We Got a Heck of a Lot of Snow

As if we didn't know, WKYC makes it official.  We had more snow this winter than ever before...

If you really wanted a winter wonderland, Youngstown was the place to be. That city was the snowiest location in northeast Ohio thanks to lake effect snowstorms that hammered the eastern part of the area. Youngstown recorded 118.7 inches of snow, or five feet more than usual.

The Vindicator is Making Much Ado About Nothing Regarding Public Employee Pay

The Vindicator has a new feature called Government Watch that, in their words is "in response to the immense scrutiny that government spending — from schools to counties to the state and beyond — faces in our tough economy."

It's a fine idea, after all one the primary functions of the press is to keep an eye on government and inform the public of what is happening.  However, the Vindicator has taken a stance on public employee pay that borders on ridiculous.  Bertram deSouza clearly thinks all employees, especially those at YSU, are overpaid. The paper has a "goal to publish the five-year spending and salary histories of key agencies".  This includes publishing the names of employees and what they make.

What public employees make is no secret.  Anyone who wants to find out can do so.  What I find remarkable is that the evidence to back up their editorial wrath about public salaries doesn't amount to much.  I pulled the March pay adjustment spreadsheet and averaged the new salary column.  You know what I found?  The average pay for the employees on this sheet is ...$39,593.46.  That's overpaid?   That's about nineteen bucks an hour.  And what do these folks do?  Well, we've got JFS case managers, veteran srervice investigators, equipment operators and JJC group leaders.

These are positions that demand skills and education and apparently the Vindicator thinks this level of compensation is unaffordable. I'm don't agree.  The public deserves a civil service that can operate efficiently and safely.  Nineteen bucks an hour seems like a good bargain.

Too Much Bacon

I had lunch at Denny's today and saw the "Bacon Pyramid" display on the table.

It's a frightening display of all the bacon dishes they serve. If you look at the top of the pyramid you'll see a Maple Bacon Sundae that only Ron Swanson would order.

This is just crazy right? If you ate these dishes your heart would cry little grease tears.

The Poor DO Pay Taxes

In the ongoing debate over who pays taxes, whether they pay enough and who doesn't pay taxes, I often hear about this rather large group who do not pay taxes, this 45% of people who somehow get out of paying Federal income taxes. I've seen Fox News "analysts" who say that it isn't fair to those who do pay taxes that such a large segment of the society doesn't pay Federal income taxes.  They say these folks don't have any skin in the game so they get the benefit of resources they don't pay for.

Frankly, I'm tired of the argument.

These folks still pay taxes.  They pay state and local income taxes, property taxes (if they own a home), sales taxes, gas taxes and any fees the government requires like license plates and driver's licenses.  This is a fair bit of coin out of their pocket and I'll bet you anything it's a bigger percentage of their pay than it is for those who pay Federal income taxes.  It's all a matter of proportion.

The government encourages a large middle class through the tax code.  There are deductions for mortgage interest, children and other dependents, child care, college expenses and medical expenses.  These deductions exists to make it easier for the middle class to thrive because the middle class is the economic engine that runs the country.  A strong middle class is necessary for political stability.  They vote.  They don't revolt.  In general, they don't break the law because they have it good.

Here's a nice chart Mother Jones put together a while back showing the concentration of wealth in this country:

If you are part of that 20% that own 80% of the country's wealth you can afford to pay more taxes.  The tax burden on you is far less than it is on the folks making $9.00 an hour.  And because our government is pursuing an insane policy of turning our economy into a service economy that pays less than manufacturing, there are a lot more people living on $9.00 an hour or less than there used to be.

So it's time to stop whining about your tax bill and start questioning the policies of a government that has wrecked the economy so badly that 45% of the population can't earn wages high enough to qualify to pay taxes.  It isn't their fault they can't find better jobs, not when unemployment is at 9%.  It's time to find an economic policy that lifts 45% of the population out of the hole they've been led into.

Activity at the Racetrack Site

There has been a lot of surveyor activity at the Centerpointe Business Park lately. This is the proposed site of the horse racing track Penn National has in mind for their move from Toledo. Surveyors have been at the site almost daily. Maybe they feel good about the state allowing video lottery terminals (VLT)s?

Phil Palombi Released a New CD

Phil Palombi, a Rust Belt native who chased his dream of being a jazz bass player all the way to New York City, has released a new CD titled: RE:Person I Knew - A Tribute To Scott LaFaro.

My newest CD is now available. It's titled RE: Person I Knew - A Tribute To Scott LaFaro, and features former Bill Evans alumnus and drum great Eliot Zigmund and former Scott LaFaro roommate and piano legend Don Friedman.

For this tribute to LaFaro, I was granted access to Scott's original 1825 Abraham Prescott bass! It's the first full length CD to feature the bass since Scott used it on the Village Vanguard recordings in 1961.

If you're interested, you can buy your copy directly from my website at:

www.philpalombi.com 

Despite knowing Phil when we were in school together and listening to him play I was never a big jazz fan.  But when he released a CD titled 80 East I knew I had to give it a listen and thus had my musical horizons widened.  You should definitely drop by his website and grab a copy of this new one.  Below is a youtube video of Phil performing.