.
The system will never be fixed.
I hope the leather is nice and soft.
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:56 pm
The tags were still attached to the furniture due to a compliance issue. Apparently the tags contained some verbiage to the affect of “Due not remove under penalty of Law.”
61
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:28 am
When you sacrifice “honor, integrity and justice” to obtain money and power, you are simply corrupt. It has permeated our society. There was a time when a man’s promise was his bond. Now, promises to pay back loans to purchase houses are simply ingnored when the house becomes less valuable than the money owed. Not only is the personal integrity violated, but the security posted is sacrificed also. But that is not enough, now the “charity” of the state is pressed into service. A country so corrupt cannot long endure.
If it does not affect us directly, we ignore it. So, go ahead, drink a beer, get some sleep and do it all again tomorrow. When the Government of “hope and change” comes to get your house and offer you alternate accommodations, as Hitler kindly offered the Jews, it will be too late. There may well be a day when you wake up and cannot “do it all again”. But that’s OK. It is really somebody else’s problem.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 am
There is a culture of corruption in this state and the smell emanates from the left wing under the guise of fairness or helping the poor. I can only imagine how bad it will get if
Obama HUSSAIN Obama (as Rev. Wright likes to call him) gets elected president. My prediction? We will join the ranks of the third world Africa as this country is destroyed in record time. He will allow the illegals to pour over the borders and register them to vote. The productive workers will be sucked dry by the lazy blood suckers who take over. Can murdering the
white farmers and replacing them with cronies who don’t know the first thing about farming be far off? If Nevada is any example (see above story), or the UMC cronie debacle, Yvonne
Atkinson Gates, (Marguerita airport stands), double dipping
government employees (do I need to mention names?) etc. is any indication, we are in BIG, BIG Trouble.
But then, Hillary is JUST as bad. Can you say PANDER?
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:46 am
THE AWESOME NEWS IS DINA TAXUS IS HISTORY IN THE SENATE!!!
ONE LESS DOUBLE DIPPING TAX AND SPENDER DOWN!!
The only problem? We have to listen to her “I’m NOT Happy”
statement again. I hope Porter is planning to run that one!!
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 am
The answer is simple, Nothing For Nobody. You keep yours and I’ll keep mine.
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:03 am
Thanks for exposing this more than what was put out in the newspapers. Waste and poverty are enemies of each other. The problem here as I see it, is what do we do about it? Can we just fire everyone and start over with poor people in those seats that know from their own experiences what and where help is needed?
May 4th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I very am glad to read that you all are upset with the corruption & waist concerning this article. But, Senator Beers I would like to see articles about the fraud & waist with the contractors in our “War on Terror”, the oil companies not paying royalties for drilling on public lands with record profits still asking for tax credits.
I always hear the statement from the Republicans that the Democrats are “Tax & Spend Liberals” but I never hear anything about the “Borrow & Spend Conservatives”. Do you realize that when President Bush leaves office in January 2009 our national debt will be about $10 Trillion; are GDP is about $12.5 - $14 Trillion! In 1981 when President Regan began his first term in office the national debt was $900 Billion and since then the Republican Administrations’ have raise the national debt by $6.4 Trillion compared to the Democrate Administration of $1.7 Trillion. The last two physical years of President Clinton’s Administration we had a budget surplus. This is yours, mine and future generations’ debt. I would like to hear from you how we should pay off this debt. Right now the interest on the debt is about $250 Billion or 12.5 % of the budget.
So what do you conservatives plan on doing? Mr. Feher you write “I keep mine and you keep yours”, so how are you going to pay off your portion of the nation debt?
Ms. Weils how is Senator McCain going to improve our country’s financial woes? From what I have read on his website and hear in the news he plans on staying the same economic course of the past eight years. Cutting taxes then borrowing the monies to cover the shortfall in revenues, that is just insane. Have you heard that he plans on borrowing $2 Trillion more?
