Beyond The Trestle

We've moved

2009-11-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

It's official, Beyond The Trestle has moved.

Go here for the skinny, or jump ahead to the site.

Switch out your RSS feeds to our new site's, and be sure to follow us at Facebook and Twitter.

What goes around, comes around

2009-11-20T14:39:00.002-05:00

The University of Georgia Police have issued a warrant for Gene Milner for charges stemming from the imprisonment and beating of a Clemson student.

If his name sounds familiar, it should.

Milner was involved in the overdose of Lewis Fish a few years back and had been barred from Athens-Clarke County ...

The charges listed in the warrant for Milner's arrest include violations that police discovered during the investigation into Fish's death that occurred before Milner left town, Williamson said. "We took the information to a magistrate judge and the judge felt we had probable cause to proceed," he said.

Milner has a record of misdemeanors that dates back to April 2004.

He was arrested April 15, 2004, on charges of giving false information to police, public drunkenness, underage alcohol possession, possession of fake ID, and again on Sept. 19 of that year on charges of underage alcohol possession and disorderly conduct.

Milner pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January 2005 to 12 months on probation and family counseling. He was ordered to wear a SCRAM, or Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor - an ankle band that regularly monitors the wearer's blood-alcohol content.

He was cited on Aug. 11 for a noise violation at 555 Riverhill Drive, to which he pleaded guilty on Jan. 4. The conditions of Milner's plea included six months probation, removal of the ankle band and being barred from Athens-Clarke County.

A more respectful call

2009-11-20T09:20:00.000-05:00

The Brunswick News calls for Rep. Glenn Richardson to step down.

Arguably, it's a more artful criticism that others we've seen recently, but I'm just not there yet. Richardson needs to get help - and if he opts to step down on his own that's fine - but there's no reason he should sacrifice his position yet.

Couple of things

2009-11-20T08:39:00.002-05:00

- Damn good dawg.

- Loyal reader Cathi pens a very solid forum on the need for comprehensive financial literacy in the efforts to address affordable housing.

- Quoting The Washington Times is rather unfortunate, but I've got a suggestion for this ... let's get 500 or so uninsured Americans to read the bill. If Sen. Tom Corburn wants political theater, let's one-up him by getting the folks who will benefit from the bill on the floor reading it.

- This is a shame. I don't know the new owners, but I did know Tommy Wilson Sr. from my sports reporting days, and he was always very kind to me. In fact, the set of golf clubs I own right now were purchased at that very store with his help.

- Dan Lorentz coins a phrase for me, and I like it.

Music for the moment (Jennings edition)

2009-11-20T07:00:00.003-05:00

California Via Tennessee by Shooter Jennings
Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Gotten Out Of Hand by Waylon Jennings
Too Dumb For New York City by Waylon Jennings
Some Rowdy Women by Shooter Jennings
I'm A Ramblin' Man by Waylon Jennings

UGA VII has died

2009-11-19T17:16:00.001-05:00

UGA VII has died. Apparently from a lengthy heart-related illness.

That's sudden ... and pretty sad.

ALT video

2009-11-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

An awesome video detailing the work the Athens Land Trust is doing. It's almost a mini-documentary, and it's got lots of really cool interviews with folks talking about how effective the organization is in revitalizing neighborhoods and providing affordable housing.

Clinton backs Baker

2009-11-19T15:37:00.004-05:00

Thurbert Baker's got President Bill Clinton on his side, which is mighty interesting.

Clinton will attend and deliver remarks at a fundraising event for Baker in New York City, and Baker's statement implies the 'Big Dog' is with him ...

President Clinton brought people together to build a strong economy and create a record number of new jobs. That’s what I will do for Georgia as Governor, and I’m honored to have President Clinton’s support and counsel as we work to bring a much needed new direction to our state.

A change is gonna come

2009-11-19T15:00:00.001-05:00

For folks who have followed this blog - and its predecessor 'Safe As Houses' - you've seen it go through various evolutions. Some of those have dealt with the content of the site, while others have focused on the areas of coverage.

This newest version, however, has proven to be something I rather enjoy ... a local/state blog that mixes some original reporting with a heavy emphasis on commentary and context on current issues of the day.

We've got some changes coming. They're big ones - and they've occupied a lot of my time the past two weeks - but they're gonna be good ones ...

A comprehensive site redesign that I'm very excited about. A designated domain for this blog rather than the Blogger one I've used for so many years (don't worry, we'll redirect you). Some planned programming including audio livestreams, regular podcasts, more liveblogs and, yes, the occasional online video. An area for guest commentaries from various folks in the community. A full integration with all sorts of social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. More regular and original coverage of various local happenings.

To be sure, it's somewhat bold, but it's also exciting.

Come Monday, we'll be up and running. It'll be the same Beyond The Trestle you've grown to love ... only better.

Channeling Gen. Lee

2009-11-19T14:48:00.002-05:00

Via Dan Matthews, North High Shoals Mayor Jeff Thomas borrows, rather liberally, from Robert E. Lee for his resignation letter.

It's rather impressive.

The dangerous ledge

2009-11-19T14:10:00.000-05:00

Marco Rubio, who is challenging moderate Republican Gov. Charlie Crist in the GOP Senate primary in Florida, is one of several conservative leaders blindly lurching to the right in an effort to purge the party. Via Andrew Sullivan, we find out that Rubio is now openly criticizing President Ronald Reagan, and Sullivan is baffled, but not stunned ...

The direction the GOP is heading does require a repudiation of Reagan's legacy.

Reagan raised taxes occasionally in deference to some concern about deficits. The current GOP refuses to even think about thinking about raising any taxes.

Reagan embraced immigrants and indeed granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.

Reagan was prepared to negotiate with the Soviet Union. The current GOP does not believe in meeting or negotiating with any foreign enemies. ...

There's more. It's an excellent post.

Clarifications

2009-11-19T12:28:00.003-05:00

Athens Banner-Herald reporter Joe Johnson addresses University of Georgia Police Chief Jimmy Williamson's accusation of being misquoted ...

... It's no big deal, just a matter of semantics. I used the word drunk, and not within quotation marks. He used the word intoxicated.

I've worked with Johnson, and he's a good reporter. His version makes sense.

Crunching numbers

2009-11-19T11:36:00.002-05:00

Via a Twitter post by loyal reader Holly, we find this breakdown of the efficiency of our elected officials in Congress ... and let's just say the numbers aren't good for Georgia's delegation.

Rep. Jack Kingston has the most success in getting legislation he sponsored passed with 11 bills getting the OK out of 34 he tacked his name to. Given his ties to the area, Kingston has emerged as the go-to-congressman for Athens-Clarke County, and his track record suggests he's a solid worker in the political arena.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss has seen three bills he's sponsored out of 132 get passed, while Sen. Johnny Isakson has also passed three bills out of 93.

Who's down at the bottom of the list you ask? Why that would be our own Rep. John Barrow, who's sponsored 30 pieces of legislation, but only seen one of them enacted.

Bell's in, per usual

2009-11-19T11:10:00.002-05:00

Mother of Mary, we're announcing for a run in 2012?

Also, can someone other than Sarah Bell run? She's like the Richard DeRose of Oconee County.

Deal favors cigarette tax hike

2009-11-19T10:55:00.002-05:00

Rep. Nathan Deal may not think President Obama is a naturally born citizen, but at least he's exhibiting some sanity on some economic issues. It's way past time we raised the cigarette tax, both for the short-term revenue enhancement and the long-term public health benefits.

Interview with A.R. Killian

2009-11-19T10:49:00.002-05:00

Dan Lorentz interviewed A.R. Killian, who was Athens's first African-American police officer. It's a really interesting read ...

But I came back to Athens [in 1961]. And I guess my job was to keep Hamp [Hamilton Holmes] home so he could integrate the University of Georgia. Then I integrated the police department, and then I went to the post office…And one thing after another.

When Hamp came—Hamp and Charlayne [Hunter]…the week they were supposed to start at school the decision came down that said unless Hamp had a place off campus to live, he could not go. My mother got a call wanting to know if she knew anybody who could keep Hamp. I hadn’t been back from California too long. I told her I had been through a war. I fought to be free. And he could stay with us. And he did. He stayed with us two years [at a place on Harris and Broad Sts.] And the clan came out to burn a cross…Now, the army taught me what to do. I didn’t go to the military just to go. I went to learn to be free…

Better blogs

2009-11-19T10:40:00.001-05:00

There are few journalists in the state I respect more than Jim Galloway, but he's got to expand his blogroll.

Drawing only from Wacko McWacky, Andre and, now, Atlanta Progressive News leaves you with a narrow view of a rather impressive and diverse blogosphere in the state.

Case in point, talking about APN's hit job on Sen. Kasim Reed. As both Grift and Sara pointed out, APN's reporting was so shoddy it's staggering.

All in all, Galloway did what Galloway does, which is be the fair and responsible journalist that I admire and put together a very impressive piece. It's just somewhat disappointing that this hit job had to even be addressed and, that in addressing it, it was treated as legitimate journalism.

Related, Grift has some behind the scenes action on the fiasco, while Sara adds another level of perspective to it.

Couple of things

2009-11-19T10:01:00.002-05:00

- This is a good decision. It's a tough one, to be sure, but it's an essential one. The diversion center is absolute necessity for Athens-Clarke County in that such facilities have proven track records of having an impact on the local crime rate, but also in that it will alleviate the already overcrowded jail. The Boys & Girls Club is a great organization, but in tough economic times, tough choices must be made. This is the right one.

- Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to ReNew Athens's open house, but folks who attended said it was a nice event. I'm glad to hear it, and here is an interview I did with Rep. Doug McKillip on the project.

- Listen, I'm sorry, but I've got no sympathy for 'em. This is one of those rare instances where consumers (students) are paying directly for a service (education). If the cost of education has risen - either from a bad economy or other circumstances - the consumer needs to pick up more of the slack.

- Damn. Does Gov. Charlie Crist want to lose that Republican primary?

- It ain't the answer to our problems, but I'm not opposed to it either. Granted, I'd like to see us pass Sunday Sales, permit gambling and all sorts of other things to spur tourism and bolster revenues, but it probably won't happen. Much like how merely reforming our tax code into one that reflects the realities of the modern economy won't happen either, but hey ... horse racing!

- Poor form Lis Majersky. Rep. Glenn Richardson's politics are maddening, but his personal struggles aren't up for debate. You, my friend, can go to hell.

- I'll let Hillary handle Rachel Snyder ... 'Presumably you do that by allowing someone back onto the team who sucker punched another player during a game and tried to attack his own fans? That sets an example of collective responsibility beautifully.'

Hmmmm ...

2009-11-19T07:53:00.002-05:00

University of Georgia Police Chief Jimmy Williamson, or someone claiming to be him, is taking umbrage in the comments section of this story ...

Joe Johnson needs to learn quote as stated. Changing people's words is irresponsible. Maybe, I need to go back to written questions with written responses.

Have gun, will study

2009-11-18T22:00:00.003-05:00

If you really want to feel horrifically uncomfortable, just take a gander at H.B. 615.

Thanks to an anonymous tip, the bill is set to head toward a committee hearing early next year. The legislation, which was sponsored by Rep. Tim Bearden, would let holders of concealed weapons bring those weapons onto most public places across the state, including college campuses. In fact, if you click on the link to review the proposed legislation, you'll be more stunned by what's crossed out rather than what's added on.

The bill would strip away all barriers to carrying concealed weapons on places like the University of Georgia, though, according to an internal email, various representatives from the Board of Regents are hoping to negotiate a compromise that would let concealed weapon permit holders bring the weapons to campus in their car, but they would have to leave them there rather than, you know, take them to English 101.

Q-and-A with Rep. Doug McKillip

2009-11-18T14:29:00.003-05:00

In just a few hours, ReNew Athens will be holding an open house at the office of Rep. Doug McKillip. The program, which will be based on the Habitat For Humanity model, will acquire and renovate existing apartments and transform them into affordable housing units for purchase by low-income families and individuals. McKillip sat down with me for a brief interview about ReNew Athens ...

You're working with Spencer Frye from Habitat For Humanity on this project. How did this idea get started?

