Raise the Price on Losers

Several decades ago, Racine was known for its businesses. People and capital flocked to Racine. The benefits of moving to Racine evidently outweighed the costs, and Racine's population increased.

Racine's population has been in decline now for many years. Many businesses have closed down or left for other areas. Evidently, for many people, the benefits of leaving Racine, or never coming here in the first place, have exceeded the costs.

Some costs are beyond our control as a community. Others are not. The one thing that we could control are the costs we impose on ourselves, our residents, our businesses, etc... through our collective decisions, ie government.

Somewhere along the way, Racine began to punish success and reward failure. We still do, and the results are in.

The people who have left Racine were the most productive. Simultaneously, Racine became a haven for the unproductive.

Few people in Racine, especially politicians, will tell it like it is. Racine now has a disproportionate number of losers. And these losers continue to impose costs on Racine in the form of crime, bad parenting, unproductivity, etc... while demanding more from the productive members of society.

We need to change the cost structure in Racine. We need to raise the price on losers and lower the price for productive members of society.

In so doing, our losers will either be compelled to change, or they will find other communities to destroy, hopefully the former. At the same time, a cost structure that does not punish success will have the effect of attracting winners to Racine.