Stuff My Brain Says #85

Pander: (v) To provide gratification for others' desires (merriam-webster.com)

Placate: (v) To soothe or mollify, especially by concessions; to appease (merriam-webster.com)

At this year's Home Opener (July 24, 2020), the Cleveland Indians wore one of their road jerseys instead of the traditional white or red jerseys. It's a beautiful jersey, with CLEVELAND emblazoned across the front. They did this to make a statement: "We care."

The club has been in talks concerning renaming the team from the "Indians" to something "less offensive". (Last year was the first year their uniforms did not display the Chief Wahoo mascot.) Along with the Washington Redskins (who are also changing their name), the owners of the Indians are looking to do the "right thing".

I've written about the name change before in reference to the removal of Chief Wahoo. You can browse my blog (or simply search "Wahoo" and "My Humble But Accurate Opinion" in your favorite browser) to read in more detail how I feel about THAT.

Here's my point: Changing the name of the team, a name that has never been used to disparage, but to honor, does NOTHING to right a wrong. As the definitions above tell you, it is another example of placating; a simple gesture to hopefully show how in touch we are, and how sorry we are, for the bad things we white people have done, without actually doing anything of real value.

C'mon already. Who are you kidding? You want to do right? Forget renaming teams. GIVE THEM THEIR LAND BACK.

But hey, that would be going too far, won't it?

(This post was inspired by a tweet from @ScottJohnson: https://twitter.com/scottjohnson/status/1285803540309348352?s=19)

©Emittravel 2020

Maybe the Game Isn’t Broken After All

For us fans of baseball, Spring Training marks the beginning of one of the most exciting seasons of the year (“officially”, Spring doesn’t arrive here in Cleveland until after the first Indians home game . . . ) As far as Major League Baseball (MLB) is concerned, the game is losing its excitement with the public and all kinds of changes are in the works to bring that excitement back.

A 20-second pitch clock has been in the works, along with a three batter per pitcher change. Those, amongst other rumors, are ideas that are supposed to make the game more thrilling. Of course, if you measure baseball against the last Super Bowl, a rain delay is more thrilling. Another item of interest is the destiny of several players stuck in free agency limbo. A favorite of mine, Bryce Harper, formerly of the Washington Nationals, is still waiting for a contract with a new team. The Philadelphia Phillies are currently the front runner in the pursuit of adding a locker with Harper’s name on it. Lest you think I’m just rambling here, there is a connection. According to an article by Todd Zolecki (Phils being deliberate in pursuit of Harper - February 23, 2019), Scott Boras, Harper’s manager, is looking to “obliterate Manny Machado’s 10-year, $300 million contract … and Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year, $325 million contract”. Look at those numbers for a second. Okay, now take another look at those numbers. Starting to feel a bit uneasy? Maybe the MLB is wrong. Baseball is not losing its thrill. Maybe baseball is pricing itself out of business. My wife and I recently finished watching the Ken Burns’ “Baseball” documentary. (Warning: it is awesome, but will make you very angry at times.) One of the big issues in baseball’s history was the fact that the owners made all the money, and the players got bupkis. It was one of the factors that resulted in the 1919 World Series scandal where a number of players from the Chicago White Sox threw games to make extra money from gamblers. Times have changed. Players are no longer, for the most part, struggling financially. But as it is with many things, the pendulum has swung the other way. Oh, the owners aren’t struggling now, but the money many players make make most CEOs jealous. (Funny, people complain when a CEO makes a lot of money providing jobs and helping the company be successful, but don’t seem to mind when millions are dumped upon those who entertain us.) For us regular folk, earning that many dollars in our lifetimes makes no cents. If we took every dollar earned (talking gross, not even net) and did not spend a single dime of it (including food, shelter, clothing - you know, basics), we would still not see those kinds of numbers by 65 years old. I understand that a ballplayer’s career is limited, so earning as much as possible during those years is only wise. But the end of a baseball career does not mean the end of earned income during their remaining years. Maybe the reason people aren’t filling the stadium seats has nothing to do with the game on the field, but the cost to go there and enjoy the game. Unless you want a nosebleed seat, you may find yourself paying out the nose. Add to that parking, feeding your family, and a souvenir or two, and a day at the park can be a once in summer event. Instead of changing the game itself, maybe it’s time to seriously look at the salaries. Maybe it’s time that a little fat be trimmed. And, in case you think that cutting salaries would mean the end of the game, you need to spend time at some farm team games. Those guys understand making bupkis and STILL play the game. Let’s make “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” more of a financial possibility, and the excitement of the game will take care of itself. © Emittravel 2019