I think in fairness the name, Renew Athens, was Spencer’s. I think he already had it as he was going through some element of the incorporation process for Habitat. In fact had already gone pretty far down the road in the 501(c)3 process when we were literally standing around at an event, and he was describing what kind of vision he had for the future of Habitat and where it could go. He was trying to create some additional financial flexibility with the new incorporation, and I said ‘yeah, you sound like the kind of guy I need to talk to because I’m trying to figure out a way to create a different type of affordable housing product, particularly with some apartments and condos we have in town, why not figure out a way to convert those.' Well, he’d say something, and I’d say ‘what about this’ and he’d say ‘what about this’ and it was one of those lightning strike moments where you look at each other and you get goosebumps and think 'wow, this is a good idea.'

The neat part of it is that it’s not particularly creative, and it’s not really our idea. It’s No. 11 on the OneAthens's strategies to increase affordable housing, so it’s less about coming up with something and more about finding a way to implement it and put it on the ground.

You rolled in a sustainability element into it as well.

With my background in politics, and what I see as a bigger policy idea for the state, I asked 'where are the benefits of this?' I started ticking them off in my head, and it's that you get no additional impervious surface, no more rooftops, no more silt in the river, no sediment control issues from new construction. When you rehabilitate these units, let’s do it with better insulation and higher efficiency mechanical systems. Let's make sure every unit has its own meter to promote conservation because that’s one of the biggest drains right there from folks not paying their own bill.

What we’re really doing here is that you recycle bottles and cans on the curbside, and we’re recycling houses. What bigger in your everday life do you use than your house?

Every study I’ve seen says we have a glut of housing on the market, so this builds on that idea.

Right, and that’s the legacy of the developers working with our university students. Students are living in different apartment complexes now then they did back when I was in school or when you were in school. Through the natural progression of things, some of those areas have become places we need to pay more attention to.

With Spencer having the institutional experience of heading up Habitat For Humanity, why create a new non-profit organization? Why not have this merely be a program offered by Habitat?

Publically we’re keeping it as a separate entity – it will have a different board – but it is a feeder organization for Habitat for Humanity. It's a close cousin. They’re going to be highly related with many board members in common. And there are other Habitats around the country that do this very thing. It's something that is approved by Habitat International.

What is your vision regarding working with and collaborating with other non-profits then?

We want tie-ins from all the community stakeholders who offer services to low-income citizens. Every person who has contacted me about this, I’ve told them 'please email me your thoughts and ideas.' We’ve got some fabulous feedback from folks as far away as California about some of the models out there. We’re trying to soak up as much information as we can right now. We’ve been in touch with the Athens Land Trust and Action, Inc. and the Athens Housing Authority and a host of others, so we want to work with everyone on this.

Given your profile as a state legislator and the fact that you own various housing units, there have been some concerns regarding conflicts of interest. How are you going to address those?

At this point, my understanding of the limitation is that I may not obtain any sort of financial interest or benefit of any HOME-assisted activity. So none of my units, nor any units I’m invested in, nor any units any of my business partners, can be considered, period. So the first criteria really is ‘Doug doesn’t own it’ and after that we’ll look at your units. It’s not a problem because I know what I own, so I’ll just make sure that none of my units are submitted. The only conflict is where the money is going, and it won’t be going to anything I have a financial stake in.

Has there been any discussion of additional service provision aside from the housing component?

First of all, we’re going to follow the Habitat model, so there’s going to have to be a big buy-in on the part of anybody who wants to own one of these condos. There will have to be sweat equity in whatever number of hundreds of hours that will contribute to ReNew Athens. There’s going to be homeowner education, teaching folks how to fix simple home improvement needs. There’s absolutely going to be some educational componenet involved in this.

The broader picture

2009-11-18T10:16:00.004-05:00

Hillary rightfully calls for the Athens-Clarke County Commission to push forward with its full slate of legislative requests, but, at the same time, Athens-Clarke County District Five Commissioner David Lynn is right for expressing a healthy does of realism regarding what can and can't get passed by a Republican state legislature.

What to do then? Well, why not elect better state senators and state representatives? It's far beyond time that we started to look at the broader electoral map of the state and get more involved in what's going on rather than just worry about what goes on in our backyard. It's fine and dandy to get all invested in the mayoral race, but if there's gridlock in Atlanta and more restrictive control being handed down from on high, there's not a whole local officials from Watkinsville to Athens can do about it.

Earlier this year, back when I still wrote at Tondee's Tavern, I penned a piece called 'Dear DuBose' that was one part encouraging him not to run for governor and another part suggesting a strategy on making local legislative races of statewide importance. Porter's in for governor - and I'm clear in my support for his candidacy - but the need for a statewide view of the various elections for the Georgia General Assembly remains ...

I say this as someone who wants every Democrat in this state - from those serving in public office to those who merely pull the lever on Election Day - to think of the larger progressive movement, and its goal of creating a diverse and vibrant economy, a strong educational system and a more fair society for all citizens. I say this as someone who wants sound debate on the floor of the State Capitol with various viewpoints bantered back and forth and, for once, a strong progressive vision vigorously defended along with those viewpoints.

I say this as someone who wants to take back the House of Representatives, and I say this as someone who believes you can get us there.

Various commenters, though they may have differing loyalties and different positions on different issues, have all voiced some measure of support for the concept of a statewide campaign aimed at winning back the Georgia House by targeting 10 to 20 races. And by having you at the top of this 'ticket' openly running to become the new Speaker of the House and pledging to work with our new Democratic governor to pass the legislation this state sorely needs.

If you want progressive policy enacted, then it won't be done by progressive commissioners pleading with conservative legislators to get it done. It means taking a look at swing districts across the state - and, contrary to popular belief, they exist - and being willing to send money, support and resources to those areas to get the job done.

'Steal my bill, please.'

2009-11-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

You mean point-of-sales tax collection isn't an awful idea? Gosh, color me stunned.

From the campaign blog of Rep. DuBose Porter ...

Key Republican leadership allowed the bill I co-sponsored in last year’s session, HB356, the “point of sale bill,” (Read “The Billion Dollar Crack” below for more details) die in committee. Today they are acting as if it is something they just thought up and are backing it. I say welcome aboard, and ‘steal my bill, please.’ It will be good for Georgia.

I have been campaigning around Georgia promoting my common sense approach to government. For the first time, you, the people this government is set up to represent, are actually getting to hear about many of the detrimental decisions being made regarding policy in Georgia. Through my campaign for governor, Georgians are learning about HB356, the "point of sale bill", and they like it. The key Republican leadership can no longer continue to hold it down and have started to try and make it their own. Welcome aboard.

Couple of things

2009-11-18T09:16:00.002-05:00

- Good news. And it's good to get some clarity from Athens-Clarke County Manager Alan Reddish on why bonds will be used to finance a portion of the construction.

- This is insanity. Arguably anyone should exercise extreme caution when it comes to what they post on their web sites, Facebook accounts, etc., but to write a narrow policy that restricts that type of behavior and/or interaction is absurd (and, I'm gonna go on a limb here, but probably unconstitutional too). Again, Ashley Payne was fired for being an actual human being and not some sort of mythical image of what the Barrow County Board of Education thinks their teachers should be.

- I love small town politics.

- Apparently the latest Hostel is being shot at Chi Phi.

- Ben's staying busy.

Sara on "News"

2009-11-17T12:30:00.000-05:00

In what she promises is merely the first salvo, Sara slams Atlanta Progressive News ... and it's awesome.

Shinholser on downtown and discussion

2009-11-17T11:45:00.003-05:00

Mayoral candidate Brandon Shinholser wants open dialogue for a possible Master Downtown Plan ...

I will not endorse a master plan that denies reasonable discussion and debate. The master plan that I will ultimately support must address both long-term and short-term issues by putting in place a strategy to encompass the entirety of the debate. We have to come together as a city and address an array of issues such as economic development, park and ride alternative transportation zones, historic and architectural preservation and restoration, vehicle congestion, projected job growth, crime and safety, game-day organization, clean up, and enforcement, and the creation of a procedural guide in case of future challenges.

The new master plan is in the early stages of discussion, and it has been a major issue on the mind of Kathryn Lookofsky, director of the Athens Downtown Planning Authority. Director Lookofsky has openly engaged with our local papers to discuss the master plan, and is open to opinions from the public. The citizens of Athens should become involved in the process, and they should send Ms. Lookofsky an email at director@downtownathensga.com with questions, comments, or suggestions. There are a lot of questions that cannot be answered at this time, but this is an important topic that needs to be discussed.

Couple of things

2009-11-17T07:49:00.002-05:00

- Misleading? Rep. Paul Broun Jr.? Really? I never would have guessed it.

- This is a very cool idea.

- Related to that, read Dan Lorentz's post on walkability.

- In news of the awesome variety, apparently Spencer Hall (aka Orson Swindle) swung by my tailgate on a day I was not there. Well, I suppose it wasn't that awesome since I was forced to abruptly cancel my tailgating plans this past weekend when my computer broke - again - though that calamity forced me to buy my brand, spankin' new MacBook. Still, I'm a little bummed I missed the festivities at Tent City, but you can check out footage from his trip to Athens-Clarke County ... complete with an interview of Maya, random clips of Scott hollering and a rundown of the famed Cherrishinski.

More. Stimulus., ctd.

2009-11-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

Via loyal reader richmart, Alan Blinder, a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, likes more stimulus too ...

Two big ideas for job creation are under active discussion: a tax credit for new jobs, and direct public-service employment. Were the unemployment rate at 5%, I would oppose both. The tax credit invites gaming, e.g., creating phantom jobs to grab the tax benefit; and we do not particularly want more people on the public payroll. But the unemployment rate is 10%. In deep recessions, sensible governments do things they would never do at full employment. So let's consider the merits and demerits of the two ideas.

Direct public-service employment is straightforward. As long as the new government jobs do not compete with the private sector, the net job creation should be one-for-one. So hire people to repair parks, not shopping malls. And if we restrict ourselves to low-wage jobs, the cost will not do grievous harm to the budget. For example, at an average all-in cost of $30,000 a year, one million new jobs would cost $30 billion.

What's the downside? Well, any public expenditure does add to the deficit at a time when the deficit is already huge. Furthermore, despite much rhetoric to the contrary, the U.S. remains a "small government" country, especially at the federal level. With total federal civilian employment around 1.4 million, it is inconceivable that the federal government could find sensible uses for a million new workers. So, realistically, most of the program must be funneled through the states.

Q-and-A with Sarah Beth Gehl

2009-11-16T14:34:00.002-05:00

Sarah Beth Gehl is the deputy director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute where she specializes in tax policy, economic development and workforce development. She is the author of the annual 'State of Working Georgia' report and is the co-author of the 2006 book Center for a Better South, Doing Better: Progressive Tax Reform for the American South. Recently, she was named one of Georgia's '40 Under 40' by Georgia Trend.

Gehl responded to some questions I sent her last week regarding the state's slumping tax revenues, the report on working Georgians and policies to spur job creation ...

Q 1 & 2: One of the more puzzling pieces of data in the October tax collection numbers was the fact that Georgia's corporate tax revenues were actually negative. For everyday laymen who come across that weird number, what exactly does that mean? Given that Georgia paid out roughly $5 million in corporate tax refunds, how do those two numbers reconcile with each other? And, quite frankly, in the context of our ongoing budget crisis, what impact does that have on our overall fiscal situation? At a surface glance, it appears that we're merely subsidizing Georgia's business community?

A: Analysts typically don’t try to make a claim about revenues based on one-month data, since certain months can show wide variation. Corporate tax returns and refunds are very cyclical. One large refund can skew a single month’s numbers, for instance.

However, if we look at Georgia’s corporate tax revenues by quarter or over several months we get a clearer picture of what’s happening: Although corporate income taxes were negative for one month, year-to-date corporate tax revenues are $166 million. Year-to-date, corporate income taxes are down 22.6 percent over last year’s levels through October.

The year-to-date decline for corporate income tax revenue is part of the larger revenue problem in Georgia — lawmakers made a budget that relies on the state to collect as much in revenues this fiscal year as it did in 2005, but it has almost one million more residents to provide education, public safety, food safety, vaccinations – you get the picture – for, and many more people falling into poverty and needing training, foster homes, and other services due to the recession.

For example, the technical colleges are enrolling 24 percent more students this fall compared to last fall. Demand and population are up, but we will collect the same amount of revenues as in 2005. That doesn’t even provide for normal inflation costs.

Part of this revenue decline is due to the historic recession, but another portion is due to the state’s structural deficit, in which Georgia’s revenue structure no longer meets the needs of the state.

The corporate income tax shouldn’t be singled out as the culprit, necessarily, because we have a revenue problem throughout our tax system. But there are improvements lawmakers should make; for example closing corporate loopholes and reviewing special interest tax breaks.

