• Bribing seniors does not help the labor shortage
• The city has lost touch with productive citizens
• Homeowners should take advantage of flexible, political principles

The City of San Antonio (CoSA) wants to change that by offering seniors a break on their property taxes.  While total elimination of this odious tax is the best idea, any reduction of it in the interim is good. 

There are a few problems with this proposal though.

One thing that enables us to volunteer is our prosperity. Despite declarations by some politicos, things are shaky right now.  In addition to the eyewatering price of gas, and other residual effects of the government lockdowns, we’re experiencing continued labor shortages.

This credit would exacerbate that problem.

In a recent interview, councilwoman Melissa Cabello-Havrda (D6) asserted that the program is aimed at those “already” volunteering.  The council consideration request (CCR) implies otherwise. 

It cites a “Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults” study, and how getting them out of the house can stem cognitive decline, among other negative effects associated with aging. 

As a consequence of essentially luring them into public sector work, they’re pulled away from the private sector, where some seniors feel they “still have more to give.” Regardless of the modest size of the credit, seniors could still lose their home!  Over 3,000 are already more than two years late paying the taxman. 

Given that CoSA itself seeks to be an “’employer of choice’ in our community”, it’s distinctly possible they don’t see the link.  This leads to an underlying concern: the degree of disconnectedness that exists at City Hall.

In its “Financial Impact & Conclusion,” the CCR declares that “The City’s General Fund revenues performed well.”  The wording is consistent with the fact that the vast majority of CoSA staff and elected representatives favor a more active government.

Respect for individuals, and independent wealth-creators subconsciously takes a backseat.  The media add to this chorus by characterizing exemption savings to taxpayers as what the “city loses.”

As it is, the property tax system amounts to little more than a social engineering tool.  CoSA can dictate “the maximum number of participants and the maximum … reduction participants can receive,” protecting their own “so as to not adversely impact CoSA operations.”

“If the program works well,” they reserve the power to determine “other populations that may be vulnerable to rising property tax burdens.”    

As Bexar County’s chief appraiser Michael Amezquita points out later in the same KLRN episode, it’s also a mechanism for cronyism given how inequitable is the favoritism shown to commercial property.

The only time politicians extend such favor to homeowners is when the state compels them to.  Ironically, it’s the Texas constitution that permits levying this tax in the first place. 

Cracking that nut is another task altogether.

For the time being, to paraphrase a Chris Rock, just because the city can do it, doesn’t mean they should.  Alas, we keep getting the Will Smith treatment.  There might be a political opening however, that can be used to stop this annual smackdown. 

Councilwoman Havrda said “my vote is based on the needs of my constituents.  And what they’re telling me right now is that they need property tax relief.”

Too often elected officials twist this “belie(f) in representative government” as a way to take from some to give to others.  The paid sick leave ordinance is a recent example. 

Citizens should exploit these flexible principles, and the newfound religion the council seems to have (see D8 councilman Manny Pelaez), and insist on abolishing this antiquated seizure for good.

The post Manipulating Seniors and Holding Us All Hostage from the Commanding Heights of the Dais first appeared on Infuse SA.

• The government lockdowns as an “opportunity (for) transformational change.”
• Turning failed government education policy into government jobs.
• A preview of what’s in store for bond debt-funding.

Back in 2008, with the country in the throes of a mortgage meltdown and onset of the Great Recession, incoming White House Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel pounced: “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”

So began an explosion of government spending and regulation.  A similar occasion has materialized over the last couple years, with some of the outlays raining down on municipalities.  The latest installment just so happens to coincide with a billion-dollar bond proposal.

City Council is currently trying to figure out how to spend $88 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).  It’s nominally earmarked to “determine what impact the coronavirus pandemic had on San Antonio in areas ranging from small business to mental health.” 

There’s no way to ever know that though, because the fallout wasn’t totally related to the virus.  What they will find out is the destruction that followed in the wake of government lockdowns. 

Businesses were ordered closed, some never reopened, and people (especially those with families to support) stressed out over the jobs they lost.  Where’s the mystery here? 

Ahh but wait: the city has received dozens of “unsolicited requests from groups and agencies seeking” 4-times what Uncle Sam has bestowed upon us.  Wiper blades are needed to clean the computer screen of the drooling over who will get what.

Councilwoman Melissa Cabello-Havrda (D6) strikes an opportunistic tone, claiming the pandemic gave us the chance “to improve our communities.” 

If the pandemic gave us a chance for anything, it was to find ways to navigate this new virus that was spreading amongst us.  And we were starting to do that: wiping counters and doorknobs, having more hand sanitizer available, using bandanas and handkerchiefs as masks, etc. 

Whether out of fear of the virus, fear of poor emergency planning, or fear of being seen as not “doing something,” authoritarians snuffed out the adjustments citizens were making. They brought the bureaucratic hammer down on us instead.  We all remember the hysteria, grocery shortages, and strife that ensued.

Given Uncle Sam’s loose spending standards, it’s not a stretch to say they, and their special-interest and academic cronies saw this “opportunity” coming.  That may be why they fell in line with state and federal officials rather than stand with their constituents.

One could be forgiven for thinking that this kind of gravy train is connected to the repercussions of politicians’ continually pumping more taxpayer funds into higher education: a greater number of college grads possessing degrees of diminished value. 

When kids who might otherwise have explored vocational careers, are instead lured to a university by artificially easy loan terms, you’ll see a shortage of labor in the former, and a surplus in the latter. 

