Group Think

I have been stewing over a commentary written the other day by Racine's Fair Housing Director Morris Reece. Read it here.

Morris was reacting to an incident in Raymond where racist graffiti was "inscribed" on the fence of an interracial couple, he African American, she Asian. Morris wrote "We know these types of racist groups do not exist in a vacuum."

To the best of my knowledge, there is not a shred of evidence that the vandalism was committed by more than one person, much less a group. But Morris is convinced apparently that not only was this the act of a group, but that there must be other groups since such a group does not operate in a vacuum. In other words, there are multiple racist groups operating in and around Raymond. This is an irresponsible smear on the good citizens of Raymond, who, according to a previous JT article on the subject responded appropriately to the incident, condemning it while offering support to the victims.

Why would Morris suggest, absent any supportive evidence, that there are multiple racist groups operating in our area? I can't be sure but I will note that Morris would not have a job as Fair Housing Director if not for the perception of persistent mistreatment of minorities. As such, Morris has a financial incentive to promote the notion that we are plagued by racist groups. Moreover, I am troubled that someone who must evaluate racist intent for a living, and dish out penalties accordingly, would reach such a conclusion absent any supporting evidence. His essay ought to disqualify him from his job.

And finally, has Racine solved all its problems? Is an isolated racist incident in Raymond worthy of comment when we hear little or nothing from him concerning more serious problems in Racine's black community? We know there are problems with "groups" in Racine. They are called gangs and in addition to vandalism they are engaged in selling drugs and shooting at each other.

All in all, I think Morris should focus more on real groups that are operating in Racine and less on those operating in his imagination.

Discriminate or Else

In the past week or so I have talked to numerous "deciders" of the fate of Park 6 owner Thomas Holmes and his liquor license. I will concede that the city has a very tricky problem on their hands. Among the problems is that Holmes himself has not been accused of any violations of liquor or other laws. Even so, Holmes may lose his liquor license because of problems that his customers are causing in and around the bar. Almost without fail, the "deciders" note that Holmes is literally inviting trouble to his bar and the area via his marketing efforts, and that this is enough of a reason to revoke his license. Ultimately though, it is not who you market to that matters but who shows up, and it is rather obvious that the "deciders" are not altogether thrilled with Holmes' clientele. For the record, the "deciders" have a point here, as Park 6 customers are a drain on the city's police resources. Here is why I have a problem with some of the "deciders": they don't like Holmes' customers but they won't publicly define and identify the people they consider problematic. The reason is rather obvious because the problematic customers (as well as the benign ones) are virtually all black. If the city were to create an ordinance wherein they attempted to identify and define the type of people that they don't want in or around Racine bars, well, we all know that this would soon be national news and the City of Racine would be slapped with a discrimination lawsuit by the federal government. So instead the city is using liquor license leverage to hand the problem over to the bar owners. Instead of having an official city policy that requires bars to refuse "problematic/often black" customers, the city has a wink wink nudge nudge policy that requires bars to discriminate or lose their license. If I were Holmes, I would argue that the city has created a de facto policy that requires bar owners to discriminate against "problematic" customers, many or all of whom are black. The city is putting bar owners in an impossible position. If they refuse to serve a thuggish looking black person, they risk getting sued. If they serve thuggish looking people and said thugs cause problems, they risk losing their liquor license.

A better approach in my view would be to partner with bars in fighting crime. Don't penalize bars for the crimes committed by customers. Crack down on people who commit crimes, not on those that serve them. And lastly, recognize that there is no utopian solution to this problem. If you close down one bar, the people causing problems will simply move on and cause problems at the next one.

Mystery Solved

Yesterday I heard that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was having a third hand surgery. Now I know how they (politicians) are able to shake hands, grasp your upper arm, and still reach for your wallet.

Education Talk

Channelling their inner Obama, the Journal Times has declared that the time to talk is over and that we must have action, now, to "fix the state's broken method of paying for public schools."

OK, does anyone really think the public education/media complex just wants the education funding method tweaked? Sorry folks, thats just code for we want to raise taxes even more, and then some. Besides, the "method" for funding schools is just fine. An abundant quantity of cash has been delivered year after year, raising at rates far in excess of the rate of inflation. But enough is never enough.