The income tax hasn’t changed since the 1930s. Similarly, the sales tax is stuck in the 1950s. The corporate income tax, along with the sales tax, is riddled with credits and exemptions, some of which have not received scrutiny in decades. We don’t even know what works and if one unfairly helps a certain business at the expense of another industry.

There are adjustments and modernizations that need to happen across the system – corporate income tax, personal income tax, sales tax, and others. North Carolina and several other states are beginning tax commissions to do just this, and Georgia should do the same. One important step is Senate Bill 206, which passed Georgia’s Senate unanimously in the 2009 legislative session and will come before the House in 2010.

SB 206 requires a tax expenditure report that details the tax breaks currently in the system for their cost and effectiveness. This gain in transparency will be a giant first step in bringing some accountability and rationality to our current practice of carving certain people and businesses out of the tax base at the expense of the state as a whole.

3. The State of Working Georgia was interesting and depressing at the same time. As the report notes, the decade has been, for all practical purposes, been lost. How much of this is the result of larger economic circumstances (i.e. the recession, the rise of the global economy, etc.) and how much of this can be attributed to poor policy? Obviously both are connected, but the report suggests Georgia regressed further than other states.

A: The recession is undoubtedly the leading factor in the current job loss, as we’re seeing substantial job loss in almost every state. Although it is tough to insulate any state from a national economic recession, we need to use the tools at our disposal in an effective manner.

What are our tools? Quality of life essentials are some of the greatest spheres of influence that our state leaders can affect to expand opportunity for families and create a healthy climate for business growth. These essentials include an educated workforce, modern transportation system, adequate water supply, and a well-functioning court system.

The recession should be forcing all of us to ask: How can we best position ourselves to make gains when prosperity returns to the nation?

Is the answer more cuts to technical colleges as 24 percent more students are seeking an education that will in turn give us a more capable work force? One in 7 undereducated Georgians are unemployed, yet only 1 in 35 Georgians with a college education are unemployed.

Do we position ourselves to pave the path out of the recession by investing less in infrastructure or services for families experiencing hardship?

That is what the General Assembly did last spring through more special interest tax breaks with the unfounded philosophy that giving tax breaks to some will “pull us out of the recession?”

In a balanced budget state, we cannot have both more investment in quality of life essentials and additional tax breaks. Passing out special interest tax breaks, to the detriment of the services we all demand and enjoy, has not protected us from this recession – in fact, Georgia has been among the worst for job loss and unemployment, as you rightly pointed out.

What makes us think that the way lawmakers have been operating — more special interest tax breaks and less investment in education, safe communities, and infrastructure is the answer for pulling us out of the recession?

4. Last session, Republican leaders offered a few ideas aimed at job creation, including a hiring credit for employers. In retrospect, would those proposals - that one in particular - have proven to be effective? If not, why so? Are there other barriers from a policy angle hindering job creation (i.e. higher than usual corporate tax rates, poor infrastructure investments, etc.)?

A: The so-called JOBS bill would have definitely been ineffective, whether we assess it through an economic lens or a revenue lens. Take a look at this policy memo from Georgia State University Fiscal Research Center: They performed analysis of the economic effects of one of the larger pieces of that bill – the capital gains tax cut – right after session ended and before the governor vetoed the bill. I don’t think this memo has gotten enough attention and it’s an interesting read.

One key line from the tax experts reads: “Because of how states tax capital gains, the effect of a cut in Georgia’s tax on capital gains will likely provide little incentive to increase investment in Georgia.”

Georgia has a balanced-budget requirement. Since lawmakers must balance the budget, any tax breaks right now are going to cause further reductions in services, including education, public safety, and human services. Cuts to services also mean cuts to jobs. When one thinks of the person who gets hired due to a tax credit, one must also think of the K-12 paraprofessional, for example, who gets fired due to lack of revenues.

Such a policy by the federal government might work because the federal government can deficit spend (i.e. no balanced budget requirement). The federal government can both offer tax credits and increase services.

Governor Perdue’s veto statement makes it clear that this legislation would have meant a loss of significant revenue at a time of declining revenues: .

The governor did the right thing in this case, but the legislator should not have passed the bill in the first place. This is an example of potentially catastrophic lawmaking based on poor public policy not borne out by facts. We’ll all need to keep an eye on the bills that come up this spring and make sure that they protect our diminishing quality of life essentials at the least, and certainly not aid our state to fall back even further.

More. Stimulus.

2009-11-16T10:23:00.003-05:00

Nouriel Roubini agrees with me that we need to pass a second round of economic stimulus geared toward job creation ...

Also, remember: The last recession ended in November 2001, but job losses continued for more than a year and half until June of 2003; ditto for the 1990-91 recession.

So we can expect that job losses will continue until the end of 2010 at the earliest. In other words, if you are unemployed and looking for work and just waiting for the economy to turn the corner, you had better hunker down. All the economic numbers suggest this will take a while. The jobs just are not coming back.

There's really just one hope for our leaders to turn things around: a bold prescription that increases the fiscal stimulus with another round of labor-intensive, shovel-ready infrastructure projects, helps fiscally strapped state and local governments and provides a temporary tax credit to the private sector to hire more workers. Helping the unemployed just by extending unemployment benefits is necessary not sufficient; it leads to persistent unemployment rather than job creation.

My Sunday column called for the same thing.

Jaywalking

2009-11-16T09:24:00.000-05:00

Dan Lorentz defends jaywalking, which is a new approach. I must admit, though, that I may have just jaywalked on my way to Walker's ...

A better line of attack

2009-11-16T08:51:00.002-05:00

I'll say this about David Poythress's newest line of attack ... at least it's centered on a Republican rather than utilizing his tried-and-awful method of throwing fellow Democrats under the bus ...

1. Oxendine calls for unspecified new taxes. While abolishing the state income tax seems appealing at first, what Oxendine doesn’t want you to know is that he will raise other taxes. Will he hike the state portion of property taxes? Will he raise excise taxes on cigarettes, beer and/or gasoline?

What seems more likely is that he wants to impose additional sales taxes, and he could want to tax food and medicine again. Will he hike the rate to 15% (double what we pay now) or go as high as 21-23%? That would be possibly triple the current taxes you pay on everything you buy. Items like: ammunition, guns, wedding rings, SEC football tickets, NASCAR tickets, children’s shoes, wheelchairs, cell phones, cable service, soap, light bulbs, DVDs and the list goes on forever. I don’t know about you but I think taxes on these items are high enough already. For Oxendine to raise taxes on these and countless other items is reckless, short-sighted and wrong.

2. Oxendine calls for Georgia to “assert” our 10th amendment rights. This is a back door attempt to make Georgia’s secession from America easier. Oxendine has already supported a call for Georgia to secede from America and ban the American flag. Click here to see my video on this matter. Will his next move to the right be to join fellow Republican candidate Ray McBerry in suggesting that Georgia should arrest federal agents seeking to enforce laws we don’t like?

3. Oxendine calls for school vouchers. I am 100% against universal school vouchers because I believe they are an attempt to gut public school education, which is required by the Constitution of the State of Georgia, and ultimately undercut our ability to provide our children with a 21st century education. Click here to my previous statement in opposition to vouchers.

Granted, I oppose abolishing the income tax too, but it's arguably misleading for Poythress to claim its abolition will result in tax increases. Actually it will result in tax offsets though, to be fair, they'll be offset in areas that are regressive in nature (i.e. sales tax).

Couple of things

2009-11-16T07:00:00.003-05:00

- I've said it before, but I'm content with increasing fees on students.

- Here we go again ...

- My take on this has always been rather simple ... the price of, say, corn is going up because more of the product is being allocated for non-food purposes. As a result, there needs to be a concerted effort (if we're going to pursue ethanol as an alternative fuel source) to increase the production of corn (i.e. grow more), thus increasing the supply and lowering costs. Now, granted, ethanol has its own concerns with regard to its impact on the environment, but other biofuel products appear to be more green friendly. The key is finding ways to incentivize and encourage more growth of a particular biofuel to minimize cost increases. Folks are wringing their hands when simply economics easily solves this problem.

- Yeah, this is a great way for Republicans to make a comeback.

'Wormhole of crazy'

2009-11-15T14:19:00.005-05:00

To borrow a phrase from Grift, take a gander at the comments surrounding my column on another round of economic stimulus and follow into the 'wormhole of crazy.'

Safe to say, had I said 'tax cuts for businesses can help fuel job creation' then all the conservative detractors would have said 'that's exactly right man!' Of course, in essence, that's pretty much what I said, but because it's phrased as 'stimulus' they all freak out.

It's also fun to watch the discussion -if we can refer to it as such - morph into which political party balanced the federal budget (an interesting line of conversation, to be sure, but wholly unrelated to economic stimulus). So, rather than discuss policy proposals, folks just go back and forth with each hollering 'Bush stinks!' and 'Obama's wrong!'

As far as my weekly 'Tumbleweed' update ...

McGinty is about as informed on national financial strategy as my neighbors cat is. My neighbors cat comes over to my house everyday because I usually have a piece of bacon or something left over from breakfast and I toss it to the little fellow. The cat was not hungry or starving, my neighbor takes care of his pet, this cat simply wants more of a good thing. When folks like McGinty see more government spending as a good thing, you can bet that their livelyhood depends on government money/handouts.

For starters, cats creep me out.

Now, seeing how I own a small business, it's safe to say that I don't actually depend on 'government money/handouts' but I do always appreciate simplistic generalizations. Regardless, I'm at a loss to understand why a comprehensive package of targeted spending and tax incentives - with a portion going to the supply side and a portion going to the demand side - is a 'bad' policy proposal.

Or, that is to say, making really weird analogies to bacon and cats doesn't exactly explain your point of view on the matter.

More of the same

2009-11-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

Athens World has photos of the tailgating aftermath, and it looks pretty similar to previous tailgating aftermath photos ... and that's depressing.

The read

2009-11-15T08:02:00.001-05:00

From my Sunday column in the Athens Banner-Herald ...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act effectively split its funding into two large chunks. One portion was devoted to a surge in direct federal spending, while another was devoted to tax cuts for individuals and families. Both were well-intentioned - and both were useful in alleviating the crippling crisis earlier this spring - but they also were constructed in a way that minimized their effectiveness.

Red tape and poor coordination has hindered the implementation of transportation investments and energy grid upgrades. Likewise, the tax cuts were inserted directly into paychecks, which immediately raised take-home pay, but did so in an incremental fashion that had minimal effect on individual purchasing power.

A new round of economic stimulus could not only maintain the positive developments with regard to GDP growth, but also help turn the corner on job creation. With unemployment projected to remain at 10 percent or greater through next year, it's imperative that appropriate policy measures are put in place to counter that trend.

'Dawgs For DuBose'

2009-11-13T14:15:00.000-05:00

A nice read from Political Insider on Rep. DuBose Porter, and folks ought to swing by the UGA Main Library from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday to meet him and pick up a 'Dawgs For DuBose' sticker.

What the Huck?

2009-11-13T11:53:00.003-05:00

If you like folksy, social conservatives, then head to Borders tomorrow morning to see Mike Huckabee.

Feel free to ask him about, you know, jokes about attempted assinations.

Stimulus, ctd.

2009-11-13T11:27:00.000-05:00

Speaking of stimulus, here's a report on local stimulus efforts to attract and retain business.

Primarily it focuses on tax abatements, which I'm not a huge fan of, but this method seems better by tying them to job creation and the impact of the business on the local economy. In a sense, then, the community isn't on the hook for throwing money down the drain because it sets up an incentive for the business to hit certain goals.

Um ...

2009-11-13T11:05:00.000-05:00

Well, isn't this interesting.

Granted, I somewhat deviate from the accepted progressive views on abortion, but it seems to me that if your party uses a pro-life platform as a central component of winning campaigns, you probably shouldn't rail against coverage for abortions in a national health exchange while, at the same time, covering it for your own employees ...

Rep. Jack Kingston, a Georgia conservative, said “they need to drop that clause” from the policy or find a new one.

“From a philosophical standpoint, it’s inconsistent,” Kingston said. “It makes me think someone isn’t scrutinizing the purchases.”

That last statement gives me complete confidence in their ability to govern.

Stimulus

2009-11-13T10:45:00.000-05:00

My column for this week will focus on the need for another round of economic stimulus to spur employment, albeit a smaller, more efficiently targeted one (and it's safe to say the column wouldn't be necessary had the original package targeted its tax credits better and relied on direct employment of workers rather than a mis-mosh of 'bipartisan' ideas that were, for the most part, devoid of economic data and research).

