Dear Editor:
See this link for a primer on the most important issue you’re ignoring. Especially read this further link to a Duke Law Review article in one of the comments. The first part of the Duke paper really lays out the basis for the whole reason the bond cap is in the damn Constitution!!!!! It also illuminates the reason it’s so important – i.e. the economic collapse trigger that exacerbated the Depression (and others before that).
I’ve tried to articulate it to many over the years, to no avail. But, I could not believe it when The Nerve published this letter …. The MSM won’t touch it…
Stories abound about good men and women, altruistic and persistently working for responsible government, tragically ground up and spewed out from the gears of corrupt government. These unfortunate (people) tried to stand up for truth and reason, but stood alone in the crossfire, with no help from anyone, especially the press. The Fourth Estate is an abject failure.
The bond industry greases its way, and grinds up whatever’s in its way. These stories are rich in many facets of corruption, from the bond attorneys yearly payday (see comments to the article above), to gross misuse of county C-fund money (one whole year’s worth for an entire county went to pave the parking lot of one of these white elephants).
I deeply respect what you do, but until this fundamental crisis begins to come to light, I can’t read another article on who’s kissing who, or who got caught doing what – that’s minutiae that will never matter in the big picture. You’ll face attacks from those inside the industry – big law firms, to the cheaply greased knaves at the bottom (typically councilmen, admin, the press, and anybody who might raise opposition).
These machines of profit are formidable – they’ll steamroll any opposition, using whatever means necessary. Some are swayed by cash, others are as cheap as a little flirting from the lead blonde (remember Margaret Pope?). Ignorance and apathy are their cloak, and any opposition still remaining gets appeased. The bait is varied. The last few years is: Barack Obama’s whatever/stimulus program is ending, and this deal has to be in place by the end of this month! Or my favorite: “For a a limited time, the interest rate subsidy from the federal government is 45 percent! (on a rate that is 45 percent higher than market on a worthy municipal bond).”
Anyway, it’s a writer’s paradise. You can’t make this sh*t up.
(Unsigned)
SIC SEZ
Anon: Thank you for putting this on FITS radar. I have forwarded your email to several of my most trusted fiscal sources in the hopes of quantifying this issue and providing some context for our readers. Obviously this website has been very vocal in opposing specific state and local referendums – but you are correct, it is a much bigger issue and FITS has yet to scratch the surface.
Wanna sound off? Email your letter to the editor HERE. Or send it via our tip line. Or mail it to us: FITSNews – PO Box 3642 – Irmo, S.C. 29063.
16 comments
Anybody else sick of Will printing anonymous letters he’s written to himself?
Your (and most everyone else’s) apathy and ignorance is the primary factor in our political and social descent we’re witnessing today. You’re part of the problem (or on the inside, enjoying the largesse). I assure you Will didn’t write this letter.
“or on the inside, enjoying the largesse”
Rest assured, that one is the answer. If he was truly “apathetic”, he wouldn’t have responded at all. He’s somehow connected to the largess and doesn’t like yet another scheme being exposed that would risk cutting it off.
Nice try, Will
Uh, yeah. OK, Will.
Seriously? Anyone who works in journalism isn’t going to reveal their source, otherwise, people will not speak out. For example, why do you use the name yawn vs your real name?
The links in the article are broken. Story is compromised without ’em.
Links are working for me. 4:00pm 3/5/15
tin foil hat wearing
Notice when FitsNews fabricates one of these “letters” to his self, GrandTango never comments or poops on it? They’re all the same one or two people.
Taxpayer colon full of knavedick.
The Lexington School District 5, $250+ million dollar Bond Issue is exactly this type of a rip off.
In the final analysis: The bond promoters lied completely about the number of students coming into the district. Not only was it not going up, but it was actually going down. The money was totally wasted. Lex. 5 built multiple unnecessary schools. Many of which were less than 5 miles from numerous other existing schools. Money was used for popular civic projects like Irmo High’s Auditorium. Projects defeated by the voters in previous attempts as unnecessary.
And finally to add insult to Thievery, the projects were given to Chinese Contractors who ripped off US Subcontractors. Local job creation was mostly: ZERO!
Many of the criminals involved with this lying affair, had sexual affairs among themselves and were subsequently fired. Which should have been the Ethics result for most of the Lexington County District 5 School Board.
Now, with the changing of the Corporate Taxes for Schools being reassigned to all districts. The people of Lex. County will soon have to pick up the tab for this rip off without the help of SCANA/SCE&G corporate taxes to help. It’s a 20+ year bond re-payment that will result in one of the biggest tax increases in Lexington County History.
The Duke Law Review paper makes three points clear. 1. These schemes to circumvent good public policy happen every economic cycle, despite our best legislative efforts. 2. IF the taxpayers are on the hook for the bill, THEN IT IS INCLUDED in the bond indebtedness figure, no matter what you call it. 3. When the very possible default occurs in adverse times, the risks are obvious. Read some economic history. Municipal and government defaults happen, and they take out the foundation of the banking system. Hence the Constitutional cap.
The problem with including ALL of the actual debt in the total bond indebtedness figure, is that most, if not all counties are many times over their 8%-of-total-assessed-value cap. Can’t have that. Who’s been asleep at the wheel that long?
But the real sand-in-the-Vaseline effect comes when you realize that most of this illegally borrowed money is squandered in profits to a few, and very little real value for the public good. OK, say we get past the first problem of legality, is the goal a sound idea in the first place? I’ve witnessed “projects” that take stupidity to a whole new level. No effective press, and no opposition. These shady deals propagate out of the light of public discourse or debate.
Unless you’re a spindoctor hired to whore your soul out (Yawn), you’ve really gotta ask yourself- Is this how we should govern ourselves?
Very well said.
I have seen the same thing and one thing is for sure. The bond lawyers make a killing,
Half the bond counsel in this state ought to be behind bars. They prey on the inexperienced bureaucrats, often local officials, and especially the greedy ones. They sell them on fulfilling personal dreams that the taxpayers have to pay for-of course the taxpayers have no idea what is going on. It is always package attractively. It is often a disgusting waste of public funds.
http://thenerve.org/news/2015/02/24/bond-law/