I've been thinking about the budget and some of the priorities reflected therein. But let's get to first principles.
What is a town for?
To provide services to the citizens. If there were no services, there would be no need for the town.
How are the services provided? The town's employees deliver the services. The water plant doesn't operate itself. Neither does it repair itself. The water meters don't read themselves and the bills don't get in the mail by themselves. The streets and sidewalks aren't self repairing.
No employees - no services. It's as simple as that.
Last year the town board decided to balance the budget on the backs of our employees by establishing and gradually increasing a monetary contribution by each employee to purchase his or her health insurance. The scheme was to reduce the town's contribution to health insurance, but to compensate somewhat by increasing wages and salaries. Even if this modification to the pay structure resulted in a dollar for dollar compensation (one dollar increase in pay for each dollar of decrease in the town's contribution to health insurance), the burden on the employee would be greater. We would replace an untaxed benefit (health) with a taxed benefit (wages).
We're talking about employees making as little as $11.00 an hour, who are having difficulty buying enough gas to get to work and we want to place another burden on them? These are people for the most part who can't afford to live in Oriental and walk or bicycle to work. And they don't buy Priuses.
So where might the town get the money to continue paying employee health insurance as before and still balance the budget? A good place to start would have been to not spend the $22,000 the board spent to hire a lawyer to investigate the previous town manager in hopes of finding a cause to fire him that would save spending the $25,000 termination pay in the contract the town negotiated and signed.
A second place to look for how to balance the budget without passing the hat to the employees is to tap into the money the water system should have been paying to the general fund (recently recalculated) but hasn't. That's on the order of another $25,000 for the coming fiscal year.
I think there are better options than taking up a collection from the workers.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Problems in Civics Education
The nation's report card in civics is just in. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in civics education has just been released. The news is not good.
We are not doing a good job of educating our students for their role as citizens. And the scores are not getting better.
Take a look at the report card and the sample questions, and you'll see what I mean. We need to do much better.
We are not doing a good job of educating our students for their role as citizens. And the scores are not getting better.
Take a look at the report card and the sample questions, and you'll see what I mean. We need to do much better.
New Town Dock Project
It was a good turnout last night at the town board meeting. Standing room only. Almost every attendee spoke during the public comment period. All but one were in favor of the project and that one wasn't vehemently opposed. The Board voted unanimously to go forward.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Protect Polluters
Monday night's County Commissioners meeting addressed, among other things, a request by Commissioner Mele for the board to pass resolutions of support for three bills now before the legislature concerning environmental regulations. The bills, attributed to drafting efforts of local real estate mogul Missy Baskerville and introduced by Senator Preston, were as follows:
Senate Bill 323, An act to create an exemption to the riparian buffer requirements for certain private properties in the Neuse River and Tar-Pamlico River Basins.
In brief, the proposed act "grandfathers" any parcel platted and recorded prior to August 1, 2000 from current riparian buffer requirements;
Senate Bill 324, An act to require greater notification of and ability to attend hearings for rule making.
In brief, the act amends present law to require the rule-making agency to notify the governing unit in each county and publish notice in a newspaper in each county that will be impacted by the proposed rule and to schedule public hearings within 60 miles of each county affected by a proposed rule;
Senate Bill 325, An act to provide additional requirements to apply to the adoption and implementation of any proposed administrative rule that is an environmental rule.
The most significant requirement is that at least 80% of any "stakeholder" committee created to consider a proposed rule be made up of persons employed in the private sector, residing in the city or county affected and essentially be in the industry regulated by the rule.
In a nutshell, these three bills are intended to obstruct agencies responsible for developing regulations to implement public law and delay or outright prevent them from doing their job.
Who in all this is going to represent the interest of the public?
Senate Bill 323, An act to create an exemption to the riparian buffer requirements for certain private properties in the Neuse River and Tar-Pamlico River Basins.
In brief, the proposed act "grandfathers" any parcel platted and recorded prior to August 1, 2000 from current riparian buffer requirements;
Senate Bill 324, An act to require greater notification of and ability to attend hearings for rule making.
In brief, the act amends present law to require the rule-making agency to notify the governing unit in each county and publish notice in a newspaper in each county that will be impacted by the proposed rule and to schedule public hearings within 60 miles of each county affected by a proposed rule;
Senate Bill 325, An act to provide additional requirements to apply to the adoption and implementation of any proposed administrative rule that is an environmental rule.
The most significant requirement is that at least 80% of any "stakeholder" committee created to consider a proposed rule be made up of persons employed in the private sector, residing in the city or county affected and essentially be in the industry regulated by the rule.
In a nutshell, these three bills are intended to obstruct agencies responsible for developing regulations to implement public law and delay or outright prevent them from doing their job.
Who in all this is going to represent the interest of the public?