Rather than focus on the method for paying for schools, which isn't broken, the focus should be on the method of educational delivery, which most definitely is broken. Is a bloated, union dominated government bureaucracy the best method for education delivery? Hell no!

But the Journal Times doesn't want to talk about our broken education delivery system. Forget about action.

PC Dangers for Blacks

Racine has a public health problem. In the summer months, large groups of people tend to gather during and or after bar time. Sometimes these gatherings get out of control, shifting from peaceful assemblies to dangerous mobs. And sometimes people get shot and killed. And it will happen again and again unless something is done.

Thus far, the city leaders, such that they are, have responded to this phenomenon by closing down bars that are in the proximity to these gatherings. Experience ought to tell us that this does not solve the problem, it merely foists the problem on another part of town.

Compounding this problem is universal cowardice on the part of our elected leadership and, it seems, our police. None of them are willing to actually identify, much less confront the actual problem. The reason is that these gatherings are, to the best of my knowledge, almost always entirely comprised of black people. My guess is that our leaders and police have succumbed to political correctness and are afraid to arrest people who are clearly disturbing the peace lest they be labelled "racist."

Thus, as I have personally witnessed, rather egregious behaviors are tolerated so long as the miscreants are black and part of a large crowd. Naturally, it is only a matter of time before that bad behavior, unchecked, escalates into behavior that can't be ignored. Of course, by that time, someone might be dead.

Our collective cowardice in confronting unruly crowds will end up with a few dead black people. I guess they can be sacrificed so we won't be considered racist.

Shut Down Unified

A business owner could lose his livelihood (see story below) because his customers break the law or otherwise create problems for the community. I don't think this is right, but if we are going to go down that road, let's be consistent and close down Racine Unified.

City Discrimination

Two recent news stories. Park 6 might lose its liquor license for various problems in and around the club. And the city is considering an ordinance that would allow a local commission the power to investigate and punish perpetrators of housing discrimination. Unrelated stories?

Not in my book. To the best of my knowledge, the owner of Park 6, Thomas Holmes, has not committed or been accused of any crime or misdemeanor. Again, to the best of my knowledge, Holmes has taken many steps to protect his customers and the public. He checks his customers for weapons and he employs security guards. Even so, some of his customers have caused problems repeatedly such that the police are frequently called to the club. His customers are almost all young and black.

Holmes may lose his liquor license. His crime? He serves alcohol to young black people. Again, Holmes has not been accused of any alcohol related offense such as serving after hours, serving minors etc... No, he serves black people. And here is what nobody is willing to say publicly - large numbers of young black people are more likely to cause problems or commit serious crimes than say, the octogenarians bingo convention, or even the club or bar that has mostly white customers.

So Holmes' problems with the city result directly from his decision to serve young black people. By going after Holmes, the city is in effect enforcing a blacks only prohibition policy. Yes, the city essentially has a separate and unequal alcohol policy.

Now to the other story. The city is preparing to hammer anyone who they find guilty of housing discrimination. As a landlord, this is scary stuff. We need to be careful about who resides in our homes. I recently rejected a woman who wanted to rent an apartment from me. We had a bad feeling, confirmed by people who knew her. We rejected her, officially because she had pets. She has since died of a drug overdose. I remember thinking I was glad she was white, insofar as I would not likely be accused of racial discrimination.

Anyway, leave the discrimination business to the city. If you do it like the city does, you might wind up in jail or with a crippling fine.

UNIT Review

New Racine Alderman Eric Marcus is taking a look at UNIT (unified neighborhood inspection team) and their fee and appeal process. The Racine Post has an article on the subject, read it and the comments here. My purpose here is to continue the conversation.

For starters, I give Marcus credit for taking a fresh look at UNIT. In a nutshell, it seems that he is looking for compromise, seeking to give property owners one warning per year. My problem with the UNIT fees is that they aren't fees at all but citations pretending to be fees. The city likes this semantic cleverness because they can generate revenue while bypassing the courts which tend to be costly.

Marcus suggests that we still have the right to appeal to the courts, citing a Milwaukee case. I disagree. We have no recourse to the courts concerning our fees. Our appeals go to the executive branch, and if Marcus' proposal becomes law, to the legislative branch, not to the courts. It is true that one could sue the city if you have a spare 50K. I hope that is not what Marcus means by the right to appeal to the courts.