It’s leading some to push for unionization, which tends to suppress economy dynamism, and therefore depress prosperity.  Or worse: to ‘careers’ in lobbying, the kind that depend on government spending for their livelihood. 

Never let it be said that government doesn’t create jobs. 

Concerns have been aired about making sure these ARPA funds are used for their intended purpose, and that we avoid commitments that would put pressure on future city budgets, etc.  That’s beside the point though. 

When you have folks like Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) who believe the arts are “an economic driver,” or that it’s possible for the public sector to spend “a bucket of money … efficiently and effectively” like the private sector, as Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) does, there’s a disconnect.

Moreover, when Councilwoman Havrda (D6) feels the aforementioned opportunities “to improve” exist because they had “previously been underfunded,” doesn’t that imply that citizens have been undertaxed?  Given their reaction to recent property tax appraisals, they probably disagree. 

If voters don’t deny the council the $1.2 billion gusher of bond debt they’re so enthusiastic about, while at the same time demanding the property tax be eliminated, this cycle will continue regardless of the source of funny money.

Somewhere Rahm is smiling.

The post The Gravy Train Leading Devalued Degrees to Government ‘Work’ first appeared on Infuse SA.

Newspaper editorial pages generally lean one way or another politically.  Given that they’re made up of individuals with their own leanings, this is no surprise. 

However, even though the New York Times and Wall Street Journal tend to sway left and right, respectively, each have columnists that go against that grain, providing some semblance of balance.  If that characteristic has trickled down to local outlets, it missed us here in the Alamo City.

What we have is a media that leans one way, unchecked.  They leverage this to essentially promote government programs, and sugarcoat their inevitable failure.  History is no guide to them.    

The latest example revolves around San Antonio’s “Train for Jobs” (TfJ) program, which itself is a precursor to the “Ready to Work” (RtW) initiative.  The San Antonio Express-News editorial defending it contains slants, omissions, and the failure to connect some dots.

The Slants:

“When COVID-19 brought San Antonio’s economy to a standstill …“

The popular narrative, from the international level down to the local, is that the coronavirus/COVID-19/pandemic caused the massive recession last year.  That is not the case, and we’ll never know for sure the extent to which it was responsible.

Businesses were starting to stock (more) hand sanitizer.  Those in charge could be found wiping down door handles.  People were making adjustments.  It was the primitive government lockdowns that sent society and the economy into a tailspin. 

Whenever we hear of Wall Street gyrating because of a new variant, it’s not the virus they’re reacting to.  From Warren Buffet to the casual day-trader, people putting their resources at risk do so with the utmost diligence.  They’re generally not dumb people.

Most of us, investors or not, know from life experience that viruses mutate, especially as we adapt to them, bolster our immune systems, update vaccines, etc.  What is more difficult to predict is the collective wisdom, to use a term loosely, of officeholders that today’s politics tends to produce.   

The reaction of governments at every level to the coronavirus, regardless of the political party in charge, is merely the latest example of what usually causes such a “standstill.”

“That said, a Dec. 15 city report offers optimism. More than 16K people have expressed interest in the program, more than 9,500 people have completed the intake process, and more than 4,400 people have enrolled.“

A right-leaning publication might just as easily have substituted “cause for concern” for “optimism,” and rounded the figures up to the nearest thousand in order to use “less than” rather than “more.”  “Roughly” would have been the most objective word here.

The Omissions:

”Consider the cost of the status quo — unemployment …”

“The job training was launched in the middle of the pandemic, in spring 2020, when 140K city residents found themselves out of work.  It’s a different job market today. “

The EN does not elaborate on this last point, so we will:

The employment situation in San Antonio is approaching where it was before the government shutdowns.  As the EN reports, roughly 900 of those jobs can be attributed to the TfJ program.  The disparity is obvious.

What explains it?  Actual job creators do, not to mention the pre-existing educational infrastructure.  The former already “invests in people” via training, while the latter regularly “revamps our workforce.”   

Nevertheless, despite the early, lackluster returns of the federally-funded TfJ, San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg led activists in convincing three-quarters of voters to commit a portion of sales tax revenue to the RtW program. 

Why?  Do they believe the efforts of employers and schools, with whom they’re reportedly partnering in this venture, to be inadequate?  Was it simply a quest for a ‘political victory’? 

Do they believe in government dependence i.e. “wraparound services”?  Was it redirect more taxpayer money to other public institutions (colleges) as a favor?  In this case, it arguably adds fuel to the tuition-inflation fire.  Shouldn’t leaders, not to mention the press, know all this?

The result is a huge deadweight loss to society to benefit the well-connected.

Connecting the dots:

”The city also was slow to set up it (sic) internal structure and only hired a permanent director … in August.”

”Be critical of the city’s workforce efforts, but also be patient.  Generational change takes time.”

Government faces next to no threat of going out of business, even when it encounters competition.  It lacks the incentive that drives their stiffest rivals (postal delivery, education, book stores) to succeed: the profit motive. 

Private entities in these sectors have found a way to deliver higher quality at acceptable prices even as their customers continue to be poached via taxation to finance the public options.  That’s how inadequate the latter are.

Nonetheless, since these public bodies aren’t going anywhere, they face less pressure to deliver a valuable service in a timely manner.  And the people running them know it.

So do others eager to jump on the gravy train.

Lifetime politicians, bureaucrats and activists who advocate for/run government programs have little inclination to promote private alternatives.  They have every motivation however, to convince voters to pay a ‘tiny’ fraction more in taxes for another government program. 

An objective media would point all this out.

The post Local Media Does Citizens Disservice By Avoiding Balance first appeared on Infuse SA.