Anyway, a friend forwarded me this link from Marginal Revolution calling for a reduction in the payroll tax to help spur employment. I've always been lukewarm to calls for a reduction in the payroll tax for practical concerns (i.e. the impact on revenues funding Social Security), as well as political ones (i.e. a long-standing goal of conservatives to undermine one of the most successful progressive policy initiatives in the nation's history). Still, if John Maynard Keynes liked it, then I suppose it can't be a horrible idea.

It's an interesting read.

Turning over spots

2009-11-13T10:15:00.001-05:00

Hillary had this in a recent post ...

City Dope (now headed up by Dave Marr) chats with Kathryn Lookofsky re: parking meters, and she leaves the door open for increased per-hour rates, pointing out that turnover needs to be maintained downtown. Pardon, but isn't there already a two-hour limit on most metered spaces? Shouldn't that create turnover? Oh, it's cheaper to get a ticket than to park most other places? Still? Maybe ticket prices for expired meters should continue to climb, thus actually increasing turnover and encouraging deck parking (I know!).

I'm all for turning over parking spaces in a more efficient and more timely manner, but I'm going to have a hard time supporting higher fees for on-street parking than for deck parking. I'm not entirely sure charging a higher amount per hour will push folks into the parking decks (in fact, I think it's more likely to send them away from downtown).

However, one change the Athens-Clarke County Commission has made in the past year that has been particularly helpful in addressing this - and I speak out of personal experience - is charging higher penalties for overdue meters. It took three parking tickets in two weeks for me to realize that it was simply more economical to park in the downtown decks (and it was compounded by the creeping fear that with each new, unpaid ticket I was inching closer and closer to a dreaded boot on my Accord). Given that I'm apparently in the process of setting up a remote office from the booths at Walker's Coffee & Pub, my need to be downtown for four hours or so is much better served by parking in the College Street parking deck.

If the rates need to be raised to, say, $.75 to help offset the construction of the Clayton Street parking deck, that's fine. But I'd push for boosting the parking ticket fines to $15 in an attempt to really put the pinch on folks. That's a method that will not punish folks who want to just use a spot for 30 minutes, but will effectively put a pinch on those who misuse the on-street parking options.

Couple of things

2009-11-13T09:36:00.003-05:00

- I think this is well-intentioned, but somewhat misguided. For the past two years, the state government has slashed funding to services - including threatening to eliminate funding for school nurses - and the revenues continue to fall. The problem isn't that state legislators aren't willing to cut, but rather that the only answer they have is to cut. I'm not on board with, say, expanding the sales tax to services, but I'm fully content with establishing a more progressive tax system and reviewing our annual tax exemptions.

- Speaking as the guy who covered both the Oconee County and Commerce state title games, the problem is talent, but there's honestly nothing you can do 'build that up' in the grand scheme of things. Those teams were once-in-a-generation teams that were overflowing with talent. Commerce, a Class A school with 300 students, had four Division I-A prospects on its state championship team, including two - Monte Williams and Michael Collins - ranked in the Top 100 by most recruiting analysts. Oconee County's 1999 championship squad had five or six Division I-A prospects. Those are instances of catching lightning in the bottle, and it's hard to repeat that (Greene County was close during Josh Nesbitt's junior season, but they got upset in the Class AA semifinals).

- Speaking of Williams, watch 'The Run' ... it's still the most ridiculous football play I've ever seen.

- Here's a really cool story on the role of New Media technology in the classroom.

- As a programming update, the past week has been rather busy - which, given the economy, is a very good thing - but it has slowed blogging somewhat. In addition, soem of that business can be attributed to, well, the blog. We've got some ideas we're sorting through, and some I've had for quite a while, but they're taking some time to work on. We've got some more information coming your way soon.

A good read on liberal elitism

2009-11-12T23:34:00.002-05:00

I won't offer comment, but if you've got a few minutes, take a read through Mike Elk's piece about liberal elitists.

The fun world of mitigation credits

2009-11-12T16:10:00.002-05:00

Lee Becker has a very good post up detailing the battle over mitigation rights regarding the proposed shopping center along the Epps Bridge Corridor.

A citizen advisory committee opted against recommending a resolution aimed at keeping mitigation credits for Oconee County projects within the county's borders. Becker, who disclosed that he had requested the resolution be included on an upcoming agenda, has been a vocal critic of the developer of the property using the credits in Greene County rather than Oconee County.

The committee noted the resolution would set up a standard where Oconee County was adhering a set of rules that no other county was compelled to abide by, thus placing the county at a disadvantage. It's not an incoherent argument, but it is an incoherent policy. There's no logical reason why mitigation credits shouldn't be required to be used either in the county where the disruptive development is taking place or upstream on the affected watershed.

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners ought to reconsider the resolution, but, more importantly, state legislators ought to reconsider how those mitigation credits are spent.

The real estate question

2009-11-12T07:25:00.001-05:00

As Athens-Clarke County, like other local governments, grapple with dire budgetary circumstances, one of the ideas that has started to float around in various circles is the need for the community to sell some of its existing stock of land to raise revenue.

It's true the county owns a large chunk of land in Athens-Clarke County, and 2002 report on tax-exempt land in the community showed roughly $1.5 billion off the rolls in favor of various public entities. Athens-Clarke County was responsible for approximately $300 million of that total.

And it's true that there are parcels of land the commission could ponder selling, and doing so would possibly bring about some short-term infusions of cash. However, this strategy is not a sure one for a variety of reasons. For starters, with demand for property low, prices will be depressed and there's no assurance the property will sell quickly enough to make an impact on the ongoing fiscal situation.

In addition, selling off assets to address a temporary - though admittedly serious - budgetary problem might not fit the long-term needs of the local government. If there is a rationale for expanding an office, or possibly consolidating one, down the road, then it's not a wise strategic decision to begin offering up property to the highest bidder.

Selling property looks like an easy way out, but it merely adds a future problem to address an existing one. If there is property that can be sold and not impact the community's long-term plan, then perhaps that's a rational course of action. However, conducting a fire sale to pay the bills isn't a viable strategy.

Couple of things

2009-11-12T06:02:00.002-05:00

- You may be taking a boat to the game.

- Dan Matthews recaps the Watkinsville City Council meeting, and he talks about the success of the pouring permit in the downtown area.

- I'm not sure I can get behind the taxation of services, and I don't know how you can effectively handle the purchase of goods over the Internet (though the commission makes a valid point), but something needs to change. Personally, I'd like to see a more progressive income tax scale and more flexibility for local governments to control their forms of taxation. For instance, if Athens-Clarke County wants to levy a three percent sales tax to meet the revenue shortfall, it shouldn't need permission from a hostile state government to do so.

- Point taken, but I think the reason for the 'wait-and-see' approach is to effectively see if the economy turns around. If the federal or state government takes some action which bolsters consumer confidence and spurs sales, that will have a positive impact on the local budget and make much of this moot. Granted, such a dramatic change isn't likely, but the point is you often never know what's going to happen when it comes to the economy.

The paradox

2009-11-11T18:37:00.000-05:00

This, indeed, summarizes the paradox of today's American political system.

Bad, but not horrifically bad ... yet

2009-11-11T18:15:00.002-05:00

Ten states are facing rather disasterous budgetary situations over the next year. And while it's fortunate that Georgia isn't in this list, we've still got a $4 billion hole to plug.

In the land of comments

2009-11-11T13:26:00.001-05:00

Jim Galloway lays the smack down over at Political Insider.

The comments over there had gotten out of hand, but the unmonitored format breeds that type of response.

Rep. Bobby Franklin: Ready for war

2009-11-11T10:45:00.003-05:00

Via SWGA News, we find ourselves in the department of too-insane-to-believe-yet-it-horrifyingly-could-be-accurate news as Rep. Bobby Franklin is openly calling for an armed insurrection against the government.

I like Grift's take ...

Many years ago, when I signed on as a state employee, I was required to take an oath avowing that I was not a communist and had no desire to overthrow the government. It was a quaint, archaic ritual which meant little to a south Georgia boy desperate for a job.

I'm not sure if state employees are still forced through the same weird process, but wouldn't it be an odd world where an hourly file clerk has to swear to all that's holy he won't storm the Capitol steps but a man who squats in its innards 40 days a year can call for spilt blood?

Couple of things

2009-11-11T10:21:00.003-05:00

- It's gonna be a rough year, and the construction of the diversion center is gonna be a sticking point. Given the rise of crime over the past few years, the need for an additional facility that has the potential to actually curb the crime rate is a must-have. Unfortunately, that's gonna mean spending cuts elsewhere, layoffs and targeted revenue enhancements.

- Given the overall conservative lean of the South, this poll isn't terribly surprising.

- Um, why wasn't the football player on a curfew or in the team hotel?

- Obviously, but I'd even suggest there was no reason to force her to resign either. A 24-year-old has a picture of her holding a beer, and Barrow County school officials think she can't teach anymore? I'm all for younger folks being careful on Facebook, but, hell, my Blogger profile picture is me holding a Schaeffer Light!

McKillip: I won't profit from ReNew Athens

2009-11-10T16:45:00.001-05:00

Via Blake, Rep. Doug McKillip has said he won't sell any of the rental units he currently owns to the new ReNew Athens organization ...

Critics have focused on McKillip’s refusal to rule out that ReNew Athens’ board of directors will not purchase more of the 250 rental units he co-owns above and beyond the ones he plans to donate.

Today, McKillip did rule it out. ReNew Athens will not buy any of the units he owns, his partners own or any member of his family owns, he said.

The lost decade

2009-11-10T16:00:00.001-05:00

The Georgia Budget & Policy Institute has released its annual State of Working Georgia report, and the numbers are pretty grim ...

The annual State of Working Georgia examines the deteriorating status of working Georgians 20 months into the recession, outlining solutions that position Georgia
to catch up. The recession pummeled Georgia and, as the 2009 edition points out, we have more catching up to do than most states.

- Georgia lost 7.6 percent of jobs in this recession, the 5th highest of all states. Compared to other recent recessions, the current prolonged job loss is unparalleled. Georgia has less jobs today than in 2001.

- The working age population of Georgia grew by 19 percent between January 2001 and September 2009, making Georgia a leader in population growth among states, yet with a startling job-population mismatch this decade.

- Unemployment doubled since the beginning of the recession. Roughly 480,000 Georgia workers (10.1 percent) were unemployed. Additional workers have stopped looking for work or taken part-time jobs, making almost 1 in 6 workers underemployed.

Ham radios are next

2009-11-10T15:35:00.002-05:00

Via Dan Matthews, I actually think this isn't an awful idea.

That said ... wouldn't it be tremendously easier to simply have the appropriate governmental agency create an 'App' that would provide this information? Rather than reconfigure all of our cell phones, let's just utilize the existing technology and put it to work for us.

Still, not a terrible idea, and the fact I think something Rep. Paul Broun Jr. signed on to has potential is newsworthy in its own right.

More poor calculations

2009-11-10T14:54:00.003-05:00

As usual, Ezra Klein makes perfect sense on the health care debate ...

As any scientist will tell you, it's much easier to encourage something to evolve in a certain direction than it is to create it anew. The idea that a high-profile failure in a moment where a liberal Democrat occupies the White House and Democrats hold 60 seats in the Senate for the first time since the 1970s will encourage a more ambitious success later does not track with the history of this issue, nor with the political incentives that future actors are likely to face. If even Obama's modest effort proves too ambitious for the political system, the result is likely to be a retreat towards even more modest efforts in the future, as has happened in the past.

This is in response to the absolutely absurd opposition from single-payer supporter Marcia Angell. Listen, I'd enjoy a world where a single-payer system was the starting point of the debate for health care reform in America, but it's not. To think that defeating a fairly popular, albeit incremental health care reform package would increase the chances of something 'better' passing down the road is just nuts.

You lay a foundation, and then work from there. This bill provides that opportunity.

From the mailbag

2009-11-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

Watkinsville City Councilman Toby Smith, who also is a local CPA, offers some of this thoughts on the Nuci's Space case ...

I am still at a loss as to how (Nuci's Space) is engaging in a commercial enterprise that is not part of the mission of the charitable institution. Unless, the judgment was made that the musicians renting to the space were not in need of counseling, etc., or the action was in no way supported the mission. I’m not completely familiar with Nuci's and how much they “rent” the facility, if it is a large component of their revenue, there seems to be an easy fix.

