Class Warfare In Action

An economics professor at a local college proclaimed he had never failed a single student, but had once failed an entire class. That class insisted that Obama’s Marxist policies worked and that no one would be rich and no one would be poor. A great equalizer to say the least. He went on to tell his class they would be given a series of tests on the Obama plan, the grades would be averaged so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test the average was a “B.” The students who studied hard were upset and the ones who studied little were happy. The second test averaged a “D.” The students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride also. No one was happy. The third test average was an “F.” The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name calling prevailed. No one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise everyone failed and the professor told them that Marxism would suffer the same fate because when the reward is great the effort is great but when the reward is gone no one will try to succeed. Just a warning for those looking forward to the “New Deal” which is in progress as we speak. How did it work for FDR back in the 1930’s?

Just a few questions and comments pertaining to Julie Kilpatrick’s letter (11/21/12 The Prairie Advocate). Could the rebellious spirit be a result of Obama’s failed policies rather than the election results? I realize those failures are still the fault of George Bush, but it seems like now we are faced with warfare against just about everything. Big business, wall street, seniors, fossil fuels, the wealthy, the right-to-bear arms, the health insurance companies; just to mention a few.

Apparently, this is the Liberal Progressive vision of everyone having a “fair shot.” Civil unrest and rebellious spirit are not the norm in a truly democratic environment unless there is an underlying movement in progress. Could it be that now the “takers” outnumber the “makers” in our country? How about it Julie?

Just one more thing. If I was in support of a candidate with the overall record and leadership qualities of one Barack Obama and he won, I would take my victory laps with a bit of humility rather than arrogance. Be careful what you wish for!

Legendary coach of the Boston Celtics (Red Auerbach) once said, “Always love your country but never trust your government.”

Dr. A. D. Stover
Lanark, IL

Voices & Votes Appreciated

I want to say a special “Thank You” to all of the hard-working volunteers who helped me win on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Whether you were college students or seniors, nurses or teachers; from labor or business; from Carroll, Henry, Whiteside or Rock Island County – you put your time and energy into helping my campaign and I will never forget that.

Your votes – and your voices – encourage me as I prepare for a new term in the Illinois State Senate. Your votes – and your voices – encourage me to continue my commitment to effective representation of your views during the debates ahead in Springfield.

We face challenges and opportunities in the New Year ahead. Here in the district, we face issues in economic development, education and health care throughout this region.

But whatever issues and votes that face me in the next term, having your vote of confidence as I move forward is the best vote I can possibly have. I am very grateful for that, and for the chance to continue to earn that trust and confidence, and I look forward to my new term in the Illinois State Senate. Happy Holidays to each and every one of you.

Sincerely,
Mike Jacobs, State Senator
Moline, IL

Wood’s Morrison City Council Notes

Morrison City council met on Nov. 12, 2012 at the Whiteside County Board Room (no microphones-holiday for the county). Aldermen present were Hayenga, Blean, Thorndike, Zuidema, Wood, Rose, and Connelly. Sullivan was absent. Mayor Drey, Clerk Shroeder, Attorney Zollinger, Administrator Wise, Chief Melton and Theresa Ferrall were also present. Many residents attended also.

Public Comment: Allen Bush was on hand to discuss his property, 117 W. Wall. He stated he was never informed that his property was being proposed as a “historic landmark”. He said he was not notified by the city. WHY??? Did not feel he should find out by accident that this activity was about to happen. Even though that ordinance was removed from the meeting agenda, he still wanted the aldermen to know how he felt. He said he was not properly informed about the activity. Bush does not want the designation as a “historic landmark” on that property nor does he want to be in the “historic district”. (This is what I asked CA Wise for in an email Monday morning: a copy of the Historic Preservation Commission meeting minutes/documentation (concerning the 6 properties that are proposed to be added as local Historic Landmarks) where these were discussed at a meeting: 117 W Wall Street, 708 W Lincolnway, 13909 Lincoln Road, 402 W Lincolnway, Grove Hill Cemetery, and Veterans Park & Memorial. Was this status requested by the owners to be added to the Historic Landmarks? Are the owners aware their properties are being considered as historic landmarks? Are any of these properties already in the present “historic districts”? I was told Ordinance #12-33- Designate 6 Properties as Local Historic Landmarks-was being pulled from the meeting agenda).