It's a Beautiful Day at the Corner of Carnegie and Ontario

This week's blog is a little different. Instead of sitting down and writing, I've decided to go the video route. Normally I write to release some of the pressure in my head so that, like a pressure cooker, I don't blow my top. It's been a pretty stress-free week, so I decided to share a great day. Enjoy! -j.p.

The title is a quote by Cleveland's own Tom Hamilton - sports radio announcer extraordinaire.

© Emittravel 2017

It's Broke. Time to fix it. Article #9

It's broke . . .

You may have noticed that last Sunday I didn't post a new blog (blog? blog article? blog post?). Last week was the Republican Convention, and being that I live here in the wonderful city of Cleveland, I did what any sane person would do: I got the heck outta Dodge!

(Now, to be perfectly honest, if I lived in Philadelphia, where the Democrat Convention is to take place, I'd get the heck outta Dodge too!)

Actually, Friday the 15th was the celebration of ten wonderful years of marriage to the most beautiful (and patient, and forgiving, and tolerating . . . ) woman in the world. I took that day off in order to celebrate; along with the following week for a mini-vacation. It just so happens that the convention was taking place the same time we were on vacation.

We went to Maumee Bay State Park and stayed at the lodge. The park is located on the coast of Lake Erie, between Sandusky (think Cedar Point) and Toledo (think Mud Hens and Tony Packo's). Nothing like catching a couple of Mud Hens baseball games!

Me and the most beautiful, patient, forgiving, tolerant (etc.) woman in the world!

Getting back to the topic of this post . . .

Currently we have a two-party system. The Republicans and the Democrats. A.K.A. Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Stupid. The part that pisses me off the most about both of these groups is that deep down they don't give a rat's ass about doing what is best for the country. Oh, they say that they do. But honestly? All either party cares about is doing what is best for their own party. Getting re-elected and staying in power means more to them than what is best for the very taxpayers paying their salaries.

I know I talked about third-party options previously, but no one ever takes groups like the Green Party or the Libertarian Party seriously enough to make a dent in the two-party monopoly. Though that may change. Usually, the Libertarians are dismissed as a bunch of people who only want to legalize drugs. Well, with Colorado and Washington both legalizing the dancing with Mary Jane, and many more states looking at that viable tax revenue option, Libertarians will soon seem like the "normal" of the bunch.

The 12th Amendment gives us the procedure for electing both the President and the Vice President (also known as the Electoral College). In a nutshell: the person with the majority of electoral votes becomes President AND the person with the majority of electoral votes becomes Vice President. Two separate elections. Now, somewhere along the line, our benevolent party leaders decided that it wouldn't be good to have a Democrat President and a Republican Vice President (or vice versa), so they decided to make a change and have the party candidate choose their "running mate".

You may notice that they didn't change the Constitution via Amendment (like when the 18th Amendment - prohibiting the manufacturing or sale of alcohol - was repealed by the 21st Amendment). They simply decided to ignore the Constitution for the betterment of the parties.

So, the system is broken.

My wife had a great idea, and I think it's the perfect solution: Let everyone who wants to run, run. The person with the most votes becomes the President. And the person with the second most votes becomes the Vice President. Parties be damned!

And I agree. Let the games begin!

. . . time to fix it!

©Emittravel 2016

It's Broke. Time to fix it. Article #8

It's broke . . .

Every four years we go through the same thing: A bunch of rich people spend all kinds of money running advertisements, traveling all over the country giving speeches, and holding massive conventions, all to convince the populous that they are regular people like you and me, and to convince us to go into a small booth and choose them for President of the United States. And each election cycle the amount of money spent - nay WASTED - could be invested for far more beneficial ends; like, say, the very things they want to spend money on once in office.