They should just require, document with a legally binding contract, that anyone who rents their facility must declare their event as a fundraiser for Nuci's where net proceeds (rental) are donated to Nuci's. This would be the equivalent to what The Salvation Army/Goodwill does. There is an implicit understanding that purchases from these institutions are part of their mission. Buying clothes from The Salvation Army doesn’t directly keep people from being homeless, etc.; however it does provide donations to help The Salvation Army’s Mission. Nuci's just needs to create the same exact implicit correlation (which one would think they already have). I actually think this would be a better way for Nuci's to raise funds. Who wouldn’t rather have a philanthropic jam session/birthday party/concert than a regular one? This would make the rental a commercial enterprise for the institution, which for some reason seems to be the reason they lost the judgment.

Kidd on the Nuci's Space case

2009-11-10T11:44:00.002-05:00

Jane Kidd, the current chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia and a former state legislator from Athens-Clarke County, was kind enough to share some of her thoughts with me on the Nuci's Space tax exemption case. Kidd, during her time in the Georgia General Assembly, sponsored the legislation that set up the law in question ...

I'm disappointed in the ruling of course, or that (Athens-Clarke County) would take it to court. It's obvious to me that the revenue generating activities Nuci's Space conducts is for the purpose of supporting their counseling activities and supplying affordable rehearsal space for musicians.

I'm glad to see that it appears they will appeal to the (Georgia) Supreme Court.

When I took this piece of legislation on, I spoke with George Hanson, the ACC Tax assessor at the time. He had a problem with it because, of course, it takes property off the tax digest.

I believed then and still do that if the non-profit organization is approved by the federal government as a 501(c) 3, and files appropriate, annual 990 forms, that any money-making activities in which they engage in order to support their "charity" efforts would allow them to be exempt from local property tax.

I think the perceived "vagueness" in the statute is what allows organizations like Nuci's Space to qualify. I don't think you could or should make a distinction between what Nuci's Space does to what Thrift Stores do.

Not. Effective. Policy.

2009-11-10T11:08:00.002-05:00

Wow.

While the overall tax revenues for Georgia fell by 18 percent in October, the state's corporate income taxes bottomed out into the red. The corporate tax revenue was -$4.9 million, which is astounding when you consider that the state gave out $5 million in refunds last year.

That's insanity. Absolute insanity.

Before we go on

2009-11-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

Part of the argument put forward against Nuci's Space has been a hypothetical one in that local officials are concerned that a tax-exempt organization could purchase a very profitable piece of property in downtown Athens-Clarke County and take it off the local tax rolls. The scenario that has popped up most frequently has been that of the acquisition of a hotel, with said hotel being used to generate revenue for the organization.

The problem with this argument, oddly enough, isn't that it's inaccurate but rather that it is ...

With respect to paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of this Code section, a building which is owned by a charitable institution that is otherwise qualified as a purely public charity and that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code and which building is used by such charitable institution exclusively for the charitable purposes of such charitable institution, and not more than 15 acres of land on which such building is located, may be used for the purpose of securing income so long as such income is used exclusively for the operation of that charitable institution.

Under existing law, a non-profit organization could gobble up downtown properties and turn them in to revenue producers for their efforts.

But what do local officials expect the courts to do about it?

It's clear that Nuci's Space is taking its income and putting it back into its charitable mission, which is suitable under the existing law.

The point being ... this is a legislative struggle, not a judicial one.

There's simply nothing to clear up regarding the law as it clearly states that non-profits are permitted to engage in business services. To fight this battle through the legal system with the aim of seeking 'clarity' is to implicitly ask the judges overseeing the cases to rewrite the law on the spot (which the Court of Appeals was all to eager to jump into doing).

With this conclusion, then, the response from the Athens-Clarke County Board of Assessors should have been one that focused on a legislative remedy, not a judicial one.

Couple of things

2009-11-10T06:17:00.003-05:00

- Evoking shades of The Karate Kid, Nuci's Space is going to appeal its ruling. More on this in a bit.

- Just as a note of clarity, the dollar is not 'slumping' or anything like it. In fact, a 'weak' dollar suggests a recovering economy as it means our goods are more competitive on the global market.

- Jonah Goldberg - possibly the only pundit less knowledgeable than John Stossel - pens the most absurd analysis in some time. Not only does he cherry-pick and misrepresent the facts, he attempts to suggest President Obama is unpopular because he didn't defeat Michael Bloomberg in New York City.

- I agree with this editorial, but I'd suggest that ReNew Athens should keep its focus on being the housing provider and use collaboration with existing non-profits to provide those services.

- News flash ... teachers in Barrow County aren't allowed to be real people and, apparently, can be fired for not being so.

More on Atlanta Highway

2009-11-09T19:20:00.001-05:00

Brian was kind enough to link to my column on Atlanta Highway, and he offered some of his thoughts on the potential to revitalize the corridor ...

1) One of the commenters says that "those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it." He or she is exactly right. In Oconee, we have the opportunity to learn from Atlanta Highway (and countless other examples in Georgia) and not repeat those mistakes. We can and should require higher-quality buildings, require long lasting trees, develop a different type of street grid that accomodates uses besides big boxes, etc. in our retail zones. Otherwise, as our retail infrastructure expands, the older properties will decay much sooner than we realize.

2) As you can tell by the comments in the article, the most visceral Athens and anti-Athens folks want nothing to change. This is the danger of listening to these types of feedback channels. The fact is, Athens -- rightly or wrongly -- created the mess that is Atlanta Highway. The question is 1) why is that area consistenly ignored by the leadership in Athens (too big a problem to tackle? no voters in the commercial districts?) and 2) what can be done to improve it. A CID would activate the private sector to work on solutions, as opposed to relying on government.

Amateurish

2009-11-09T18:17:00.003-05:00

This may be proof that MoveOn might not have the foggiest idea of what it's doing ...

The "first round" of 30-second ads go after Reps. Mike Ross (D-AR), Jason Altmire (D-PA), Glenn Nye (D-VA), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Larry Kissell (D-NC), Heath Shuler (D-NC) and Lee Terry (D-NE).

This breakdown by Talking Points Memo shows the general political makeup of the districts from which the dissenting Democrats hail, and this New York Times chart goes even further.

Attacking Ross, Altmire, Shuler and Boucher is throwing money away. Those are solid Republican districts where a local Democratic candidate has built up a recognizable brand. Wiping them out in the primary for a more liberal candidate does nothing except hand those seats back over to Republicans. Ross, for instance, hails from a district that went for Sen. John McCain by roughly 20 percent. Taking him out in a primary is absolute insanity.

If you're going to target candidates for primary challenges, you identify the ones who are vunerable because of the political realities of the district ... like, say, Rep. John Barrow.

A moderate's perspective

2009-11-09T12:07:00.002-05:00

Given the results of NY-23, coupled with conservatives flocking to Marco Rubio over popular moderate Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida, I've been curious to get some perspective from an actual moderate Republican. Fortunately, Brian Brodrick, a Watkinsville city councilman, shared his thoughts with me ...

I honestly haven’t paid enough attention to the national scene beyond the NY race to offer much good analysis. I am also not plugged into any sort of party apparatus. My general opinion, though, hasn’t changed: we can’t win back the presidency by winning Limbaugh/Hannity/Red State republicans. There is little up-side there. If they had the power to elect someone to national office, they would have done so years ago. This uber-conservative “movement” can and will win some highly partisan districts and states. But on a national level, it will take a bigger tent or a massive fail by President Obama. This tent shrinks when our state representatives and others are not reflective of our larger principles.

As for the attacks on moderates, you can imagine that I think it is ineffective and silly. We can’t beat the Democrats, so we’re going to focus on our own instead? It has the net result of pushing the entire party further from the majority of Americans. A fundamental issue in all of this has been the increasing gerrymandering of political districts that allow demagogues on both sides to get elected who have no reason to or appetite for compromise.

Off the top of my head, I would love to see Republicans focus on the following from a positive standpoint:

1) The Economy: The stimulus is here and being implemented. It hasn’t spurred much new stuff, but it might have prevented a disaster. But instead of focusing on that, we need to look ahead. How do we create good jobs for the future? What skills do the workers of the future need? How do we encourage entrepreneurship and an innovation driven economy? How do we instill a work ethic in our young people?

2) National Health Care: A winning issue for us, if we can propose a solution that is not a sop to insurance companies. A majority of Americans are scared to death of a public option for all the right reasons. The ineffectiveness of government swine flu vaccinations has not built confidence. Additionally, Republicans need to embrace the idea of personal responsibility when it comes to health and work on consumer driven solutions to improve health care. Eating healthy food, exercising, etc.

3) The Environment: Huh? I believe that countless moderates are incredibly passionate about the environment but disagree with the Democratic Party on about everything else. These people currently have no home in the Republican Party. There is also the hunting and fishing set that is already largely Republican. Even if you don’t buy global warming, you could buy millions of votes by clearly articulating what the party stands for and implementing responsible environmental policies on a state and regional level. New national parks. State parks. Land preservation. Higher fuel efficiency. Nuclear energy.

Couple of things

2009-11-09T06:29:00.003-05:00

- Of course, I'd like to see our state's leaders actually commit to funding education, but I also recognize the reality of this. So, I'm not opposed to seeing tuition hikes on students, and HOPE adjusted as necessary with full funding for low-income students and a graduated scale that allocates less funding for students who come from wealthier families.

- Speaking of school funding issues, read J.T.'s retelling of his tongue-lashing of Rep. Bob Smith.

- It's absolutely stunning that so many awful journalists are consolidated inside the Beltway. Consider this story which proclaims the House's health care reform bill 'DOA' in the Senate and uses Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham as the source.

- If Rep. John Barrow is gonna oppose the signature piece of progressive legislation of the past 40 years, then it's fair to ask why Athens-Clarke County progressives should continue to back him.

- Jim Whitehead - he of the 'let's blow up the University of Georgia' fame - has apparently determined that liberal money is just as good as conservative money as he's opening up a tire shop in these parts.

Just saying

2009-11-08T21:06:00.002-05:00

According to Rep. John Barrow's 2008 campaign disclosure, 40 residents of Athens-Clarke County contributed $29,650 to his re-election.

The total number, obviously, is higher, but didn't meet the requirements for disclosure.

ReNew Athens

2009-11-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

This is one of the most promising ideas in the community in a long, long time. It identifies an existing gap in service - owner-occupied housing for individuals making $25,000 or less - and delivers it by renovating existing, vacant housing stock. In addition, it's going to make all the structures green-friendly, so it truly is a win-win.

Having worked with various non-profit agencies in town, one of the great potentials I see is the ability to connect with existing ones for referrals. For instance, existing non-profits that provide services to low-income individuals could form a membership and set up a pool of funds to partially subsidize the rents of their referrals for a dedicated amount of time (with the subsidy gradually decreasing to let the homeowners take on more and more responsibility).

Likewise, this program will merely provide the housing, thus not duplicating the existing case management services throughout the community (and, perhaps ReNew Athens could have its own pool of funds available to assist with those services for referring agencies which extend those services).

There's a lot of potential to make this work, so kudos to those involved with it.

Mystifying

2009-11-08T13:28:00.004-05:00

Take a look at this breakdown.

It's easy to see why so many of these Democrats voted against the House health care reform plan. All but a handful of them live in conservative districts that went solidly for Sen. John McCain in last year's election.

Then take a look at Rep. John Barrow.

Barrow, a former Athens-Clarke County Commissioner, won re-election by 32 percent in a congressional district that went for President Obama by 11 percent. In the 12th Congressional District, 21 percent of the non-elderly population is uninsured.

And Barrow opted to stand with a near-unifed Republican Party in opposition perhaps the most significant piece of progessive domestic legislation in more than 40 years.

If you're an Athens resident who has given money to his campaign, I'd suggest you call him and ask why should you keep sending him those checks? It's one thing to grandstand about flag-burning, but it's another thing to legitimately ignore the wishes of the majority of your district - on the signature policy initiative of a president who endorsed you during a primary challenge - because you're so woefully inept when it comes to political prognostications.

From the mailbag

2009-11-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Reader SC adds some perspective on the Homebuyers Tax Credit ...

Check out this little bit of insanity. My husband and I are due to close on a new house in Athens next week (we're moving from Pennsylvania). Due to the timing of the extension/expansion of the homebuyer tax credit, we now qualify for the $6500 credit. We were buying a house anyway!

