". . . Maybe a press release to explain your embracing of corporate welfare by squandering scarce tax resources on for-profit developments."
Send your comments and news tips to online.editor@valleyspringcomm.net or to Mr. Moden at mlmoden@gmail.com Read the comments or add your own by clicking on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story
It's always good to hear from retired economist and Wimberley resident Merle Moden, who has been a very informative contributor to the RoundUp in past columns that have zeroed in on questionable rate-setting and other financial management actions of our power cooperative, Pedernales Electric. Here's an email letter he lobbed at our county commissioners court members over the weekend. We appreciate Mr. Moden's attentiveness to matters of public interest and the handling of our local tax dollars. Dear County Judge and Commissioners:
I read with interest the flyer that the Seton Family of Hospitals recently had stuffed in mail boxes, the article in the September 21, 2009 issue of the Austin American-Statesman, and the article in the September 23, 2009 issue of the Wimberley View, all of which provided information about the new Seton medical facility opening in Kyle on October 1, 2009. There was, however, nary a word about the $6 million-plus Hays County taxpayer subsidies that you granted the Seton Family of Hospitals and SCC Kyle Partners Ltd. for hospital, office building, and retail developments.
This is a terrible slight to this Court. Since the Hays County Commissioners' Court's participation in this tax subsidy scam was the linchpin for the ultimate success of this project, it must be painful to have the Seton Family of Hospitals take all the credit after you allowed yourselves to succumb to economic blackmail by agreeing to the subsidies.
Perhaps you can insist that SCC Kyle Partners Ltd. gives you due credit when they complete the for-profit office building and retail developments. Maybe a press release to explain your embracing of corporate welfare by squandering scarce tax resources on for-profit developments.
Maybe it would have been wiser to save some of those future tax subsidies to amortize some jail bonds.
Yours truly,
Mr. Merle L. Moden
5 comments:
Seton is bringing tons of good paying jobs to Hays county and the Court should be commended for helping residents during our national financial depression. Certainly an economist can understand the benefit to the community Seton has brought us.
In the years that I've seen county commissioners and some of our cities give tax breaks to businesses to set up in Hays County, I have not seen a lot of benefits accrue directly to the taxpayers. Hell, our county's into more debt than it's ever been, the cities are raising their taxes right and left, and we're running out of water. I haven't seen wages improve and I haven't seen our quality of life improve much at all. The ones who benefit most are the business owners and the developers, and some politician's election campaign. Trickle down is a tired old economic model. My taxes just keep going up in the process. I say quit trying to pay for every Tom, Dick and Harry's development dinner. We need people on the commissioners court who are smarter and will plan on a greener and more sustainable future for Hays County.
Mr. Merle,
I don't believe you are naive. So I will assume you're simply showing your indignation over the fact that the new manifestation of American free markets is nothing but corporate welfare. It is endemic at all levels of government. Bush started the Iraq war for it. Obama is doing it with the banks. The Republicans and the blue dog Dems are doing it with the health insurers. The crooked State politicians do it with the energy and coal companies. The County commissioners do it with the real estate developers. And the city councils do it for their crony friends. American capitalism IS for the most part nothing but corporate welfare. How do you think all those nice big professional sports stadiums in every city were built? Americans need to just admit they are too stupid to know they are being ripped off by the people they vote for to protect and wisely use their tax dollars. It is the reverse Robin Hood syndrome - all over the country and in both parties. Shameful, yes! Extraordinary? No!.
To "Ain't Buying It",
I've seen wages improve...
When the Commissioners voted to county salaries, including their own by 15%.
"You don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows." -- Bob Dylan
"Seton is bringing tons of good paying jobs to Hays county..."
It's not where the jobs are, its where the employees live and spend their wages. If workers live in Hays County and commute to Austin jobs because housing can be cheaper in Hays County, why couldn't those who now work for Seton in Austin and living in Hays County transfer to Seton at Kyle? Where's the new jobs to Hays County?
And what's to keep medical professionals living in Austin from commuting (in the opposite direction of rush hour traffic) to Seton Kyle? Where's the new jobs for Hays County?
Like Cabela's promise of all those new jobs that didn't happen (Cabela's has had to return funds to the City of Buda and to the state Enterprise Fund for failing to create the jobs promised when Buda and commissioners' court forked over millions in tax relief), I suspect there will be jobs closer to home for those already working for Seton in Austin, more professionals commuting from Austin to Seton Kyle---and a lot of janitorial and other low paying jobs at Seton Kyle for Hays County residents.
Am I against Seton building in Hays County? Of course not. Would Seton have built in Kyle without the corporate welfare at taxpayer expense? Of course they would have. Seton just played the system headed by a bunch of knuckleheads who enjoy giving away money that's not theirs to give. Makes them feel good and creates a lot of corporate good-will in elections (read campaign contributions--or payback as some of us taxpayers see it).
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