This is our country and we all have to make some sacrifices to fix our problems. We cannot grow our way out these issues as the neo-cons think. We have become short sited and greedy; and more so in certain sects of our society that has had an undue influence in our government. Most of our problems can be fixed in short period of time 2- 10 years. Here is a list of several books and videos that I recommend you should read and watch:
1. The New Pentagon Map: by Thomas P. M. Barnett
2. The Three Trillion Dollar War: by Joseph E. Stiglitz
3. Against The Tide: by Lincoln Chafee
CD Video: Iraq For Sale: Directed by Robert Greenwald
Google search for the MAYO Clinic’s report on fixing the country’s health care system, check c-span/Washington Journal.
As you can tell I am of a different political persuasion. I try look at all of the facts and use a common sense approach to solve the problems not political rhetoric. We are the greatest country in the world but if we do not work together for the common good our society we will end-up like Rome of two thousand years ago. The main difference between ancient Rome and us is technology!
May 10th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Jerry, you make some good points, but I do not see how you can advocate more of a failed system as a solution. You take the classic two-party approach of attacking “the rotten republicans” so you can align with a group. You hit all the sound bites regarding the war, oil companies and the debt, but you forgot “think of the children” for health insurance and education. Basically, I agree that all these are problems, but I fail to see how an objective person can think that more of the same will solve the problem when it has only made it so much worse so far.
You take a good snapshot of history, but only to advocate your “anti-republican” feel-good zone. Notice that both parties conspired to agree to all these ideas. The president only horse-trades for his ideas with Congress at the expense of future generations. Both parties have done this for 65 years (at least). By the way, the deficit is actually more like $60-$70 trillion if you factor in the unfunded promises that must be paid somehow in the future. I am sure you realize that there is a breaking point, no matter how much we “hope” a “change” into creation.
Your points are all valid, I just fail to see how our current two-party system can solve them given their track record. Neither “party” candidates are mature enough to see past the next election. The only hope is for Americans to solve their own problems. I agree that these are problems, but I fail to see how your idea of Government (i.e. politicians) can solve it. They just have not shown me that they can be trusted with the responsibility.
May 11th, 2008 at 2:15 am
Well first Ms. Weils, his name is Barack Hussein Obama. Secondly, to allocate the whole of corruption to the Democrats is completely disingenuous. It just irks me when people swallow talking points in their entirety and don’t think about them. I seem to recall that our buddies Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling were both pretty big Republican supporters. So to say that corruption and theft only happens in their party is incorrect.
Corruption in non-profits has been occuring for a long time. I’ve seen more than my share of non-profits go under because of complete mismanagement by those entrusted with a fiduciary responsibility to we the people. It is compounded when our tax dollars are awarded to these non-profit groups without any accountability.
I have to believe that the founding fathers would be turning over in their graves if they saw how much our government has gotten involved with “taking care” of people. When our nation was founded, they felt that the poor and needy were best left the charitable organizations and churches. The goverment does a very poor job in combating poverty and hunger.
Additionally, while I sincerely hope that neither Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton end up in the White House, I do not necessarily believe that either one would make a horrible President. They are both fairly intelligent people, and while I strongly disagree with their philosophies, I tend to think they are both fairly well qualified for the office.
Our nation’s disasterous course is bigger than any single politician. Our course will not be corrected until we, as citizens, stand up and force the overhaul that is sorely needed.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Your point is perfect. Craig. It matters not which “major” party is in power. Both are perfectly capable of bringing the Constitution down, whether it be from external insult or internal erosion. People who daydream and are lured in by the sound bites weaken the Jeffersonian ideal of our Constitutional government. Unfortunately, we have bred a majority of these types. It is simply not conducive to supporting the government we think we have. Our form of Constitutional democracy requires a great deal of attention by the people to work well. The weakness is that when the majority become apathetic, the politicians take over. This is what I see happening, much to our detriment. A lazy electorate is a careless electorate. Carelessness leads to believing in daydreams, not taking care of our precious Constitution. We the people must do that since politicians cannot be trusted to that end. What we need are statesmen and what we have are politicians. Bad mojo. Are you going to the candidates meet-and-greet on Tuesday? I think you should. I would love a few minutes of discussion with you.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Yep! I just RSVP’d for it, but probably won’t arrive until around 6:30 or so!
See you there!