On the other hand, that'll cover half of our COBRA for the year (and that's a whole *other* issue). But it just seems there are so many other ways this money could have been used to help people and stimulate the economy.

The read

2009-11-08T07:14:00.001-05:00

From my Sunday column in the Athens Banner-Herald ...

It's amply evident there are parts of the corridor in need of renovation and reinvestment. A vacant parking lot is overrun with grass and weeds. Empty big-box stores dot the route. Perimeter Square, once a thriving shopping center anchored by Wal-Mart and Books-A-Million, now has more vacancies than occupancies.

The forlorn nature of the empty spaces is magnified by poor design. Massive power lines define much of the corridor, which also has few sidewalks, little landscaping and no dedicated alternative transportation lanes.

While other Athens-Clarke corridors, like Prince Avenue or North Avenue, frequently draw the attention of area officials, Atlanta Highway remains the (lackluster) centerpiece of the county's west side. It's heavily trafficked, funneling cars from Oconee, Barrow and Walton counties into the community every day. Yet it is, for all practical purposes, the forgotten corridor of the county.

It doesn't have to be that way, and the utilization of a pair of popular and successful economic development tools might offer a viable solution. Community Improvement Districts have revitalized blighted areas across the state, while Tax Allocation Districts - an initiative approved by Athens-Clarke voters - have helped spur $2.3 billion in private investments in Atlanta. A strategy that incorporates both of those methods could yield an impressive return for Atlanta Highway.

One down

2009-11-08T07:01:00.002-05:00

For the first time in history, the U.S. House of Representatives have passed health insurance reform.

Geography at work

2009-11-07T20:39:00.004-05:00

I agree with Andrew Sullivan ... sadly, the Republican Party has completely morphed into a party comprised of angry, disconnected, white Southerners (and, judging by those clips - which feature, among other, Rep. Tom Price - they are all too eager to verbally bully progressive women offering contrasting viewpoints).

The role of the South in American politics is on the decline, and the response is ugly.

Liberal $ = Conservative $

2009-11-07T13:17:00.002-05:00

Via Gary Black's Twitter feed, an interesting piece of information ...

Great day at Salute to Veterans breakfast w/Douglas GOP. Thx for wonderful reception. On to Jim Whitehead's tire store opening in Athens.

Really? The same Jim Whitehead who wanted to blow up the University of Georgia in these parts? Fascinating ...

The Nuci's Space wrap-up

2009-11-06T20:44:00.003-05:00

A good deal of news today ...

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that Nuci's Space, despite its non-profit status, was not exempt from paying its property taxes. Various non-profit leaders in the community, including Spencer Frye, the executive director of Habitat For Humanity and a prospective mayoral candidate, expressed concern over how the ruling would impact their existing fundraising activities.

Fortunately, Rep. Doug McKillip indicated he'd be willing to sponsor legislation to offer the necessary clarification for non-profit organizations. Athens-Clarke County District Four Commissioner Alice Kinman offered a contrasting view, suggesting the decision from the Court of Appeals was the proper one, though her fellow commissioner, District Nine's Kelly Girtz, said he disagreed with the ruling and stated he'd push for legislative action to address the matter.

Girtz: Legislative action necessary

2009-11-06T20:32:00.003-05:00

Athens-Clarke County District Nine Commissioner Kelly Girtz said he was disappointed with the Nuci's Space decision and pledged to seek a legislative remedy to preserve the organization's non-profit status.

Girtz's position is somewhat in contrast to that of his colleague, Athens-Clarke County District Four Commissioner Alice Kinman, who suggested the ruling was proper and necessary to clarify the property tax exemption ...

The ruling is disappointing, given the number of nonprofits that make good use of their space to further their mission through rentals, fundraisers, etc.

Like Kinman, Girtz noted the commission had no authority to halt the pursuit of the case given that it originated from the Athens-Clarke County Board of Assessors, which is an independent governmental entity. He said he disagreed with the decision to move the case forward earlier this year ...

I am not a lawyer, but a lawyer represented Nuci's and believed that the law was clear, and a Superior Court judge agreed. While the Court of Appeals ruled otherwise, perhaps the Supreme Court will reverse that decision and rule that the law is clear. Whether that happens or not, I will pursue a legislative remedy by encouraging the General Assembly to amend the Code. They could specify that use of nonprofits' property for raising funds that flow exclusively to the organization for pursuit of their mission would not disqualify them from claiming the tax exemption. I will be contacting our local delegation immediately to ask for their assistance in this matter.

Earlier today, Rep. Doug McKillip, who said he also agreed with Judge Lawton Stephens's rational, indicated he'd be willing to sponsor legislation to clarify the law.

Bad arguments for bad policy, ctd.

2009-11-06T17:25:00.000-05:00

Speaking of the Homebuyers Tax Credit, regular Athens Banner-Herald commenter 'Tumbleweed' exercises some of the worst logic I've seen in retort to my column on the inefficiency of the program ...

Johnathan McGinty, divide 690 thousand into the $1.6 billion that went into Cash for clunkers and then tell me how successful the program was. You could not compare two variables if your life depended on it. You write stuff simply to fill a column.
Name one homebuyer that would turn down $8000 offered to them when they made the purchase. If you want to see a more receptive response to the incentive, simply double the amount. Cash for clunkers was money handed to the dealer while the homebuyers credit is in tax incentives not hard cash.

Fortunately my life doesn't depend on it - though, to be fair, he/she is partially correct in observing that I 'write stuff to simply fill a column' since, you know, that's the whole point of writing a column - but if you follow his/her advice we find that 690,000 into $1.6 billion equals $2,318, which is right on par with the actual cost of the cash voucher provided for 'Cash For Clunkers.'

However, when you take the existing economic analysis and run the math on the HTC, we find that the cost of the subsidy is significantly higher for that program than CFC ...

The tax credit is very poorly targeted. Approximately 1.9 million buyers are expected to receive the credit, but more than 85 percent of these would have bought a home without the credit. This suggests a price tax of about $15 billion – which is twice what Congress intended – for approximately 350,000 additional home sales. At $43,000 per new home sale, this is a very expensive subsidy.

Anyway, it's the last point that shows how insane the policy is. Of course people are going to take the $8,000 when they arrive at the closing. That, however, is not incentivizing a purchase as much as it is just handing out free cash. The whole argument against the HTC is that it's not encouraging new sales, but merely subsidizing the usual behavior of already willing buyers.

Kinman on Nuci's Space

2009-11-06T15:57:00.003-05:00

Athens-Clarke County District Four Commissioner Alice Kinman said she welcomed the call for clarity regarding the Nuci's Space case, though she was understanding of the decision made by the Court of Appeals ...

The issue has never been with Nuci's Space itself, which no one disputes is a legitimate non-profit doing valuable work in the community. The issue is with what the law says about who gets to be exempt from property taxes. Georgia law is clear that property tax exemptions are an exception and should only be allowed when property is being used solely to carry out the non-profit's mission in a way that benefits the public. The Salvation Army thrift store is deemed to meet this requirement because in selling low-cost items it is directly carrying out its mission of benefiting low-income individuals. Nuci's Space, however, uses its space at times for private parties (which events obviously do not benefit the public). While the income from these rentals goes back into Nuci's Space's mission, the activity itself does not carry out its mission.

Here's how I understand it: If Nuci's Space had been granted their exemption by the Board of Assessors, then another entity could come along and, say, buy a hotel downtown and use the income from that to help fund its non-profit activities. While the non-profit activities might benefit the community, the community is also harmed by valuable property being taken off the tax rolls. Only if the property were being used in a way that directly benefited the community would that loss of taxable property be justified.

An honest answer, and I appreciate the straight talk. That said, I simply disagree with Kinman on this matter, which is a rather odd position to be in given my admiration of her.

The ruling by the Court of Appeals, coupled with Kinman's suggestion that the fundraising means employed by Nuci's Space are somehow less than equal than those employed by The Salvation Army is purely subjective. For instance, First Baptist Church of Athens parks cars for Georgia football home games, and that's narrowly targeted too.

For me, the clear intent of the law was to allow organizations like Nuci's Space to partake in those types of creative ways at generating funding for their organizations. I can concede that the law might have been somewhat imperfect - and if somone like Rep. Doug McKillip can get us some clarity on the matter that's great - but it seems that were nit-picking for the sake of nit-picking at times.

Bad policy, ctd.

2009-11-06T15:38:00.003-05:00

Buried in this post from The Atlantic's Business blog is a disturbing observation on the renewal of the Homebuyer's Tax Credit ...

The size of the tax credit is equal to almost two years of TANF payments to a typical family and could pay for approximately 2.5 kid years of health care under the State Children's Health Insurance Program. This is a questionable redistributive policy to homebuyers who have higher incomes on average than renters.

Awesome. I already expressed some concerns over this program, and now we realize that in addition to doing little to nothing to spur sales, it's also could be used more effectively, more humanely and more efficiently in spurring sales.

Poor examples

2009-11-06T12:37:00.001-05:00

Ezra Klein destroys Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich ...

Well, Texas currently leads the nation in the rate of uninsured, with more than 25 percent of the state's residents lacking health-care coverage. If you limit the analysis to residents under age 65, which takes seniors covered by the national Medicare program out of the data, 28 percent of Texans are uninsured.

It would be interesting to hear Gov. Perry explain why this is, but this teensy little fact doesn't appear anywhere in his op-ed. Presumably, that's because there is no good explanation: Texas, despite its much-touted $9 billion rainy-day fund, simply has not made it a priority to fix its health-care system, and so it has deteriorated into the worst in the nation.

Letting Perry serve as the spokesman for a federalist solution to the health-care system is a bit like letting Dick Fuld testify on the adequacy of self-regulation on Wall Street, or Donald Rumsfeld explain that occupations are easy.

From the mailbag

2009-11-06T11:29:00.003-05:00

Reader HAG dissents, somewhat, on Nuci's Space ...

It seems pretty obvious that the higher court's ruling was the only one they could make given the current law. In spite of the good intentions, the law that was codified says exactly what the judge's ruling says. It is simply poorly worded/crafted. The judges have actually done the non-profits a huge favor. This is not at all unusual. Our legislators frequently intend something and then adopt laws that really don't support their intentions. Now, we have a good reason and some good momentum to get the law re-written so that it supports the original intent in the actual wording of the law.

So, now maybe we can see some new legislation that will correct the wording of the laws so that the courts can finally uphold the good intentions of Jane Kidd and Louise McBee.

You can never lose sight of the "chain" that is part of our form of government - legislative bodies write laws but judicial bodies interpret and enforce them. And, editorially speaking, legislators are frequently not well-qualified to craft laws. The separation of powers prevents judges from being consulted as to how to word those laws so that the intent is reflected in them.

McKillip open to sponsoring clarifying bill

2009-11-06T10:51:00.002-05:00

Rep. Doug McKillip indicated that he'd be willing to sponsor legislation in the Georgia General Assembly if that was necessary to offer clarity to the Nuci's Space property tax exemption.

McKillip said that while he had not yet seen the ruling by the Court of Appeals, he agreed with the rationale offered by Judge Lawton Stephens during the Superior Court's earlier decision on the case. Regardless, he was willing to see what the state could do resolve the matter if that was needed ...

I would like to see the Court of Appeals rationale, but in any case I am more than willing to attempt to amend the law to accomplish its original purpose.

Frye on Nuci's Space

2009-11-06T09:18:00.002-05:00

Spencer Frye, the executive director of Habitat For Humanity who also has an exploratory committee set up for a possible mayoral run in 2010, said the following regarding the Nuci's Space decision ...

(The ruling) definitely makes us a little wary given its implications. (Jane Kidd and Louise McBee) meant for this to passed because of organizations like Habitat For Humanity and The Salvation Army because of our thrift stores. So, obviously, this makes us a little concerned about what's going to come in the future.

Couple of things

2009-11-06T06:32:00.002-05:00

- Oh ... Mother of Mary. Thanks Bill Berryman for pursuing this case no one wanted and then, somehow, getting three folks on the state's Court of Appeals to open the door to taxing every bake sale and car wash out there. This is so incredibly disappointing, that I'm not even sure where to begin.

- Speaking of non-profit issues, isn't the point of non-profits that sometimes folks help these entities out for values below the 'asking price'. I mean, shouldn't the group's mission actually be a reason why the land should be sold a little below its market value?

