Jim Bernstein: The cold hard truth of it is that you are utterly dependent on government for almost everything you do - you have been for a long time and will continue to be as long as you live.
Vicky Heller: Your statement may apply to you, but I've never been on the government payroll. Quite the contrary, my standard of living has been drastically reduced and my personal liberty has been curtailed government actions. This is a very interesting subject however and worthy of further discussion. Perceptions differ of course, depending on whether you are a net contributor, or a net consumer of government services. I only have time to address one paragraph today, in the context of Minneapolis specific issues. Let's take this one....."Government insures that you will have access to education, access to health care, access to parks and libraries, and secures your right to the private property that you so cherish." "Access to education" - Education can be obtained in many ways. The ability to read and the desire to learn are the only prerequisites. MPS spends around $15,000 per student, per year -- and half of the children don't even graduate. I think we should try private tutoring in groups of ten. It would be a lot cheaper and more effective. "Access to health care" - How does the government insure this? If I have a heart attack, what's the government going to do for me, other than bill me for the use of an ambulance if I'm lucky enough to get one in time. "Access to Parks and Libraries" - It's true that the government spends a lot of money in these two categories, but so do private institutions. Wells Fargo is sponsoring a fabulous ice skating rink in St. Paul. The Busch Gardens are breathtaking. Even Disneyworld appeals to some people. I have access to all of these too. One way or another, parks must be paid for. The most recent Minneapolis budget shows expenditures of $72 million for its system. Google is making ALL of the contents of the finest private libraries, including Harvard's and Stanford's, available for free via the internet. And thanks to Xerox, you can print a hard cover copy of anything in your living room. The private sector is doing a much better job of getting information to people when and where they want and need it. "Secures my right to the private property that you so cherish" - I'm still laughing about this one. Minneapolis wasted over a million public dollars and spent nine years in Court trying to deny my property rights. Fortunately for me, the City lost - and so did you, the taxpayers. Diane Wiley writes: With all due respect Vicky, wasn't the Cedar Riverside development where you made and continue to make your quite nice living and mark on this city paid for with huge amounts of government money -- federal, state and city-- and don't many of the people who pay rent there receive government subsidies? Vicky replies: No Diane, you are mistaken. My husband's partnerships have had nothing to do with Riverside Plaza since 1986. There were never any City or State subsidies(that I know of), though there was a HUD guaranteed mortgage that was repaid. In total, the companies that I now manage have paid over $35 million in Minneapolis property taxes, most of which was diverted via the Cedar-Riverside TIF District to the MCDA and given to competitors. My personal involvement began in 1998, after my husband's death. I am in the process of selling all of our remaining Minneapolis property and I can assure you that no one is making even a meager living off of it. Vicky Heller North Oaks and Cedar-Riverside REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