I’m a Clevelander. I love this city. And not just because the Cavaliers won the NBA Finals this year (breaking a 52-year curse over the town) either. This year we are to hold the Republican National Convention in our town.

And it makes me sick to my stomach to think about it.

With all of the recent shootings by and of police in the last few weeks, one thing we in Cleveland don't need is a bunch of Trump hating protesters coming to town and possibly stirring up trouble. And why? Because the GOP chose to allow Donald Trump to run in the primaries as a Republican, and now regrets that they did it. They want a do over. They call "mulligan"!! And frankly, if something doesn't happen soon to correct the Good Ship "Grand Old Poopheads" they will be handing over the election to Hillary Clinton.

Though, from what I remember, Hillary Clinton may be the cheapest to elect anyway. After all, doesn't she already come with a bunch of (stolen) White House / Air Force One towels and cutlery?

I've been thinking of voting for a third-party candidate this cycle. Why? I can't stand either of these yutzes. I think these guys got it right: Everybody Sucks 2016.

"But J.P., if you vote third-party you will throw your vote away."

Or -

"But J.P., if you vote third-party you might as well vote for Clinton (or Trump), as you will give her (him) the election."

For one thing, you have to realize that your vote means squat. And if you vote absentee ballot, your vote means less than squat (as absentee ballots don't get counted anyway). As much as Americans want this to be American Idol (vote early; vote often), electing a President is not a popularity contest. Just ask Al Gore, who had more popular votes, but still lost to George Bush.

And for another thing, I am not only registered as Independent, I'm also independent of thought. I don't tow the party line. I'm not voting Republican or Democrat because my daddy was a Republican or Democrat and voted Republican or Democrat and so did his daddy and so did his daddy. There is more here at stake than the pride of whether or not your state is red or blue!

If you are reading this and are a U.S. citizen of voting age (and "hello" to all of you not from 'round these parts), you are also a tax payer. That means you pay the salaries of all of those yahoos in government. Which means, you are the President's EMPLOYER. He (or very possibly "she") works for YOU, not the other way around. Which means you are actually in the hiring position right now.

Let that sink in for a minute.

What do you do, as any good employer does, when needing to fill a position? You interview candidates for the position and look for the best.

So, as an employer, you find yourself with two individuals vying for the position that are morons. They are self-serving, rude, lying, and unscrupulous - you know, perfect politicians. So what do you do? Do you chose the lesser of two evils?

NO!

You look for other candidates. You tell both of those to hit the road and you keep looking.

Or, you look at third-party candidates.

So, my voting for a third-party candidate would not be a wasted vote. As a responsible "employer", I'm voting for the person I think is the best to do the job. If the rest don't, and my vote is over-ruled, so be it. At least my conscious is clear.

But to pull this into the title of this article: What we need to do is have all candidates submit a thesis of what they plan to do in office and why they think they are the best person for the job. And NO NAMES. That way all we voters have to work with is legitimate facts and no bullsh**.

Then maybe. Just maybe. We will stop this cycle.

And save a little of this wasted money while we're at it.

. . . time to fix it!

©Emittravel 2016

You Can Leave Your Hat On

I'm a Clevelander. I love this town. I'm not a big sports guy, but I love watching the Indians and the Browns. I've never been a Cavaliers fan, but that's because I almost dislike basketball. When I was an altar boy (another story for another day), the priests would take us on field trips to events like the Cleveland Force Indoor Soccer games (Darth Vader would come out before the team, the Imperial March would play, and everything!). These games were held at the Richfield Coliseum.

Now it's an empty field, but back then it was a giant echo chamber designed to make the 5,000 Cavs fans sound like 50,000.

Times have changed in Cleveland. No longer at Richfield, the games are played in a nice venue right downtown. And there are far more than 5,000 Cavs fans.