- I think we're reading too much into this. For starters, I've got no problem with a commissioner serving on an advisory panel that selects and/or recommends artists for the public art portion of the Clayton Street parking deck. Secondly, I think Athens-Clarke County District Six Commissioner Ed Robinson was merely offering examples and not attempting to curry favor for two local artists. I think it was rather off-the-cuff and, quite frankly, harmless. Furthermore, the recommendation from local staff might just result in no commissioners serving on this hypothetical panel for the reasons expressed in this editorial.

- Blake talks about the rather sharp turns to the right in state politics as of late.

Going national

2009-11-05T15:53:00.004-05:00

As I was sifting through some of the news reports of Tea Party folks who are doing everything they possibly can to make Washington, D.C. a thoroughly unpleasant place this afternoon, I was thinking 'I wonder of Rep. Paul Broun Jr. said anything at today's protests.'

And I'm not disappointed.

As an aside, I can get opposing the bill from a philosophical - and even practical - standpoint, but how does this event do anything but hurt the Republican Party? A bunch of protesters harassing congressmen and stopping traffic?

Are they WTO protesters now?

Deal: Show us the birth certificate

2009-11-05T12:30:00.001-05:00

Mother. Of. Mary.

Exactly how far to the right can Georgia's Republican candidates for governor go?

Not a good idea

2009-11-04T13:17:00.002-05:00

A quick deviation to focus on Georgia football for a second, but ... what in world are the players thinking?

First, Joe Cox says he doesn't care if fans show up to watch the game on Saturday, and now Jeff Owens - after agreeing to take up an offer from The Red & Black where he can talk to 'Bulldog Nation' - puts up the following message on Twitter ...

The red and black should change it's name to Orange and Blue.

Listen, you've got two senior 'leaders' of this team - and that term is being used loosely at this point - openly attacking the fans and media. Something ain't clicking here fellas.

Just saying

2009-11-04T11:51:00.003-05:00

I just like the truth behind this headline ...

'Last night's overwhelming historic Republican victory makes Democratic health care reform just a bit easier'

It's true. I'm still struggling to see how picking up two seats in Congress - the place where national legislation is actually crafted - is tantamount to a Republican comeback.

Premature celebrations

2009-11-04T11:41:00.002-05:00

Last night, it seems Erick Erickson opted to pat himself on the back just a little too early.

Note, as well, that he closed the comments.

Was it a 'good' night?

2009-11-04T08:51:00.002-05:00

The circulating meme was that last night was 'good' for Republicans based on wins in Virginia and New Jersey. A pair of convincing wins in high-profile governor races can do that, but I don't necessarily think it's so.

There are several flaws with this proposition, and I'd suggest the situation is still rather murky - if not more murky - for Republicans. As I've argued, those elections were more determined by local issues rather than perceptions, and exit polls showed both a high dissatisfaction with incumbents and that President Obama was a non-factor.

What's more fascinating to sift through is the carnage that is the special election for District 23 in New York. This is a district that is solidly Republican - so much so that it hadn't elected a Democrat to Congress since the 1800s - yet it was won by a no-name Democrat who, quite frankly, was the token opposition put up against the hand-picked Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava.

But a funny thing, or shall I say a funny guy, happened along the way to Scozzafava's all-but-assured election ... Doug Hoffman.

Hoffman, a little known accountant, ran as third party candidate representing the Conservative Party. He hit on all the key far-right talking points by decrying 'Obamacare' and railing against the stimulus package. Hoffman didn't live in the district, didn't know anything about local issues and raised more than 85 percent of his money from outside of the district.

Yet, that didn't stop the national conservative movement - the Sarah Palins, Rush Limbaughs, Glenn Becks and Erick Ericksons of the world - from issuing a call to arms to take over that race and push forward a far-right message from a fringe candidate flush with Club For Growth dollars.

Now, to be sure, Scozzafava was an awful candidate for Republicans to put forward. She was progressive on social issues and moderate on fiscal ones, but she was a loyal foot solider for the New York GOP and had worked her way up the ranks through the state's General Assembly.

This is a pattern that will repeat. Erickson - aka 'The Witches Hammer' - has already declared Hoffman's loss as a massive victory for the far-right movement, and pledges of primary challenges to moderate Republicans will continue unabated. Gov. Charlie Crist, a rather popular moderate who endorsed the stimulus package, is now firmly in the sights of conservatives.

Granted, every analyst and strategist who doesn't earn money for saying outlandish and offensive things has recognized this - and the voters have overwhelmingly rejected that type of politics from both sides of the aisle - yet the purging of moderates from the Republican Party will march forward.

And that troubling development is only compounded by this next one.

In both Virginia and New Jersey, the Democratic coalition that propelled Obama into the White House simply didn't turn out. Perhaps it was voter fatigue. Perhaps it was the fact they lacked the desire to go vote. Perhaps it was awful candidates. Perhaps it was frustration with futile 'bipartisanship' attempts.

Regardless, it's clear that voters didn't necessarily move to back Republicans, they just literally didn't move at all. If you look at the preliminary numbers from last night's contests, the Republicans turned their base out and Democrats didn't. If Democrats are motivated to turn out to the polls by engaging candidates, compelling issues and a firm stance for progressive issues, then they win New Jersey easily and make Virginia 50-50 again.

Or, put more succinctly, the Republicans thew everything they had last night and won two seats, but, if they continue to assail moderates, they can't match the raw size and power of the emerging Democratic electorate when it's effectively engaged. The problem, then, is that the GOP has to expand its appeal, while Democrats have to find a way to keep their voters going to the polls in non-presidential elections.

The never-ending announcement

2009-11-04T08:36:00.002-05:00

From Flagpole's City Dope ...

Politics Is Local, Too: Permanent mayoral candidate Charlie Maddox came by the office last week to invite us to his 2010 campaign kickoff Tuesday, Nov. 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Lyndon House. That’s a little weird, not just because Maddox has basically been running since the day he lost the ’06 race, but also because City Dope recalls a courthouse-steps announcement back in May of this year for the 2010 race. Oh, yeah—almost no one showed up, so that one morphed into a nice chat over coffee, actually, between Maddox, his man Jeff Snowden, City Dope, the ABH’s Blake Aued and the young outsider mayoral candidate Brandon Shinholser, who had shown up at the courthouse. It was, um, weird. Anyway, does the question that lingered after that meeting (and after ’06) still remain? Has Maddox found a message yet?

Well, Brandon Shinholser went after Maddox's platform yesterday, but I am a little confused over this whole kickoff process.

He 'officially' announced with an event in May, but he was already public with his candidacy in April. Now, six months later, we've got a campaign kickoff event.

We're kinda dragging this thing out, aren't we?

Couple of things

2009-11-04T06:21:00.002-05:00

- We held a liveblog last night with part one here and part two here.

- In a rather uneventful meeting, the Athens-Clarke County Commission approved the Clayton Street parking deck by a 10-0 vote.

- In an election roundup, Republicans Chris Christie and Bob McConnell won the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia, respectively, but the big shocker of the night was Democrat Bill Owens knocking off the de facto Republican Doug Hoffman in New York's District 23. In Atlanta, Mary Norwood and Kasim Reed are heading to a Dec. 1 runoff.

- Martin has a respectful disagreement.

- I'm just not getting reassured yet, and hunkering down into an 'us vs. them' mentality ain't going to help.

Respectful disagreement

2009-11-04T02:47:00.003-05:00

It's difficult sometimes to disagree with people you respect. More so, if they're also people you know. And even more so when they have a list of academic credits as long as your arm.

But, nonetheless, I find myself disagreeing with a lot of the points made by Drew Westen in a post on HuffPo yesterday.

(Westen, by the way is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Emory, and made waves with his book, "The Political Brain" last year. I had the pleasure of working with Drew while I was at the state party.)

So, in his post, Westen had some less than positive things to say concerning President Obama's leadership style, but in doing so, I think he missed a couple of important dynamics. Essentially, he takes Obama to task for conceding certain points to the Republican party in what Westen terms a, "chimera of bipartisanship that Obama oddly continues to pursue even while he remains unable to get a Republican vote on anything, no matter what concessions he offers."

I don't dispute that the President is not likely to garner significant Republican support, especially in the House, for any of his moves. But there are two points I'd like to make in rebuttal.

First, we have to look at where the American people are. As Westen says, we the people are in dire straits. Costs of everything from gas to health care are skyrocketing and wages aren't keeping up. And they've gone from being overwhelmed and confused to being overwhelmed, angry, and looking for someone to blame. It comes as a shock to no one that the target of that blame is that faceless monolith, "the politicians."

With waves upon waves of anger being directed at the politicians (mostly Congress, where almost every member has a D or an R by their name), it's no surprise that the perception of partisan gridlock is the voters' favorite straw man. And, while the number of self-identified Republicans is shrinking, those abandoning ship are not automatically jumping to the Democrats. The battle is still in the middle, with independent voters, and those voters are sick and tired of partisanship.

For President Obama to further galvanize an already angry citizenry is to cripple his Presidency. His only way out is up, above the mud. He has to be the grown-up in the room, because Boehner and McConnell, and even Pelosi and Reid, won't step up.

That brings me to my second point. I think this is part of a larger, long term political strategy. Simply put, Barack Obama is consciously and deliberately letting the Republican Party marginalize itself.

The Republicans want a hand in shaping policy, but they want it on their terms, and they refuse to yield an inch. The President gets that, and he's willing to let them scream and posture all they want, so that at the end, he can throw up his hands and say, "Well, we tried to reach out, and once again, they wouldn't compromise one bit." It's a long-term strategy, and as we saw last night, it hasn't fully come to fruition yet. But I have confidence that it will. You're using the Republicans' own weaknesses against them, and they're cooperating fully. (Thank you, Joe Wilson!) And until the Republican Party realizes that the battle is not for their own arch-conservative base, but for the people in the middle, this strategy will work.

It's a strategy that my friend Drew Westen could have written.

Now, this is not to imply that the "national agenda, and an ambitious one at that" which the President has set out is just a bunch of pawns in a larger political strategy. Far from it. This is a President of stern moral fiber and strong principles.

Westen cites health care as an example. I'll do the same. According to the good doctor:

"Obama could have told members of Congress when the health care fight began, 'If the average American doesn't have the same quality and range of options at the end of this process that you do, I will not sign any appropriations bill for next year that includes health insurance for federal employees, your family and mine included, because if it's good enough for us, it's good enough for the people we serve.' Had the president done that, he would have had populist sentiment at his back."

This is true, he could have done that, and I imagine that it would have been very popular. Here's the problem though. It wouldn't pass. (I'm presuming, by the way, that Westen's intent was limited to members of Congress and elected/high-level appointed officials, not to deny health care to federal employees like postal workers, clerks, and soldiers.)

Now we have to talk policy for a second. Westen's idea is good politics, and I don't doubt his assertion that it polled well. (In fact, I think I may have seen those numbers when I was working with him.) But as policy, it's completely unworkable on it's face. Such a proposal would bankrupt America, and would be dangerously close to universal single-player, which does not poll well at all.

More realistically, Westen's idea is merely a frame for something like the public option. But there's a huge pitfall here too. Doing something like providing the same quality of care that members of Congress get is not the same thing as providing the same health care that members of Congress get. Framing a policy alternative like the public option in terms of "the same quality and range of options at the end of this process that [members of Congress] do" at best brings us full circle to the same debate we've had since the beginning of the health insurance reform movement. At worst, it opens up a Pandora's Box of political fights. Westen's idea is a great talking point, but it's just not policy.

Let's look at history for a moment. Presidents have been trying to reform health insurance for decades. Roosevelt tried and failed. Truman, ditto. Kennedy, Johnson, Carter? Check, check, and check. And then there was the debacle known popularly as "Clintoncare." This is an effort that has been a long time coming and, Westen's criticism aside, we're closer now than we've ever been. Westen talks about principles, and I believe that President Obama's guiding principle is to get something done.

Let's look at process for a moment. In order to pass any kind of health insurance reform, the President has to have (limited) Republican support at some points along the way, primarily in the Senate. Them's the rules, archaic and counterproductive though they might be.

Finally, let's look at the future for a moment. As I said, the principle here is to get something, anything done. Anything is an improvement over the current system. Even a public option with an opt-out is an improvement. And, most people agree that this is a big first step, not an endgame. This is the breach in a wall that insurance companies and their lobbyists have held for decades. If we do this, if we do anything meaningful, even if it isn't the whole enchilada, then future efforts will still be incremental but easier to achieve. I believe that these thoughts are formost in the President's mind.

