Monday, January 14, 2008

Warmed over hash-local government

During the housing market boom, it seems like overnight, everyone jumped on the real estate bandwagon. Even our very own local government entered the housing market, buying and selling property as if they were experienced real estate agents, brokers, and developers.

The bottom line for these cats, property and land was overpriced guaranteeing profits far greater than the property taxes that government could collect under the Indiana Constitution as revenue from taxpayers. These conning entities’ representatives, unable to entice new businesses into the community, decided to compete with the private market or start joint venture at the expense of taxpayers. The sad fact of the matter was government entities unlike private markets played a role in determining the profit from some of these ventures.

Nevertheless, just as pyramid scheme eventually comes to end so would profitable flipping of properties, as the housing market went into a slump. See County Home building down 24% in 2007 by Jenni Glenn of the Journal-Gazette.

So these same government officials are now looking into another area of real estate investment, rental property. This time government entities will be competing with the private market to capture government subsidies.

Take for example, the debate about building temporary housing for offenders in the downtown area by Allen County officials. According an article published in the Journal-Gazette on January 11, 2008, entitled,
Housing for ex-convicts
“county officials are examining the possibility of building a structure across Calhoun Street from the Allen County Jail. It would include temporary housing for offenders, as well as offenders for Community Corrections, the county program that provides the Re-entry Court services and monitors criminals on home detention.”

Sounds good, marinating a little bit with the details in the story may lead you to the conclusion that the objective of the County has nothing to do with helping offenders.

The article goes on to say, “The County already has an $833,000 state grant for transitional housing which is supposed to be spent by June 30…”

BAM, there it is M>O>N>EY!!! The County needs a symbolic building to get the state to give them that grant money. However, the state has imposed a stipulation on when they will release the dollars. The article goes on to state, “… state government is unlikely to provide ALL the money upfront to building a NEW structure.”

The State is requiring a new structure and local or private investment!!!

Therefore, that means the County has to put up some money first. And just where will the County get the dollars? The county has either to get it from the taxpayers or con some private investor to go into partnership with the county.

Can you say a miniature Harrison Square investment scheme?

If you do not think it profitable to provide transitional housing for offenders, the article goes on to say, “[a]bout 400 offenders are released from prison and return to the community each year, whether they have a place to live or not.”

If transitional housing is built more than likely, state, and federal dollars will be avail for a number of years to support such housing. Officials cannot govern for trying to taking over the real estate business and profit their families and friends.

Now churches and non-profits have been providing this service for years. Why is it now that Allen County wants to get into transitional housing…they want to now play landlord., and collect the state and federal dollars that would have gone to the churches and nonprofit.

This is the same lying government that stood before the legislators not wanting to giving homeowner property tax relief

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