One of the big fans is the CEO of the company I work for. This year, as an incentive for folks to root for the winning Cavs, he has bestowed a "jeans day" for after every game the Cavs win during the finals. Our normal dress code is "business casual" (making nooses - er, I mean "neckties" optional), so jeans days are used more as incentives. For instance, we do a fundraiser, and everyone who donates a certain amount are permitted to wear jeans on that day. Things like that.

So, it was really nice that last week, even with the Cavs winning a game earlier in the week (granting us a jeans day), that we were permitted to wear jeans on Friday in recognition of the Memorial Day holiday.

I decided to include with my jeans a special hat (I have more hats than my wife has shoes): A baseball cap with the name of the ship I served on when in the Navy.

There are rules of etiquette that I like to follow when wearing a hat. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned that way. For instance, you can wear a hat into an office building, but you should take it off upon entering an office. Same with a hotel. It's okay in the lobby, or even in the hallways. You should take it off upon entering a hotel room. Get it?

On this day I threw etiquette to the wind and decided to wear the cap all day. This caused me to be the recipient of a few compliments, thanking me for my service. My response was as follows:

"Thank you, but you have Veterans Day to honor us. Memorial Day is to honor those who never came home."

So, as you take time to gather with family and friends to eat burnt offerings of brats and burgers, and even to argue the taboos of religion and politics, please remember that there are a number of gravestones that designate the life of someone who has given that life up for you.

With deepest thanks, and prayers to those families who mourn the loss, I take my hat off to you, and thank you for your service.

-j.p.

 (The title is a reference to the song from Joe Cocker.)

©Emittravel 2016

The Cleveland Tans

In 1945, Arthur McBride founded the Cleveland Browns - named after Paul Brown, the first head coach of the team. They were part of the AAFC (All-American Football Conference), where they won a championship in each of the four years of the league's existence. Later to become a member of the NFL (do I really have to tell you what "NFL" means?!?), where they won a number of championships in the early years, and made the playoffs a total of fourteen times.

In 1995, Art Modell, then owner of the Browns, moved the team to Baltimore, where they became the Ravens. This put the Browns on a hiatus for a few years, resuming in 1999.

On October 3, 2013, former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown, a member of the Football Hall of Fame, was honored during the halftime show between the Browns and the Buffalo Bills at Cleveland's First Energy Stadium. It was an emotional event, and rightfully so. Only one problem: the wrong team was giving him honor.

Like I said above, in 1995, Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore. Not only did he move the team, but he moved the history as well. A football team's history is an amalgamation of players and staff coming and going throughout the years. When the Browns moved to Baltimore, the history of that team, the players current and former, the coaching and support staff over all of those years, went with it. Jim Brown's famous career went with it. When the Browns started up again in 1999, THEY STARTED ALL OVER. Out with Bill Belichick, in with Chris Palmer. Hell, we can even go as far as saying out with the Cleveland Municipal Stadium, in with Cleveland Browns Stadium (now First Energy Stadium).

The only history today's Cleveland Browns can look back to starts in 1999. The Baltimore Ravens? They can look all the way back to 1945 and Paul Brown. The old Browns/Steelers rivalry? In Baltimore. We can have a "new" one if we want, but it's not the same.

For me? I call them the "Cleveland Tans", because they haven't earned the color yet. I'm still rooting for them, and to eliminate confusion I'm still calling myself a "Brown's fan". Though after the above, you too now know what I mean by that.

(On a side note: Whenever Cleveland and Baltimore play against each other, can it be said that the Browns are "playing with themselves"?)

© Emittravel 2013

Left-Leaning Bias at Cleveland.com? Nothing to See Here - Move Along

The featured story at Cleveland.com today: "Senate Bill 5 repeal sets table for Democrats and President Barack Obama in 2012: Analysis" by Henry J. Gomez (The Plain Dealer). It's funny that repealing Governor Kasich's plan concerning public unions was declared a win for President Obama, but nothing was mentioned about Issue 3: Ohioans soundly announced that they did NOT want mandated health care - which is a resounding DEFEAT to President Obama's 2012 plans. As a matter of fact, I had to do some extra work to even FIND the results to Issue 3 on Cleveland.com.

