The Jan. 9, 2013, issue of The Citizen contained a letter to the editor from Mr. Josh Bloom, who was concerned about what he perceived to be government waste exemplified by a construction roll-off dumpster full of what he described as “office furniture, presumably from the recreation building, ... (with) absolutely nothing wrong with any of it.”

Mr. Bloom suggested several options for getting rid of these items that were preferable to disposal, including redistribution to other city departments, sale of the items, or donation of the items to charities for sale or use. Read More»

We love our guns. Like any love affair our passion for our weapons transcends logic and certainly evades explanation. And like any true love, what feels good is not always good, and our titillation hides the cause of the damage, if not the damage itself.

So it didn’t surprise me to read the passion of a man who should know better, explain away the damage wrought by a passion turned obsession. Read More»

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy New Year. I’d also like to quickly outline my vision of what city government should be focusing on over the next year. This will also be the template I hope to put forward to reverse the stagnation and lack of economic development that has mainly been caused by the city’s leadership vacuum. Read More»

The debt: This is not a party problem, this is a national problem. It is most likely more complicated, but the simple arithmetic is this:

The most recent surpluses were 1960, 1969, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001.

Our best surplus year (which was under Clinton) was the year 2000: $236 billion.

If we were to get to a surplus of $236 billion [in 2013], and then had a surplus of $236 billion from here on out, and apply those surpluses to the debt, it would take 67 years to bring the debt to zero.

That is the year 2079. Read More»