Wilkowski Economic Recovery Plan
Short On Specifics...Short On Solutions
Yesterday, March 5th, mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski, shared his vision for Toledo's economic recovery. "While I'm glad to see other's who want to be Toledo's next mayor finally offer their solutions for an economic recovery, I was disappointed in the lack of detail presented to the neighbors of Toledo," said mayoral candidate Jim Moody. He added, "This plan offers no hope to people who need a job now, does nothing to encourage business to locate to Toledo and fails to approach economic development with a regional sense."
Income Tax Credit For Inventors
This plan falsely assumes a scientist's greatest need is a tax credit. "The entire scientific community knows that research assistance, development facilities and a consuming market is what drives the development of patents and inventions," asserted Jim Moody. "If an inventor simply had to worry about lowering their income tax liability, they could simply locate in an area that had no such tax, like many of our outlying areas have now." he added.
The Moody plan differs because it creates an atmosphere that encourages collaboration, provides for research assistance and delivers promise for commercial delivery. Additionally, this plan continues to pit Toledo against it outlying neighbors using taxpayer dollars to lure business inside the Toledo city limits.
Calling On President Obama's Help (again)
The second part of candidate Wilkowski's economic recovery plan relies heavily on the generosity of the federal government to pick Toledo over other areas more economically devastated than our own and the ability of the 111th Congress to overturn legal precedent by legislative action. "The likelihood of Congress passing a sweeping piece of legislation overturning prior court decisions is ‘slim to none' within the next four years" said Moody.
Not only is this part of the plan unrealistic in the near future, it does not provide jobs for people who need them now.
Why Wait?
Toledoans deserve and need solutions now. Unemployment is on the rise, foreclosures are increasing and our children are leaving in the hope of finding jobs elsewhere. Only the Moody campaign has put forth a comprehensive and viable vision to help bring jobs to Toledo, both now and in the future.
How can anyone who cares about Toledo and have solutions to our problems justify waiting for the ‘right moment' to release them for discussion. Since when does political strategy define political leadership?
At least Wilkowski is admitting indirectly what is certainly true: This is a welfare society since our ability to use Capitalism is limited.
Where Wilky Boy and I diverge is that I don't see welfare being inevitable. If we'd just lower our own standards of living, and basically shrink local government down to nearly nothing, then we could move forward with our lower levels of capital and become prosperous within those lower bounds. Lower incomes MUST be met with lower expenses. There is no other sane arrangement.
But by having such a huge government that taxes us incessantly, and huge appetites for energy and consumer goods, then we're FORCED to take welfare to make up the difference.
We just can't have the nice things that other areas of the nation have. We live in an intrinsic and irreversible poverty. The heart of wealth -- the manufacturing of capital equipment -- has largely left this area, and continues to leave. The support of wealth is done in other areas of the nation, leaving no shortage for us to compete with. And faddish innovation (like solar panels and "biotech") has many other places to incubate in, before those fads mature and get offshored anyway. (First Solar will be closed down eventually. Even workers in Alabama can beat our labor costs, so FS doesn't even have to leave the country ... but it WILL leave the Toledo area.)
The future of Toledo is poverty. There is no other rational conclusion. And based upon that conclusion, the only rational response is to PREPARE FOR IT. It's like that test where somebody asks you what you'd bring with you if dropped upon a Pacific island for some years, unable to contact civilization. That's the sort of preparation I'm talking about. Corporate Capitalism is DONE with us. We're trash and CC has already thrown us away. I don't care how uncomfortable that fact makes you feel ... it's still a fact and it's still incumbent upon us all to prepare for our future of poverty.
Pessimism: No plan or expectation of a turn around.
Optimism: Plan 9 from Denis Katell.
‘course he’s retired from active duty – cause: too much casting pearls among swine.
Send him some 5.45 x 39 just to let him know you’re thinkin’ ‘bout him.
Leave a package at Pisanello’s in Waterville. The underground knows how to contact him.
The first thing we need to do is get the madmen and mad-women out of office, then we'll have something to move ahead with.