Yeah . . . Nothing to see here. Move along.

© Emittravel 2011

The Cleveland Curse? (Part Two)

(This is part two of a two-part blog entry. If you are reading this first, STOP!! Sorry. Didn't mean to yell. Well, actually, if you have read any of my previous blogs you probably have discovered that I yell a lot. That's what the "caps lock" effect is for. Yelling. Loud. With energy. Anyway, if you are starting with this one please stop and go back and read the first part first. Thanks.)

Disclaimer: I am married to a public school teacher, and yes, that has effected the views described in this column, but not for the reasons you are thinking. I am madly, passionately, and completely in love with my wife; not with her choice of career. I'm sure what she does has an effect on who she is, but who she is has a far greater impact on how she does what she does. Being married to her has exposed me to her career - beyond the "I remember my school teachers" and "they only work a few months out of the year and are overpaid in comparison" understanding I once held. It is not the love for my wife that changed this, but being immersed in her world. I have to tell you: after being with her for over six years, and seeing what she does, there is no amount of money in this world that would convince me to be a teacher. More on this to follow.

If you have turned on your TV lately, listened to the radio, or spent any time at an online news feed, you have had to hear about what is going on in Wisconsin, Indiana, and now Ohio, concerning public school teachers (and public employees in general) and their unions. The governors of these states (and I'm sure there are others going through the same, or will be soon) are desiring to get their states back in the black. Some are even focusing on "busting" the unions. The latter is not the focus of this article. If you have read any of my previous blog entries (No? Really? Hey, take a break and go back to the beginning and work your way here. Come on - treat yourself!) you will know that in My Humble But Accurate Opinion I believe our government (at the federal AND state levels) has spent us into a major hole. Cutting spending is a primary way of getting us out of that hole (see my "The Donkeys Have It!" article in particular). But that is only HALF of the equation.

Cutting spending is a must. There is no question there. But what are we doing about the income side of the equation? If THAT doesn't change we'll be doing the same thing again in five years. What thing? Read on.

Why, all of a sudden, are public employees in the crosshairs? Because the economy is in a major slump. Why is the economy in a major slump? Well, you can blame the banks and "evil" Wall Street, but for the root you have to go back to the politicians. (Oh J.P., there you go again with another rant on the evils of government! If the government was functioning as it was DESIGNED to function you would probably be reading more of my poetry here instead!) If it wasn't for the regulations imposed upon these establishments we wouldn't HAVE a housing crisis (for starters).

(I was listening to a podcast concerning the Japanese interment camps during WWII. Apparently, the President gave an Executive Order that created this non-Constitutional atrocity. Listen: EVERY time our government "leaders" do something that is outside the established limits set forth in our Constitution, we have "crisis". Maybe those powdered-wig wearing old guys knew what they were talking about when they wrote it.)

I have a question for our political "leaders": Since you are all so anxious to force public school teachers, and other public employees, to pay (more) into their health care plans and retirement programs, I want to know how much you are going to pay into your OWN? Leadership is from the top down. Our "public servants" have the best health care (our President made an outrageous statement that he had great health care) and retirement packages in the land. Far better than anyone in the private sector; including those "evil" CEOs they are so fond of. Many get retirement-for-life after only one term! You make grandiose speeches on how we as a nation need to sacrifice. Yet I don't hear you folks "biting the bullet". Maybe if we the people see sacrifices by those in office, we will be a little more open to making sacrifices ourselves.

(Why are teachers better than politicians? You CAN find at least ONE teacher that understands basic economics!)