Monday, May 2, 2011
A New Town Dock
Last Thursday's agenda meeting of Oriental's Board of Commissioners revealed that Tuesday's meeting will discuss building an additional Town Dock at the end of South Avenue.
This parcel, to which the town won the rights in a case decided by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2009, gives the public direct access to the harbor. One appropriate use of the parcel is to build a simple pier extending about 100 feet from shore, for use by transient vessels.
A recurring complaint in some circles is that Oriental isn't sufficiently friendly to business. Otherwise, some contend, we would have more businesses and they wouldn't keep failing.
I wonder how many businesses a population of 875 (latest census) can support. Even the "greater Oriental" population of 2,000 can't support many. We are at the end of the highway.
On the other hand, from 14,000 to 20,000 (estimates vary) boats cruising the East Coast via the ICW each year pass less than two miles away. That represents more than 40,000 potential customers. The best thing we can do for Oriental businesses is to attract more boats to stop here. That would be good for every business.
Last Thursday, one commissioner opposed additional free dockage, on the grounds it may compete with nearby commercial marinas.
This misses the point. Cruising sailors select where to stop based on the reputation a town has as a hospitable place. Availability of transient docks and free anchorage space is among the factors affecting this reputation. The goal is to improve Oriental's brand. The better the brand, the more boats stop. The more boats that stop, the more will come back. Some even stay.
As I contended almost two years ago, the question of what to do about South Avenue is about the future, not the past.
Those of you who support the new town dock project and the effort for Oriental to become even more welcoming and hospitable to cruising sailors, please come to the meeting of the Town Board at 7:00 pm Tuesday, May 3 at Town Hall. And bring other supporters.
The important competition is between Oriental and other towns along the waterway.
This parcel, to which the town won the rights in a case decided by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2009, gives the public direct access to the harbor. One appropriate use of the parcel is to build a simple pier extending about 100 feet from shore, for use by transient vessels.
A recurring complaint in some circles is that Oriental isn't sufficiently friendly to business. Otherwise, some contend, we would have more businesses and they wouldn't keep failing.
I wonder how many businesses a population of 875 (latest census) can support. Even the "greater Oriental" population of 2,000 can't support many. We are at the end of the highway.
On the other hand, from 14,000 to 20,000 (estimates vary) boats cruising the East Coast via the ICW each year pass less than two miles away. That represents more than 40,000 potential customers. The best thing we can do for Oriental businesses is to attract more boats to stop here. That would be good for every business.
Last Thursday, one commissioner opposed additional free dockage, on the grounds it may compete with nearby commercial marinas.
This misses the point. Cruising sailors select where to stop based on the reputation a town has as a hospitable place. Availability of transient docks and free anchorage space is among the factors affecting this reputation. The goal is to improve Oriental's brand. The better the brand, the more boats stop. The more boats that stop, the more will come back. Some even stay.
As I contended almost two years ago, the question of what to do about South Avenue is about the future, not the past.
Those of you who support the new town dock project and the effort for Oriental to become even more welcoming and hospitable to cruising sailors, please come to the meeting of the Town Board at 7:00 pm Tuesday, May 3 at Town Hall. And bring other supporters.
The important competition is between Oriental and other towns along the waterway.
The Wicked Witch is Dead
The television scene of a wildly enthusiastic crowd dancing and waving flags in Lafayette Square last night across from the White House reminded me of nothing so much as the dance of the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy's house fell on the wicked witch. The enthusiasm was understandable, but at the same time, there is something unseemly about it.
So I was relieved to learn that the military force that killed Osama bin Laden and retrieved his body treated his remains with respect. That is in keeping with an older military tradition.
An example of this older tradition occurred during the Battle of Santiago during the Spanish American War. The Spanish fleet, which had been bottled up by the US Navy, attempted a break out. They had not gone far when the battleship USS New York engaged the ships in a withering fire from her big guns. Spanish ships burned and sank, to the cheers of New York's sailors.
"Don't cheer boys, the poor devils are dying" New York's skipper, Captain John W. Philip, a Civil War veteran, chided his seamen.
Ninety years later, in July 1988, USS Vincennes, an Aegis cruiser, shot down Iranian Air flight 655, killing 290 passengers and crew. The aircraft was in Iranian airspace in an international civilian air corridor. A television crew on board to film the ship in action recorded the crew on the ship's bridge cheering the shoot-down. I'm sure those crew members later regretted their cheers.
War is a solemn business, not like a football game. Save the cheering for later.
At this writing, it appears our Seals successfully limited collateral damage to civilians. We should be very thankful for that.
So I was relieved to learn that the military force that killed Osama bin Laden and retrieved his body treated his remains with respect. That is in keeping with an older military tradition.
An example of this older tradition occurred during the Battle of Santiago during the Spanish American War. The Spanish fleet, which had been bottled up by the US Navy, attempted a break out. They had not gone far when the battleship USS New York engaged the ships in a withering fire from her big guns. Spanish ships burned and sank, to the cheers of New York's sailors.