Marcus also suggests the in-house appeal system he is advocating will be more efficient. I have no doubt he is correct. A summary judgement by city officials with a conflict of interest, coupled with a presumption of guilt by citizens denied the right to appeal to the courts, will no doubt be more efficient. But does it protect the rights of citizens?

Of greatest concern to me is Marcus' citing of the Milwaukee case. This case has been used previously by Alderman Greg Helding to justify the city's actions while ignoring the obvious - that these are not fees but fines. Can we replace speeding citations with vehicle speed "inspection fees?" Citing the Milwaukee case gives alderman at least plausible legal cover. Yes, you can probably get away with this legally. But should you?

Know Thine Enemy

In the comments section of a Racine Post article on KRM, read it here, author Dustin Block wrote:

"The problem is the people with the loudest voices don't benefit from KRM. They have cars and jobs, don't live off of State Street in Racine, and have little interest in the city's future success. Meanwhile, people with the most to gain can't organize their voice into a cohesive message, or aren't willing to take the risk."

I think Dustin Block is wrong insofar as the loudest voices are calling for KRM, such as the Journal Times, the Johnson Companies, the mayor and most Racine politicians as well as the Racine Post. I also think he is wrong in assuming that the poor in Racine will benefit from KRM.

But what is most striking to me is Block's self proclaimed omniscience about people who have cars and jobs and don't live near State Street. If your one of them, and you oppose KRM, then you obviously - to Block anyway - have little interest in the future success of Racine. You obviously don't care about the people living near State Street, who are, in many cases, black.

It must be wonderful to have the ability to read the thoughts of other people, even massive numbers of people whom you don't even know. I don't have that ability, sadly. But Block does. As a result, he needn't bother confronting their actual concerns and objections to KRM. He knows what is in their hearts; selfishness and racism I can safely infer. Stated concerns about cost overruns, high taxes, inflated ridership and development projections etc... are really just a socially acceptable "code" for "We got ours and we don't care what happens to the poor black people."

I think Dustin Block is well intentioned but mistaken in his KRM advocacy. But Block is not so charitable towards you or I. Not only are we wrong, but we are bad people with sinister motives. You may not know that about yourself, but Block knows you better than you know yourself.

Q and A on Racine Development Proposal

The JT has an article, read it here, about the city's plans for the Walker Manufacturing site just north of downtown Racine.

From the article; the city plans to spend up to $5.5 million in TIF funding and an additional $10 million in developer incentives to create $74 million in new housing. "Now we're putting the City in the role of general contractor" said City Development Director Brian O'Connell who added "We really believe this is what we have to do to bring this site to market in these economic times."

Is there a housing shortage in Racine? Isn't our population declining? Why isn't the private sector interested in building on prime lakefront property? Could it be that taxes are too high? How has the city performed on other real estate dealings? Why should big real estate developers get 21% of their projects cost paid for by others? Could "these economic times" be trying to tell us something? Would anyone other than the city hire the city to be their general contractor?

These are just a few of the questions that should but won't be asked or answered by city officials. So I will answer them. There isn't a housing shortage in Racine. In fact, there is a housing surplus. This is what happens when people move away and don't take their houses with them. Yes, Racine's population has been declining. The private sector will not foot the entire bill for a huge housing project in Racine for any number of reasons, chief among them that they can't make money because of a housing glut and high taxes in Racine. On taxes, Racine has the highest property taxes in the county, or to put it another way, the greatest building disincentive in the county. The city's dangling of $15 million should be acknowledged as evidence that they are aware that taxes are now so high that nobody will build in Racine without a handout. Regarding past performance on development ventures, the city has failed repeatedly and most of the city's TIF's are losing money. There is no reason to think this project would fair any better. Big developers are no more deserving of tax breaks than is the person that fixes his roof or remodels his kitchen, the difference is developers schmooze with politicians and give them campaign contributions and the regular Joe doesn't. "These economic times" are trying to tell us not to build additional housing and not to build a typewriter repair center either. And lastly, nobody in their right mind would hire the city as a general contractor. But then, I rarely accuse city officials of being in their right minds.

Trade Secrets Exposed

Free Racine readers may know that I own a retail business in downtown Racine. I tend to separate my business interests from my political interests, but on this occasion the two are somewhat intertwined.