Teachers are in a tough spot. Again, you couldn't pay me to do their job. I read an interesting article that made the comment that classroom size was a myth propagated by the teachers unions to hire more teachers. (I'm a fiscal conservative, but sometimes "conservative" commentators really get me riled with their ignorance!) The article referred to a statement by Governor Daniels of Indiana that class size was "virtually meaningless". I replied to the article (including a quote from the article [by Mona Charen]) as follows: "Gov. Daniels is wrong. Class size IS a critical factor in quality of education. 'As the Mackinac Center for Public Policy summarized, "(P)upil-teacher ratios have shrunk nationally for at least the last six decades, yet there have been no quantifiable improvements to student achievement nationally or in individual states.:"' does not factor much of the criteria. Six decades ago the biggest worry was chewing gum and talking in class. They didn't have metal detectors in schools. The percentage of children diagnosed with discipline/mental issues (like ADD) has grown significantly. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) baloney wasn't in effect. What teachers, especially in public schools, deal with today is COMPLETELY different than six decades ago. A disruptive class of 40 (or more) is much harder to teach than a not-so-disruptive class of 20. And no, I'm not a teacher. Just a person with a little sense."

So, let's over-regulate what the teachers can and cannot do in the classroom, make them have to follow all of the "guidelines" (read "laws") of NCLB (for starters), base everything on strict test results and complain of teachers only teaching to the test, and then expect them to be the "Mother Theresa" of the classroom or demand their punishment. Think of it this way: you hamstring your horse and expect it to win EVERY race!! Really??

What about charter and private schools? As I responded to that article: "One additional question: if class sizes don't matter so much, what are the class sizes in private and prep schools? All of the horn-honking of how much better an education a child can get there compared to public schools - are they bigger class sizes? If so, you have your argument. If not, you might better research your sources. What about teacher turnover? Charter schools have quite a bit of turnover in comparison. Is that because there are so many lousy teachers there that they keep getting rid of them (because of no unions)?" Some say that teachers leave private schools because they can't make a living there; much better opportunities in the public school arena. That may be true, but honestly, unless our government gets out of the education business you won't see much of a turnaround in our schools.

And when will these elite in office start to figure in the parent/society portion into the equation of a student's success in school? A teacher has a student approximately 45 minutes out of a day - in high school. The rest is in the hands of parents and outside-of-school influences. I've read where a broken home has more of an impact on test scores than hours of "study island".

But maybe if we accepted Jimmy has "two daddies" or "two mommies" they would be more adjusted and perform better in school. But I digress.

Our politicians should be sued for false advertising: they keep calling themselves leaders. You want to be called leaders? Then lead! Don't demand that others make sacrifices concerning their health care, pay, and pensions, without FIRST making sacrifices concerning your OWN health care, pay, and pensions! Before you demand that people like teachers, police, and firefighters take the heat for your fiscal incompetence, start showing us that you are willing to make cuts of your own. Lead by example. Don't just dictate and expect others to jump for joy.

Idiots.

In Ohio, there was so much controversy over a bill to remove collective bargaining rights from public workers that Senate President Tom Niehaus (a Republican) removed two GOP Senate committee members that were in disagreement so the bill could be voted on. That's right. A Republican abused power to stack the deck to get the vote he wanted accomplished. Funny. Isn't that what Republicans were complaining that Democrats like Pelosi and Reid were doing to get ObamaCare passed? I think that Republicans can now shut their mouths. Scum is not limited to only one bank of the river. Both sides are overflowing in slime!

One of the items being pushed in SB-5 (the Ohio Senate Bill concerning the public employee unions) is merit-based pay. Now, this has some . . . uh . . . merit, but we really need to look at this closely. I've already mentioned some of the things teachers have to put up with: NCLB, absent parents, troubled students, broken homes, and the inability to discipline for fear of being sued. These all have an impact on the ability of a teacher to teach a classroom full of students. Most things are out of their control. Does it really make sense that teachers have to "perform" under all of this, and get paid based on criteria set forth by politicians who send THEIR kids to private schools? How about merit-based pay for politicians? THAT wouldn't work; they'd owe US money!

Do adjustments need to be made? Of course. That's obvious. But let's not "punish" public employees (a major portion of the MIDDLE CLASS), who also are tax revenue generators, just to make political points.

Besides, isn't the focus supposed to be for the good of the children?

© Emittravel 2011

The Cleveland Curse? (Part One)

I'm sure that title strikes a chord in Cleveland sports fans everywhere, but since I'm really not all that versed in athletics of any sort, this article will deal with a different curse: the Cleveland (and in general, Ohio's) job market woes. If you ARE interested in the sports variation of the curse, I would highly recommend you clicking over to my friend Joan's column (after you read this one, of course). It's a fantastic read and you won't be disappointed!