"Don't cheer boys, the poor devils are dying" New York's skipper, Captain John W. Philip, a Civil War veteran, chided his seamen.
Ninety years later, in July 1988, USS Vincennes, an Aegis cruiser, shot down Iranian Air flight 655, killing 290 passengers and crew. The aircraft was in Iranian airspace in an international civilian air corridor. A television crew on board to film the ship in action recorded the crew on the ship's bridge cheering the shoot-down. I'm sure those crew members later regretted their cheers.
War is a solemn business, not like a football game. Save the cheering for later.
At this writing, it appears our Seals successfully limited collateral damage to civilians. We should be very thankful for that.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
On Helmsmanship
The first ship I ever steered was USS Iowa (BB-61) a 45,000 ton behemoth as long as three football fields, propelled by more than 200,000 horsepower.
The boatswain's mate who taught me to steer emphasized that I shouldn't use too much rudder. If I did, I would be constantly chasing the course back and forth across the compass binnacle and never get it right. Even worse, the constant corrections would slow the ship down and waste fuel. If I just used a light touch, natural wave action would usually bring the ship back on course.
As it turns out, the same principal applies to the economy and inflation.
There are two kinds of inflation. There is "headline" inflation, which includes highly volatile prices like food and gasoline. This kind of inflation is notoriously seasonal and subject to temporary influences (bad weather, for example).
The other kind of inflation is referred to by economists as "core" inflation. That is the underlying inflation rather than day to day price fluctuations.
When the Fed manages monetary policy, they have found through experience that they should limit their measures to those affecting core inflation.
Core inflation right now is less than two percent. Furthermore, it is not increasing and there is no sign it will increase anytime soon.
The problem for most of us is that we spend money at the grocery store and gas station in response to "headline" inflation.
Nonetheless, it would be bad for all of us if the Fed started responding to headline inflation with a heavy hand on the helm. That would be another way to kill economic recovery. Goodness knows, the House of Representatives is doing enough on its own to accomplish that. They don't need the Fed's help.
The boatswain's mate who taught me to steer emphasized that I shouldn't use too much rudder. If I did, I would be constantly chasing the course back and forth across the compass binnacle and never get it right. Even worse, the constant corrections would slow the ship down and waste fuel. If I just used a light touch, natural wave action would usually bring the ship back on course.
As it turns out, the same principal applies to the economy and inflation.
There are two kinds of inflation. There is "headline" inflation, which includes highly volatile prices like food and gasoline. This kind of inflation is notoriously seasonal and subject to temporary influences (bad weather, for example).
The other kind of inflation is referred to by economists as "core" inflation. That is the underlying inflation rather than day to day price fluctuations.
When the Fed manages monetary policy, they have found through experience that they should limit their measures to those affecting core inflation.
Core inflation right now is less than two percent. Furthermore, it is not increasing and there is no sign it will increase anytime soon.
The problem for most of us is that we spend money at the grocery store and gas station in response to "headline" inflation.
Nonetheless, it would be bad for all of us if the Fed started responding to headline inflation with a heavy hand on the helm. That would be another way to kill economic recovery. Goodness knows, the House of Representatives is doing enough on its own to accomplish that. They don't need the Fed's help.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
NC Unemployment Benefits
Forbes.com reported on a confrontation today in Raleigh between Republican legislators and workers losing their unemployment benefits.
"The jobless workers." Forbes.com reported, "are caught in a partisan rift over the seemingly straightforward move to change a formula for calculating unemployment benefits, allowing the federally funded program to continue for people out of work for up to 99 weeks."
Some may call it a "partisan rift," but real people are at risk. The dispute, at bottom, is over whose vision for the future of America will prevail. The issues are certainly not trivial.
Americans are increasingly reliant on government programs to meet their most basic requirements. Last year, more than 18 percent of the nation's total personal income came from entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, unemployment benefits and other programs, according to an analysis by USA Today. Wages were only about fifty percent of total personal income, the lowest share since government tracking began in 1929.
National Public Radio asked members of the public receiving government benefits to call in with their stories. The transcript of their calls is heart wrenching.
"The jobless workers." Forbes.com reported, "are caught in a partisan rift over the seemingly straightforward move to change a formula for calculating unemployment benefits, allowing the federally funded program to continue for people out of work for up to 99 weeks."
Some may call it a "partisan rift," but real people are at risk. The dispute, at bottom, is over whose vision for the future of America will prevail. The issues are certainly not trivial.
Americans are increasingly reliant on government programs to meet their most basic requirements. Last year, more than 18 percent of the nation's total personal income came from entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, unemployment benefits and other programs, according to an analysis by USA Today. Wages were only about fifty percent of total personal income, the lowest share since government tracking began in 1929.
National Public Radio asked members of the public receiving government benefits to call in with their stories. The transcript of their calls is heart wrenching.
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