Every so often I hear rumblings that I am engaged in unfair or at least unfriendly business practices. The allegation typically goes something like this: I send spies into other retail businesses, I steal their ideas (lines, prices etc...) then I carry the same line with a lower price. I have reason to believe this silliness is happening again and I will use this as a teaching moment.

For starters, the accusers in these situations have some explaining to do. In order to buy products and or lines and avoid duplication and or undercutting other retailers, I would need to know beforehand every product and line being sold and at what price they are being resold by every nearby retailer. This would be a full time job and a complete waste of my time.

So instead, here is my secret that I will freely share with other retailers. I base my purchasing decisions without any regard to other retailers. Instead, I try to meet the needs of my customers. This is a tried and true retail strategy - give the customers what they want.

More secrets: There are only so many ways to make your offerings attractive to people who may freely choose to spend their money elsewhere. Among them are good prices, quality, quantity, and good service. These tend to be our focus. Whenever possible, we will purchase from the source. This involves traveling to other countries and avoiding wholesale markups. The problem with this strategy is that you have to buy large quantities to make it worth your while. Sometimes it is hard to move enough product to make this worthwhile. So what we do is take our show on the road. We sell at festivals, fairs, we do fund raisers at hospitals throughout the midwest. We can't simply sit in our store and hope for customers.

I realize that not everyone has the resources or knowhow to jet around the world looking for good product. Not everyone has cultivated the relationships that we have over the years to allow us access to markets outside Racine. Not everyone had the foresight, resources and luck to buy a large building that allows us to implement our strategy. Now I am not apologizing here. We have worked hard, we have taken advantage of opportunities, we have made sensible decisions for the most part, we have created a store and an atmosphere that attracts customers who are willing to part with their money for our stuff.

My accusers are making a huge mistake. Instead of focussing on their own business, they are getting worked up and distracted over what I am doing. I can't help but think this will lead to internal neglect of their own businesses and possibly a toxic attitude and atmosphere that will negatively affect customer relations.

Another mistake I will call the static pie fallacy. It goes like this: There is only so much money being spent downtown, so any money spent at my store is money being taken from potential customers in your store. The mistake is the assumption that the pie, or the money being spent downtown is a constant. Not true, the pie can grow. And I am helping it grow by attracting customers to my store. The customers who in some cases drive long distances to come to my store might just notice yours as well. And this works both ways of course. In short, my business threatens no other businesses. Rather, it helps other businesses, and theirs mine. This is why businesses congregate near other businesses. If they were hell bent on avoiding competition they should open a business far away from potential competitors.

I want downtown businesses to thrive. It will help my business in turn. The best way to make that happen is to focus 100% on internal operations, honestly assess strengths and weaknesses, and forget about what your neighbor is doing. In short, we will all be better off if you, quite literally, mind your own business.

Enough?

President Obama recently said "I do think at a certain point you've made enough money."

I hope he feels the same way about accumulated political power.

Lack of Space Between Moving and Stationary Objects Causes Crash

A recent JT article about a helicopter crash cites a National Transportation Safety Board ruling that the crash was a result of pilot error. The pilot, according to the NTSB, "failed to maintain proper altitude in the moments before the crash."

Ya think?

Planning to Fail

I had a nice conversation with a City of Racine alderman yesterday. I expressed my concern about the hassles involved with opening a business in Racine. If I understand the situation correctly, Racine has an ordinance that requires most businesses to get approval from the city council before opening. This approval also involves the Racine County Economic Development Corporation which exercises authority over many of Racine's commercial corridors. Ultimately the council decides the matter. When opening a business, there is considerable effort, thought, and expense required. In Racine, you can undergo this process flawlessly - you can have a great idea, you can find the perfect location to buy or rent, you can complete a business plan, you can successfully arrange financing, and you can see that your business concept accords with zoning laws - only to be stymied and or rejected by bureaucrats and politicians that have other ideas for said property. We now have a top down economic model in Racine.

Anyway, back to my conversation with the alderman. On numerous occasions he said that I made a valid point. Not once did he suggest that I was mistaken or ill informed. The conversation was quite pleasant and there was evidently much that we agreed upon. Even so, I am discouraged. Why? Because, based on years of experience, I have no hope that this alderman or any others will make any attempt whatsoever to repeal the ordinance that makes the top down economic model possible. There are too many entrenched interests from RCEDC to city development personnel to city alderman who depend on maintaining control of economic decisions in Racine. If Racine residents and would-be entrepreneurs were free to make their own decisions, there would be no need for the economic development specialists and planners. They plan on keeping their jobs. The bondage will continue for the rest of us.