(This is the first part of a two-part blog entry. I started to write it and it kind of got away from me. I chased it down for as long as I could, but eventually realized I was running around like a chicken with its legs cut off. To quote the famous Lou Costello: "I grasp it, but it keeps slipping out of my hand!" These two entries will weave together and somewhere along the line develop a coherent theme. Hopefully. If you started with part two, I hope you took the advice and stopped reading and came back to read this one first, or you might find yourself totally confused. Rather like the author . . . )

As I sat here writing this blog there was a radio commercial that said that Cleveland is the seventh hottest job market. Talk about a P.R. shout-out (the station was advertising for a sales position for itself). I mean, really! How can this be the seventh hottest job market when there are practically NO employers?!? Makes me really concerned for the REST of the country!

Here comes the curse: Cleveland is not a victim of the failing job market. Cleveland is the CAUSE of its failing job market. Cleveland, and the state of Ohio in general, has some of the toughest regulations, and the highest taxes, of any state in the union. Cleveland believes that punishing perspective employers with loads of red tape and taxes will bring them running TO Cleveland! I really believe that statement HAS to be the truth. Why else would they continue on the same path all of these years?

Ohio's public schools are in a tough spot partly due to the shrinking tax base. The housing crisis has lowered the values of homes and therefore the property taxes have gone down as well. The lack of jobs in the state have produced more foreclosed homes - which brings a big, fat, goose egg of tax income. We hear so much from our political "leaders" that they will "create jobs". I'll tell you how jobs can be created: stop stifling businesses! Let them be! Quit trying to scratch the backs of special interest groups - you end up punishing everyone!

And for crying out loud: businesses need to QUIT pushing for regulations to "protect" themselves. All that does is eliminate competition and keep prices high. The economy will have its good times and bad times to be sure, but every time politicians try to help it along, or shore it up, they end up causing a longer and deeper bad time. A free market will have its share of corruption. That is going to happen. Get over it. But the solution to corruption is not regulation: it is allowing individuals to use the power of that free market to drive those businesses out of business. Now, if it is something criminal, there should be some intervention. But make sure that "criminal" activity is not a product of regulation (see the housing market crisis and Wall Street for great examples).

Okay, so the city of Cleveland leadership has come up with a "brilliant" idea: a new convention center! Yeah, that's the ticket! One way to bring in more business is a new convention center! It doesn't matter that this has been tried in other cities with absolute failure. It doesn't matter that Cleveland's own IX Center has found itself with dwindling vendors and attendance at events over the last few years. It doesn't matter that it has already done things like baseball and football stadiums that only get used part of the year and sit dormant the rest. It doesn't matter that the majority of business in this country comes from small business owners; not some major real estate companies that build these monstrosities. Cleveland can do it better! Right . . .

How about some simple wisdom: lower the tax rates in Ohio. All of them. For everyone. "No, J.P., we can't do that! We need the tax revenue!" Really? You are going to use THAT argument? Maybe a basic economic class is needed as a prerequisite for any city "leadership" position. Actually, make that a prerequisite for ANY political "leadership" position - city, state AND federal. Lower taxes PRODUCE more tax revenue. The more money people and businesses have the more they can DO. The more they DO the more they SPEND/INVEST. The more they SPEND/INVEST the more tax revenue gets generated. When the taxes are high NO ONE spends: individuals or businesses. If I were a potential business owner and were looking to start or expand my business, do you honestly think I'm going to go to a city/state that has such high taxes? Come on! Yeah! I want to be cash-strapped and try to hire people. I want to be cash-strapped and spend months-to-years trying to cut through the red tape of a city just to build, and then dole out most of my potential revenue back to the very politicians that are keeping me FROM establishing/growing my business.

Are you kidding me?

Cutting spending is a must. There is no question there. But what are we doing about the income side of the equation? Spending cuts. Now there's a hot topic. Please continue with part two for the rest of the rant.

© Emittravel 2011