My Letter to the Editor of the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report...

No, I oppose of those in power using a system to gain advantage for not only those they don't serve but their own constituents, but then turning around when their own personal self interests are threatened and agendas ruffled, they immediately cry afoul and bemaon the same system they themselves used.

What's good for Dardenne's gooses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and elsewhere throughout the state where he went pimping for TIF's isn't good for his Baton Rouge constinuency's gander when it threatens their grip on economic area in the five parish Baton Rouge metro area...

It doesn't matter, though...State Supreme Court judges allowed us to approve the TIF through local election...

Because, in reality, the taxes are money from the local community that our elected representatives in the form of the Sherriff's office, the Mayor's Office, the Parish President's Office, the Parish Council's Office, and even the Livingston Parish School Board Superintendent's Office as well as the LP School Board have all approved of-UNANIMOUSLY!

One old fart-an old @sshole who always writes letters to the editor of the Denham Springs news named Ponder Jones-stood in the way of this boon of economic development for the city and the parish, and allowed himself to be a tool of Baton Rouge area politicians who view Denham Springs exactly as I explained it in that letter...parents house when you're home from college...A place to drop the laundry and lay your head before you're off again on your way, without a care to what happens when you're gone...

The bottom line is that it'll be put on the ballots, and the WILL OF THE PEOPLE WILL SPEAK via an election. The people who pay the taxes themselves will tell Ponder Jones, Rolfe McCollister, Dardenne, and the new owners of Spillway Sportsmen (Who sh!t a brick after the owners had sold it to them only a few months before they found out about Bass Pro) where to stick it...

The bottom line is that the PEOPLE OF THE AREA WISH THIS TO BE SO. WE WISH TO ENTICE THIS DEVELOPMENT TO THIS AREA. We communicated that through our elected government officials, and throughout the legislative, judicial, and even the executive branches of our local government, all signed off. Having the public do it will be an afterthought, and in the end, at the end of the day, the people who are taxed will ultimately take back their ability to USE THEIR TAX MONEY AS THEY SEE FIT...

That is what's at the center of this controversy for me...It's our tax $, and someone is telling us we can't do with it what we like.

But that's okay...The election in April will alleviate all my concerns, and render your argument pointless...It will come to pass, and your total lack of involvement or tax dollars will not matter...

We'll get what WE want...and we'll spend our money AS WE PLEASE...and that will be the end of it.

 

if the US congress passes really high taxes, i am sure they will argue it is in our economic interest, but that doesnt mean they are right.

right, and they are stupid enough to approve their own tax money to stand in the way of the free market, then they are too dumb to know whats best for them. it sure does suck for the supporters of the free market who are coerced by force to pay for your projects.

the same thing can be said for every tax ever passed. the people who passed the taxes were officials elected by the people. still doesnt make it a good idea.

there should really be no "our" except in cases of defense and vital infrastructure and such. you talk like a collectivist. you can cannot speak for a whole community and say "we want this". what you mean is "i want this". there are people in your area who dont give a damn and dont want their money forcibly taken from them. but you dont care about their freedom. you do not care about the freedom of businesses to compete on equal footing.

if all that matters is what the voters say, and you cannot possibly disagree with it? what if the voters wanted to triple taxes? would you agree with john kerry wanting to raise taxes if he were elected, merely because people voted for him? there is a smart way and a atupid way to manage an economy, and it isnt always what voters favor. they do not fully realize the value of a more free market. they are not smart enough to know what is best for them.

you do not understand my point.

for example, i realize that canada is justified to have socialist health care system, its terrible and stupid, but they want it. so fine, they are morons, congratulations to them. the will of the people is often terrible, and they do not realize it because they trhink they are getting something out it. so canadians are forced to pay high taxes for a "free" health care system (which is actually not only not free, but extra expensive because distancing buyers and sellers with government intervention raises prices for everyone), because voters do not understand capitalism. the reality is the high taxes cripple their economy. but they stupidly claim they have a great health care system. they, like you, will say "WE WANT IT!", while working against the freedom of the capitalist marketplace system that would make them rich if they would leave it unfettered.

right, i understand, you are an opponent of financial freedom, and favor government manipulation of the marketplace, crushing those who want to run private businesses independent of the government, as well as those who want to spend their own money, and not have it taken from them for a fishing supplies store. you do not care for the guy who owns a rival store, who employs people and is in business because of the merit of the goods and services he provides, you favor the business pushed into existence by the forced payent by citizens.

tax and spend, tax and spend, thats the way to prosperity right?

TE is demonstrating what is wrong with both political parties today. they do not understand the ideals they often claim to stand for. they favor what they want, when they want it, and they are too short sighted to understand what is happening. they will vote their own freedoms away because they want the paternalistic government to handle things for them.

 

Call me what you like, but watch the %...and you can say "some people" but who have you talked to? The ONLY people who oppose it that you know BY NAME are the ones I HAVE TOLD YOU ABOUT!

Rail all you like, but we will get what we want...and bloviating in a long-winded resopnse about collectivism and economics makes me no nevermind...Because you do not matter. You are not here. You haven't seen the area you've grown up in raped economically for decades...Hell, you were so enraged by religion that you caught the first thing smoking out of the South up to the friendly confines of the "Center of the Universe"...

Why do you care what we do here? What difference does it make? If you were so worried about us, why didn't you stay here, or move to where I am, in an attempt to make a difference?

Have fun responding...Get the last word...I'll be laughing the first day it opens...