An Honest Referendum Question

There will be a kerfuffle tonight as the Racine County Board considers asking voters the following referendum question:

"Should any new tax to support transit or rail services, such as a sales tax or local vehicle registration fee, be permitted in any part of Racine County?"

KRM proponents are not in favor of this non-binding referendum, which is all you need to know.

Since both sides of this issue know that voters would reject the tax increases that would come with KRM, perhaps a better referendum question would be:

"Should we, as your elected representatives, knowingly reject the wishes of you, a member of the ignorant masses, and build a train that you won't use and can't afford, because we possess a superior vision for Racine County that you can't possibly comprehend?"

A Multicultural Message

Racine's Health Department has an ad in the Journal Times today. They were announcing three goals. Goal #1 caught my attention.

"Decrease infant mortality and improve birth outcomes in a culturally competent manner."

At the risk of exposing my cultural incompetence, I have a few suggestions. To improve birth outcomes, don't abort babies, don't smoke crack or cigarettes, don't drink, don't get knocked up at age 15. Do eat nutritious food, exercise moderately, rest, and listen to the advice of a doctor. To decrease infant mortality, don't sleep with your child, keep them away from violent people, feed them regularly and heed the advice of a pediatrician. And if you can't do that, give them up for adoption. If any of my suggestions hadn't already dawned on you, keep your pants on.

Death by Boyfriend Frustration

"Two 2-year-old boys have died in Racine in the past 18 months, possibly because their mother's boyfriends didn't know how to appropriately deal with the frustration of parenting a toddler." This is the first sentence of a JT article on March 22nd.

For the record, the toddlers didn't die from "boyfriend frustration." They died from suffocation and massive internal injuries, respectively, after being tied up and punched repeatedly, again respectively.

The article's subtitle seemingly is an attempted public service announcement of sorts. It reads: "Remember: when 2-year-olds act out, its normal".

So, apparently, is murdering them.

What Freedom?

I have been away for a while, in Hawaii to be exact. I haven't given much thought to politics lately. Anyway, we had a few hours to kill in the Honolulu airport, so we (me, wife, son) decided to have lunch. My wife breaks out a mini game of checkers and begins to set up the game. Suddenly our waitress hurries over and tells us that we can't play the game. I thought she was kidding, then I realized she wasn't. There is a law that forbids cards and other games at establishments where alcohol is served. The law is attempting to prevent gambling.

"Well, it used to be a free country" I said to my son, only half joking. So in an act of defiance, with the number one gambling event of the year (NCAA basketball tournament) on the TV, my son and I played a spirited game of rock, paper, scissors, for cold, hard cash.

I hate to teach my son to disrespect the law, but there is nothing whatsoever to respect about prohibition on checkers or Go Fish. I think it is only going to get worse.

It's For the Children

Want some insight into our local teachers union? Read this article from the JT.

Just days after a RUSD teacher was arrested for paying a child for sex, the teachers union sent this message to teachers: "Member reporting to administrators is typically not an appropriate course of action and can result in legal problems for the individuals making such reports" .... and "If teachers make comments to administrators (or to anyone else for that matter) that interfere with another teachers income or their performance evaluation, the teacher making such comments can be held liable. This is true EVEN IF THE INFORMATION IS ACCURATE." Caps were my emphasis.

So there you have it folks. Teachers are being threatened by their own union not to report TRUE information about teachers who are not performing on the job.

The good news here is that at least one teacher was disgusted enough to report this to the Journal Times. Given the evident bullying nature of the union, it is hardly surprising that the teacher did so anonymously.

The article goes on to include excuses by union members such as "we want to make sure when people say things, they fully understand there's implications" and "the newsletter was not supposed to discourage teachers from filing reports" but that the reports include "the facts and nothing but the facts" etc.... Note that these excuses directly contradict the actual words from the teachers union.

Anyway, not to worry. It's for the children.

Quote of the Day

"If one person has a right to something he did not earn, of necessity it requires that another person not have a right to something that he did earn."

I love this quote from Walter Williams in a recent article entitled "Is health care a right?" You can read the article here.