Last week in this publication, Maggie Thurber took the time to recognize the work I've done to try to make Lucas County more economically competitive and give our hard-working residents some opportunities for gainful employment (“Konopnomics,” June 22). In particular, she attacked my plan to create Lucas County Jobs Corps, a program that would have put people to work at nonprofits serving children, working families and the elderly. The headline on her column called these efforts “Konopnomics.” If I can join the ranks of Reaganomics in Maggie's mind, well, I'll consider that a compliment.
Of course, Reaganomics doesn't have much on Thurbernomics. When Thurber was county commissioner, she couldn't wait to spend the public's money on things that benefited her directly. When she took office, she spent nearly $13,000 in taxpayer funds on a brand-new set of Arhaus office furniture for her personal office — only the top of the line for this taxpayer. She then traveled on the taxpayers' dime to Hungary, spending about $2,000 of your money to voyage halfway across the world right after she had decided not to run for another term. (cont.)
It wouldn't matter what Maggie Thurber spent money on and why. What matters is this:
The article describes the various ways in which Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop wants to spend the $350,000 that Lucas County made by selling land. In part, these ideas were to give the money to UT, which was voted down. Start some kind of social service agency called Job Corp, which was voted down. Then there was this scheme about buying local art, which I didn't understand and don't care about, and failed as only one person used the service in six months, and the service cost the county about eight grand.
Bad ideas.
So since you can't deny the truthfulness or accuracy of the article, there's only one thing to do. Attack the author on a personal level and attempt to discredit her, thus proving the article is, I don't know, wrong or something.
The worst part about this entire situation is that it doesn't have to be this way. Certainly those ideas would not help the economy, and therefore would not help the working poor or the unemployed poor. Since the ideas were voted down, move along and suggest something else.
I once had for Ben has washed away.
MadJack has it right. Why shoot the messenger when your own message got voted down by your own peers?
for the support, Brian.