Mayor Drey made a statement-1) Concerning the location of the new trees at French Creek Park. He stated when the Community Garden spot was allocated the city was hesitant on its’ location as the park was being developed. The garden group knew that it could be possibly a short or long term spot depending on how fast the park was developed. The mayor okayed the placement of the trees in accordance with the park development. 2) Concerning the placement of the Waste Water Treatment Plant. Mayor Drey stated that the placement had been discussed at the council meetings. (I thought those were engineering presentations was to show us what each firm had already built—another time of lack of communication.) Oct. 22, 2012 the council made the decision to go forward with building a new plant and hiring of an engineering firm. It will be a long time coming so the city welcomes input from the residents. He said there will be a meeting November 15, 2012 at the Odell Library Community Room from 5 pm until 8 pm. It would be a time for the residents to ask questions and discuss the placement for the new Waste Water Treatment Plant. (I hope a lot of people attend and brought questions and comments.)

Theresa Farrell, long time (30 years) Recreation Program Director, stated sadly that she will be resigning as of Jan. 1, 2013. She told of the many programs she ran-involving many volunteers from the community, her part time help, and all the children that benefited from the activities she provided. She always invited ALL KIDS and ADULTS! She told how proud she was of all the people she worked with and was happy to be a big part of such a great program. But she said, “Sometimes, as a person, you have to know when you’ve served you time.” (We will miss her smiling face, great attitude, and sense of pride as our Recreation Program Director. She is a great role model for our youth! We hope it will continue to be a successful program for our children and adults!)

Ron Hilty was on hand to ask about an exorbitant water bill he received. It was over $800 for 64,000 gallons of water! He had a plumber check his home---he has no water leaks, etc. He had the city check-no leaks, meter seemed to be okay. No explanation. He did some math and said he would have had to run his kitchen sink wide open pouring out 80 gallons an hour for 33 days to run 64,000 gallons. He feels it is a faulty meter. So all penalties will be waived until the next meeting and more investigation is done on the meter.

CA Wise - concerning the personnel policy the “telecommute” clause is completely struck from the policy. Sarah Thorndike had questions about those serving in the military….leaves, etc. The policy was written in 1997 and amended in 2008….I wondered why we were redoing it again. We will offer insurance for the permanent full-time employees and their families. Sarah asked about personal use of telephones….so long as it is not abused. Connelly asked how many holidays the employees get-10 like the Federal Holiday Schedule plus the day after Thanksgiving and ½ a day on Christmas eve day to make a total of 11.5 per year.

The next Morrison City Council meeting will be held November 26, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Whiteside County Board Room. If you want to watch the meeting on television---go to Channel 18 if you have Mediacom on Tuesday or Thursday nights at 8:00 pm. But I would prefer you to come to the meetings, get involved and see first-hand your city in action. Have a great Thanksgiving and spend time with your families and friends!

A Morrison Taxpayer,
Marti Wood

Guest Commentary . . .

Blasted Twinkie Killers!

By Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson

Drat! I’m bummed—saddened by the news that the Hostess company, home of the Twinkie and other venerable sugary snacks, is shutting down.

I’ll bet I haven’t eaten more than three or four Twinkies in the last 30 years, so the demise of Hostess doesn’t adversely impact my lifestyle. It’s just that, for baby boomers like me, the Twinkie has historic significance in popular culture. Being a kid in the ‘50s meant watching “The Mickey Mouse Club” and “The Lone Ranger” and snacking on Twinkies and Tootsie Rolls. Twinkies were as American as baseball. Now the company that makes them is facing liquidation. Why?

Because the bakery union wouldn’t agree to the concessions needed to keep their employer afloat. Look, I don’t wish lower wages on anybody, and having personally worked with great people in two unions (UAW and NEA), I have a natural sympathy for working men and women, but I can’t respect a union that would kill off the Twinkie and their own jobs due to a false sense of pride.

Hostess lost $341 million last year. The money for the compensation that the bakery union wanted simply wasn’t there. Even the Teamsters union, whom nobody would ever accuse of wimping out during contract talks, looked at Hostess’ books and acknowledged that the only way to keep the operation afloat would have been for workers to accept lower compensation.

The bakery union, however, would have none of it. They couldn’t have been so stupid as to misunderstand the simple arithmetic of Hostess’ financial predicament, so one can only conclude that they went berserk with ideological madness: “better to destroy the company than to make concessions to management” seems to have been their cold-hearted calculus. The bakery union lost sight of an important truth understood by Samuel Gompers, the founder of the American Federal of Labor, over a century ago: what workers need is a company that operates at a profit.