Westen's right, this is about leadership. But he and I have two different definitions of leadership. In the end, leadership isn't primarily about scoring political points, or revving up the Democratic base (of which Drew and I are enthusiastic members), it's about accomplishing a policy goal.

And in those terms, President Obama is a leader.

An early victory

2009-11-03T21:42:00.002-05:00

While we're all sitting on pins and needles waiting to see who'll be in charge in Atlanta, here's an nice early victory for my former bosses at the state Democratic Party.

Down in Milledgeville, Democrat Darrell Black squeaks into a runoff with former lobbyist Rusty Kidd in a special election for Georgia House of Representatives.

Election and Post-Deck liveblogging

2009-11-03T21:41:00.014-05:00

9:46 p.m. - A little down time in between, and we're just checking in on some races. Mary Norwood is hovering around 50 percent, while Jon Corzine is closing the gap in New Jersey (with 14 of the remaining 22 precincts remaining being solid Democratic strongholds). Also important to watch the gay marriage ban vote in Maine with a rejection of the ban holding on to a slim margin.

9:54 p.m. - Interesting development in District 141 where independent candidate E. Culver Kidd has taken hold in a four-way race, garnering more than 44 percent of the vote. He had great name recognition, but I'm still surprised at how convincing the support for him is.

10 p.m. - Two hours since the polls closed in Atlanta and only 23 percent is reporting? Mother of Mary.

10:01 p.m. - Talking Points Memo says it's looking rather unlikely for Corzine to pull it out. Not shocking, given his unpopularity, but the support for Chris Christie is somewhat surprising and a testament to rejection of the former.

10:11 p.m. - Steve Holzman offers up the results from North High Shoals, and congratulations are due to David Lawrence and Steve Arnold.

10:19 p.m. - In New York, Democrat Bill Owens has a slight lead with 20 percent reporting ... which is amazing to me. This is a Republican district with an energized conservative base, and their guy's in a dogfight. I still think Doug Hoffman pulls this out to send the Tea Party crowd into the stratosphere, but it's interesting to see how tight it is right now.

10:23 p.m. - With 44 percent reporting in Atlanta, Mary Norwood is at 47 percent and Kasim Reed is at 35 percent, but what's more staggering to me is the fact that, with just under half of the precincts reporting, less than 24,000 people have voted. Wow.

10:28 p.m. - Via The Washington Independent, lots of pessimism at Doug Hoffman's place. Wow. The NY-23 race has been one of the most fascinating ones in recent memory, and the sudden viability of a no-name Democrat in a Republican district against a third-party candidate makes for compelling political drama!

10:42 p.m. - I mean, seriously ... less than 30,000 voting with 54 percent reporting in Atlanta? Really?

10:45 p.m. - This is pretty amateurish, isn't it? First we're mad because the Democratic Party of Georgia decides to get involved in the Atlanta mayoral race, and now we're bothered that they sent out a GOTV reminder in the middle of the day? Let's pick a meme and stick with it, OK?

10:48 p.m. - We're inching closer to a Atlanta mayoral runoff as Mary Norwood's lead continues to shrink. With 60 percent reporting, she's up 44-36 over Kasim Reed.

11:01 p.m. - I think I'm winding down for the night, but it's 45-37 Norwood over Reed with 62 percent reporting and 49-45 Owens over Hoffman.

Election and Deck liveblog

2009-11-03T19:01:00.027-05:00

7:01 p.m. - A decent crowd gathered already, but not as packed as I expected.

7:14 p.m. - A quick timeout at the house to deal with The Kid throwing up ... that's what drinking two cups of lemonade and eating a pack of M&Ms will do.

7:15 p.m. - Nice and brief public comments. Impressive.

7:16 p.m. - Athens-Clarke County District Six Commissioner Ed Robinson - complete with a tie - offers some clarifications ... the garden will be open to the public during the day, the retail space will be valuable, the land use plan calls for the growth of the height of the buildings in the central core, the height is below the maximum. He says he's voting for it, but asks for staff to make sure the building displays the strength of the Athens art community and includes solicitation of local art.

7:21 p.m. - Alice Kinman is up now, and she's eager to clear up the misconception about the lack of public input. She said there have been 10 work sessions and seven agenda-setting/voting sessions dedicated to the parking deck since November 2007. She adds that this is the most public input for one specific project then she can recall, and she adds the need for parking downtown is without dispute.

7:24 p.m. - Kinman adds the space is currently occupied by a blighted parking lot that is unused.

7:25 p.m. - Kinman notes that parking rates are only assigned to this one deck and rates will not be raised downtown by any vote taken tonight.

7:26 p.m. - Kathy Hoard asks Alan Reddish, the community's county manager, for clarification on the accessibility to the rooftop garden. The garden is open during business hours.

7:27 p.m. - It's a full-court press on public input as Andy Herod references Blake's post.

7:28 p.m. - Alice Kinman makes the motion to approve the basic agreement for the deck ... and it's 10-0 for it. Kinda of less than dramatic, was it not?

7:33 p.m. - The polls in Atlanta, by the way, are open until 8 p.m.

7:35 p.m. - Bob McConnell is beating the fool out of Creigh Deeds in Virginia.

7:40 p.m. - This was kind of a letdown, no? I mean, the public criticism was pretty intense in the days leading up to this, but it seems the majority of folks with concerns over the project must have seen the writing on the wall. The public input portion of the meeting was respectful, considerate, well-thought-out and brief.

7:41 p.m. - Kelly Girtz uses his portion of the wrap-up to call for a circuit shuttle in downtown, as well as a master plan for downtown Athens-Clarke County.

7:42 p.m. - And we're done. Wow.

7:48 p.m. - On the national front, President Obama is not a factor in the governor races in New Jersey or Virginia and that local perceptions of the candidates are the driving factor. Stunning, isn't it?

7:55 p.m. - Funny watching that liberal network, MSNBC, and hearing the commentators bash Obama's leadership. I mean, they're so in the tank for him.

7:57 p.m. - The best part is I knew drinking all that lemonade would upset my daughter's stomach, yet I was powerless to stop her.

8:00 p.m. - MSNBC calls it for Bob McConnell in Virginia.

8:02 p.m. - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an up-to-the-minute news page set up.

8:05 p.m. - MSNBC exit polls show that 57 percent of voters in Virginia didn't feel President Obama was a factor in their vote, while 19 percent said their support of the president drove them to the polls. In New Jersey, it's 60 percent who said Obama wasn't a factor, while 19 percent said their support prompted to cast a ballot. That whole 'political rebellion' meme is really, really silly ... as proven by this.

8:19 p.m. - Still nothing from the Atlanta mayoral race.

8:21 p.m. - Observing the national scene, one of the things that is most striking about Virginia and New Jersey is the low turnout for Democrats. This can be attributed to a variety of things ranging from voter fatigue to dissatisfaction with the choice. Looking at both the candidates in those races, it's obvious the latter was a big driving factor (honestly, Jon Corzine is an awful governor). In New Jersey, for instance, independents are breaking for Republican Chris Christie, but the Democratic advantage is so strong there that Corzine could still win ... it's just that they're not showing up.

8:25 p.m. Ezra Klein - 'This seems like a bit of a disaster for the Republicans. Look at the Senate right now: If Democrats have 60 votes, it's because conservative activists kept running primary challengers against Arlen Specter. If they fall short, it's likely to be because liberal activists ran a primary challenge against Joe Lieberman. If tomorrow's election makes the Republican Party way more primary-happy than it already is, it's probably going to end up costing them a lot more seats than they're about to gain.'

8:26 p.m. - I'm remembering how painfully slow it takes for Atlanta results to come in for statewide races, meaning it might be December before we have a clue on the mayoral race.

Shinholser takes on Maddox

2009-11-03T15:56:00.002-05:00

Athens-Clarke County mayoral candidate Brandon Shinholser may have a mighty steep hill to climb in his bid for elected office, but he's not afraid of throwing some elbows in an attempt to get there.

Shinholser has taken aim at Charlie Maddox's platform for 2010 ...

You know the same Charlie Maddox who was largely funded by special interest and big business? The same ole' Charlie Maddox who spearheaded a campaign against health insurance for gay, and unmarried straight Athens-Clarke County employees? The same Charlie Maddox who wanted to overturn all environmental protections put forth by Heidi Davison and the commissioners.

Yes, the same Charlie Maddox who publicly stated that Mayor Davison should discontinue her focus on “quality of life” issues and try to bridge together a relationships with the Chamber of Commerce to bring jobs instead. You see, Charlie forgot that without a thriving quality of life, there are no jobs.

If elected, I’ll start at step one and not step three.

In his newly released platform… well, it looks about the same as his last. Take a look for yourself. It’s the same ole Charlie Maddox.

(As an aside, Maddox's web site is sweet.)

Programming update

2009-11-03T15:05:00.001-05:00

Given that we've got vast amounts of random election tidbits tonight, including the Atlanta mayoral race, as well as the Athens-Clarke County Commission meeting that will include discussion of the proposed Clayton Street parking deck, I'm gonna do a liveblog tonight starting around 7 p.m.

No remote location, just me at the house. You can buy me a drink later.

Questions of scale

2009-11-03T11:20:00.001-05:00

Take a look at this picture ...

And then this one ...

These are renditions done by Rob Pierce, a student at the University of Georgia, that attempts to show the 'true' scale of the proposed Clayton Street parking deck when contrasted with the neighboring buildings. Arguably, it looks mighty big and, to be sure, the deck will be big.

The renditions, however, are grossly misleading and are being used primarily to agitate folks in advance of tonight's Athens-Clarke County Commission meeting.

The second photo, for instance, shows the perspective of the deck from Washington and Lumpkin Streets, with The Georgia Theater on its left. The problem with this perspective, obviously, is that it understates the impact of the proposed renovations to The Georgia Theater which is tacking on approximately 10 feet to its height through the addition of a rooftop level. In addition, both images fail to offer accurate perspectives that take into account the various churches in the community which feature similar heights or complete views looking toward the center of downtown which incorporate the larger structures in downtown's core.

Contrast that with the developer's drawings ...

Likewise, note the drawings submitted by The Georgia Theater to the Athens-Clarke County Historic Preservation Committee ...

Selective angles, sure, but I also think the scale is fairly appropriate from these various vantage point (though, to be fair, the Batson Cook sketch seems to understate the impact of the tower and minimizes the deck's horizontal influence on the skyline). However, the contrast with the renovated Georgia Theater seems to be more in line than the projections from Pierce.

Again, this isn't to say the building won't be big or alter the skyline, but it is to say that accusations of misleading schematic drawings go both ways here.

Dan on sidewalks

2009-11-03T10:54:00.001-05:00

Dan Lorentz rounds up more images from the sidewalks in his neck of the woods.

Pay attention

2009-11-03T10:29:00.001-05:00

Blake sets the record straight on the parking deck ...

In my four-plus years covering Athens city government, I’ve seen this happen over and over again: Total apathy for months or even years, followed by a last-second frenzy of indignation.

Friends of Downtown Athens – a group of Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation activists including Allen Stovall, Blair Dorminey and Rosemarie Goodrum – make some excellent points, especially when they say that misleading conceptual drawings associated with the project are not telling commissioners just how massive this deck will be. (For the record, it’s 75 feet tall and has a footprint of 47,000 square feet.) It's just too bad they didn't make those points six months ago.

Not only do they raise concerns about the building’s size, they are questioning the deal to split costs with a private developer, the rate hike that will be needed to pay off debt, revenue projections, lack of public access to a rooftop garden, lack of opportunities for public input and the very need for a new deck at all. Athens Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Kathryn Lookofsky offered counter-arguments in the Sunday ABH.

The problem is, with the exception of the allegedly misleading drawings, Friends of Downtown Athens are not bringing anything to the commission’s attention that they didn’t already know. Not to say that the commission necessarily came to the correct conclusion, but these objections have all been raised and discussed.

This deck has been under consideration for at least six years. Search “downtown Athens parking deck” on the ABH Web site and 498 news articles, letters, columns and editorials pop up, 53 in the past year alone. It's one of those things I kept writing about, even though no one seemed to care, because the project needed more public attention than it was getting.

Not that no one had a chance to get involved. The commission talked about the deck in no fewer than eight public meetings since 2008, five of which allowed public comment. The Tuesday vote will be the third in the past 13 months to approve the project and allow it to move forward. No one from Friends of Downtown Athens was there for the others, when they could have actually made a difference.