 

I want my local government to spend my $ in the way that will be best for the local community...and this will be a godsend in terms of economic development...Short term we will not suffer, and long term, we will not suffer...We will benefit...

Give me a break...You're a joke...and by the way...I'm a Registered Independent...

 

yes i guess you are right, 100% of your community will vote with you. how could i be so crazy, assuming that there are people who do not favor spending their hard earned tax dollars on bass pro shops. they might want to buy things for themselves, but you know whats best for them.

1. TE's rule number 1: when disagreeing with martin, drop some comments about religion, because most people here disagree with him about that. even if it is completely irrelevant.

incidentally, i love the south. and even if i didnt, there are religious people everywhere, and not only that, i love religious people. so i guess your statement is flawed in a few ways.

the discussion is an argument about concepts. specifically government funding of private ventures. location has nothing to with it. i like to further the ideals of free market capitalism. i like capitalism. and like i said, i love the south.

in free speech alley, people discuss things. you posted your very ostentatiously written opinion, and explicitly asked for feedback. you were presumably very proud of your opinion, so it upsets you that your opinions are foolish. if you would like, i could not offer feedback on your terrible opinions and you could be blissfully ignorant. i know you have difficulty staying on topic, and you would prefer some ad hominem stuff, but i let you slide, and i judge your opinions by a lower standard, because i know it is difficult for you.

hey you did your best. you are miserably wrong, but at least you tried.

thanks for giving me the last word, i appreciate it.

 

I can see both sides of this arguement.

Bass Pro Shops is a huge entitiy that thrives. I know the one here in Dallas does unbelievable and is always crowded, and Dallas does not have near the hunting and fishing as south Louisiana does. This store would create jobs for many people during the construction phase and in order to run the store, plust it gives the sportsman a place to shop or just hang out.

BUT, it would be the only Bass Pro Shops in south Louisiana. The amount of traffic that would be associated with this store would be unreal (people from all of south Louisiana would plan day trips to go there to see the spectacle that is Bass Pro Shops). Many people in your area might not want the hassle of high traffic volume in the area (note...higher traffic volume means more accidents, more police presence needed for these accidents and to patrol the roads and parking lots). Big stores often tend to bring the bad element out, the shoplifters, car thiefs, purse snatchers, pick pockets, armes robbers. the residents of your community may not be ready or willing to deal with this problem.

So you have a lot of the arguements both sides would present. I think it is better to have the Bass Pro SHops some place else like Baton Rouge, Kenner, or Metairie.

 

To say that Denham Springs will get two new state approved interstate exits, millions in infrastructure enhancements already promised by Blanco as part of the package, and that we will not be taxing anyone MORE than they already are, just redirecting the tax towards an enticement package that will be paid off over time back to the taxing authority...It just doesn't make sense to disagree with it.

It also attracts MORE than just Bass Pro...Two other big box retailers, as well as-amazingly!-local retailers are already lined up in droves to populate the surrounding retail spaces Denham is planning on building-along with the Bass Pro financing...

It's not a NEW tax...It's not something that will never be paid back...But, some people are so conusmed by their personal animosity towards individual posters that they'll go after that poster by dragging up threads months old and arguments already stale...trying to dredge up anything they can do to try to disagree with them...

But, the piont still stands...Our tax dollars will be put to work to make Denham Springs a better place to live, to thrive economically, and to fuel much needed interstate exits, road repairs, and other vital infrasctructure improvements...

 

What happens if the Bass Pro fails? I know you are very confident in this thing, but what if it doesn't do well?? Do you think taxpayers should foot the bill for something if it fails to create a profit???

 

Bass Pro is legally obligated and insured to pay back the enticement package over time. They are insured, as is the bond money Denham Springs will use to implement the enticements. So, even if they fail, we will be insured to get our money back.

There is no 100% sure bet. I get that. But, this is as close to a slam dunk as possible. Go around to any location in America...They not only thrive, but they dominate, and they make huge profits...Which will equal ancillary benefits, and HUGE dividends paid back on this investment in the years to come...

Again, this is not a new tax. This is a tax redirection graduated over the course of a few years, that will be repaid, and the money-on both ends-is insured. The will of the people through a popular election, through their elected government officials, through law enforcement, and even the principals who ordinarily would be receiving the taxes are unanimous in their support. The entire community-during the entire time this saga has dragged on-has seen ONE person stand up to support the opposition to the construction. One person. He succeeded in nothing other than prolonging the inevitable.

I am happy it will take place, and I'm happy the State Supreme Court-much wiser than any of us here-will allow us to use this method of financing in order to serve the people of the Parish and the City itself. It is much needed. The bottom line is that no matter the names that are tossed out or the insults that are hurled, this is something the community needed and wanted. Thankfully, the community will get what we need. You may not like the process. You may not agree with it. You may not like me for supporting it. You may call me names. But, you don't have to. You don't live here. You don't have any attachment here. You do not understand, nor care to understand what we have gone or go through every day...

To talk about idealogical high grounds when politics as usual has subjugated this area for so long is funny...Then, we find a way to do something that has nothing but positives, and we're attacked by outsiders who take the economic moral high ground...

Who cares how long we were screwed and by what despicable political methods...You're not doing it "the right way", so you're all buffoons...

Rich...

 

TE,

Answer me a question. I am not familar with this whole situation in particular, so answer me a question...

If Bass Pro is doing so well everywhere, why do they need this? Is it possible that Bass Pro recognizes some extra risk there and thus won't come unless they have some cooperation from local government??