The pending liquidation of Hostess raises some interesting questions: If people lose their jobs because they committed economic hara-kiri, should they still be entitled to receive taxpayer-funded unemployment? Should the Teamsters union members, whose jobs are also being lost because of the bakery union’s decision, be allowed to file civil suit against the bakery union for compensatory damages for the losses they will suffer from the latter’s reckless actions? Can the rank and file of the bakery union sue their union leaders for professional malpractice? (The malpractice is worse in the union’s case, because most doctors convicted of malpractice don’t intentionally try to harm patients, whereas the Hostess bakery union could see that their action would have a lethal effect, and they went ahead with it anyway.)

It is possible that Hostess has been living on borrowed time. Tastes have been gradually shifting to healthier foods and Hostess’ complex financial structure (372 collective-bargaining agreements, 80 health and benefit plans, and 40 pension plans, according to The Wall Street Journal) might have guaranteed its eventual demise anyway. Still, for the union to kill off the source of their own members’ income is ghastly. Can there be any silver linings in such a monstrous act? Perhaps.

Maybe union members will start demanding leadership that helps companies survive instead of killing them off. Maybe more union workers will come to understand which is the better choice for them: working zero hours per week at X dollars per hour or 40 hours per week at X-Y dollars per hour. Maybe the Twinkie brand will be sold to another firm so that this iconic snack doesn’t go the way of the dodo. Maybe Americans will see that a corporate bankruptcy—even a corporate liquidation—doesn’t mean that the company’s product has to disappear, that its assets can still be put to productive use, and that at least some of its employees can continue to do the same kind of work under a different business plan based on an economically rational and sustainable cost structure.

Maybe, just maybe, it will dawn on Americans that the same stubborn and ultimately destructive denial of reality that brought down Hostess and possibly killed the innocent Twinkie is the same willful madness that we see in Washington, where ALF-CIO boss Richard Trumka flatly opposes government spending cuts and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refuses even to consider Social Security reform. Like the bakery union at Hostess, these powerful national figures seem ideologically incapable of recognizing the simple fact of life that they want more than the country can afford. Call it folly or madness or whatever, but if we don’t wake up and change our ways, there will be far more economic destruction than just the loss of the venerable Hostess brand.

– Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson is an adjunct faculty member, economist, and fellow for economic and social policy with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College.

Capitol Report

By Jim Sacia, State Representative, 89th District

An old military saying that has stayed with me through the years is “drive on”, doesn’t matter the consequences, we must persevere. It will be no shock to any of you that I am disappointed in the outcome of our recent election. The loss of seven seats in the Illinois House of Representatives gives Speaker Madigan a “super majority”. This means nothing can be stopped even by the Governor, if Speaker Madigan and President of the Senate Cullerton choose to champion a cause, as both chambers now enjoy a “veto proof” majority.

Many of you will read this the week after Thanksgiving. We in the House and Senate will be in session and Speaker Madigan has now scheduled the third through the eighth of January for the existing lame duck session, prior to the new members being sworn in on January 9, 2013. No, the Speaker does not share his thoughts with me and I have yet to see a schedule, but I’m confident the extra days are to deal with pension reform which of course is very necessary. Why in the lame duck session? Stay tuned, I’ll certainly let you know. Arguably there will be many of those members with no political agenda and arm twisting will perhaps be easier.

The national picture looms even heavier. Maybe by the time you read this, the “Fiscal Cliff” will have been avoided.

I make no apologies for my conservative values, and in my opinion if Mr. Romney had let us know exactly what his values were, he might be president-elect today.

I will not soon forget Paul Ryan’s comments at the Republican National Convention, “They believe in Free Stuff. We believe in Free People.”

A friend in Springfield sent me the following text, “I’m at the Apple Store in St. Louis. An Illinois resident just used her link card to purchase an iPhone 5 (about $200.00). I asked the associate how the customer was able to use a link card to purchase an iPhone. He said they use them daily to make purchases. The link card also has cash benefits the recipient is supposed to use to pay utilities, etc. but they can use them for whatever they want.” Ah yes, your tax dollars at work.

My good friend Vince Toepfer often sends me thoughtful quotes – “Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured but not everyone must prove they are a citizen.” He followed it with, “Many of those who refuse or are unable to prove they are citizens will receive free insurance paid for by those who are forced to buy insurance because they are citizens.” Drive on folks!

As always, you can reach me, Sally or Barb at 815-232-0774 or e-mail us at jimsacia@aeroinc.net. You can also visit my website at www.jimsacia.com. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you.