Duck the Puck
Taxpayers of Arizona beware: There is a hockey puck coming at you and, if it hits you, it will cost you a lot of money. You probably know what I mean: The Arizona Coyotes Hockey big wigs are howling for a new stadium. They, of course, do not want their millionaire owners or players to pay for it. They want your money! I suggest that you “duck the puck” and keep your eyes peeled for the various creative ways in which they will try to pick your pocket.
Whenever crime statistics regarding minorities are reported there is almost always an editorial comment made that minorities are arrested at higher rates than they represent in the total population. But that is misleading. The real question should be whether they are arrested at greater rates than they represent in the population of those who commit crimes.
Many of us enjoy watching Christmas classics such as “A Christmas Carol” over the holiday season. I got to thinking about some of Scrooge’s comments and wondering if there isn’t some value to his suggestions. I would admit up front that donating to causes such as helping the unemployed and homeless and children is certainly a good idea and Scrooge was wrong to not do so but it does seem to me that there should be someplace where an unemployed and homeless person could go to offer his services in exchange for lodging and food. Similarly, there should be some place where children are cared for in a humane group setting that would offer an immediate refuge to children in need. Are workhouses and orphanages really such a bad idea?
There is no more important government expenditure than public safety and the Phoenix Police Department is short about 400 officers. Meanwhile, the Citizens Transportation Commission that I am a member of is overseeing the spending of more than 30 billion dollars between now and 2050. Why not put some of that money into hiring police officers? This is not a new idea. I was also on the prior Citizens Committee on the Future of Phoenix Transportation that recommend the sales tax increase last August (I voted no) and, as a part of those deliberations, we recommended transferring 16 million dollars to the Phoenix Police Department. We need to keep our priorities in the proper order and I think nearly all Phoenix taxpayers would approve of this move.
Blood donation incentives
Newspaper articles have appeared recently about the need for blood donations during the holidays. My recommendation is for blood donation agencies such as United Blood Services (UBS) is to return to use of incentives like lapel pins and plaques that recognize the quantity of blood donated. I have some experience as both a lifelong donor and someone who has set up blood donation campaigns. Unfortunately, UBS has “simplified” their incentives by using things like movie tickets and drawings rather than lapel pins and plaques which, albeit, require more record keeping and staff work. But they aren’t as effective. The lapel pins show the number of gallons donated and are more effective because they allow the donor to both advertise for UBS and express pride in being a donor. I often had conversations with people who would see my lapel pin and ask about how to donate or would express amazement at the number of gallons on the pin (each gallon is eight donations). These pins also inspire competition among fellow donors.
And I remember the pride I had when I reached the ten-gallon level and received a plaque with my name on it. I displayed it prominently on the wall of my office and it evoked comments of admiration. I believe that it also inspired others to donate. Several years later I hit the twenty-gallon mark, but, by then, UBS had stopped giving out the plaques. When I expressed my disappointment to a UBS staff member, he took it upon himself to have a plaque made for me. That plaque also occupies a prominent place on my office wall and gives me an incentive to continue donating. I realize that pins and plaques take a little more work in record keeping but I think the extra effort would pay dividends in many ways.
The Nov 19 Arizona Republic headline “Pedal Power vs Traffic Flow” makes a point that is long overdue and motivates one to ask what is the purpose of transportation planning? Closing traffic lanes to accommodate bicycles is currently politically popular but extremely inefficient. In Phoenix, this was done on my nearby street, 15th Ave, and now traffic is backed up for blocks at rush hour. Prior to this change I had enjoyed driving on 15th Ave for over 37 years but recently I have given up and I now drive over to 7th Ave or 19th Ave to avoid the congestion. Naturally, this increases the traffic on 7th and 19th. Sometimes I must drive several blocks in the opposite direction of my intended destination. This contributes to delay in my travels and to pollution and congestion. It is also costly for other drivers. For what purpose? Is it so that a very small number of people on bicycles can ride in the street rather than on the sidewalk? I believe that these small benefits to bicyclists pale in comparison to the enormous costs to motorists.
As a member of the Phoenix Citizens Transportation Commission I have expressed the opinion that I understand the need for give and take in these plans and that, if there are enough bicycle riders to warrant these changes, I will adjust my driving patterns. But, as an occasional bicycle rider myself, it is apparent that the number of bicycles is very low. In fact, Phoenix does not even collect bicycle ridership information on a regular basis.
Let’s bring some sanity back to our transportation planning.
Everyone is commenting on the reason for Trump’s victory so here is mine: The American people are simply sick and tired of being kicked around by their government. The government wants to tell us how to raise our children, how much water we can have in our toilets, what kind of light bulbs we can buy, and a thousand other directives. Unfortunately, there is an element of society that likes to control other people’s lives. This element knows what is best for us and will force it on us. Some refer to these control freaks as “coercive utopians” and a high concentration of them live in and around our nation’s capitol. That is why this part of our country provided over 90% of its votes to one of the most coercive of the utopians-Hillary Clinton.
Most Americans would simply like the federal government to “Butt Out” of our personal lives and they saw Mr Trump as more likely to respond to this need.
Narrowing streets is a bad idea
The City of Phoenix is planning to narrow Osborn and Missouri. This is a bad idea. Supposedly it will benefit bikers and walkers but the City has no data on the use of these roads by either bikers or walkers. And what about the expense to drivers? I routinely use these roads as alternates for Indian School and Camelback. If one lane of traffic is eliminated on Osborn and Missouri it will just dump more traffic on the already crowed arterials.
Why would Phoenix even consider such a ridiculous move? This is leftist mentality at work that wants to force people out of their automobiles and onto mass transit or bicycles. The purpose of the Phoenix transportation planning department SHOULD be to find ways to get people to their destinations as quickly and efficiently as possible, NOT to satisfy some leftist planner’s idea of what “Complete Streets” (the latest buzz word) should look like.
“Complete Streets” is not appropriate except possibly for the densest areas of downtown Phoenix. While City planners are busy removing lanes of traffic, the congestion in our city is only getting worse. Please let your council person know that you want them to adjust their priorities to preserve sanity in our planning.
The small group of spokespersons on the No side of the debate over Prop 205, the ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana, are being dishonest. They pick out provisions of the measure that would likely irritate most voters, such as the creation of a large regulatory agency or the grant of monopoly business privileges to marijuana dispensary owners. This makes it appear that they agree with the majority of Arizona voters on the big issue, that is, in the belief that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and that the government should not be able to stop adults from responsibly using it. Their argument is disingenuous. For proof, just ask the opponents what changes would be required in the ballot measure for them to support it. Their answer is none. These opponents do not favor any law that would allow responsible adult use of marijuana. They are simply out of touch with the mainstream of Arizona voters but do not want to admit it.
AZ Lottery Department Chutzpah
What if I said that I want to steal as much as I can while maintaining my integrity? Sounds stupid doesn’t it? Well, our Arizona State Lottery Commission has a similar mission, and, I would contend, infinite chutzpah. I recently attended a Governor’s Regulatory Review Commission-GRRC meeting where the Lottery Commission rules were discussed. The Lottery representative began her presentation by stating that their mission was to “maximize revenue for the department while maintaining the dignity of the state.” I testified that this was an impossible mission because it is unseemly and tawdry for any government entity to be in the gaming business, and it is certainly beneath the dignity of the state. This activity should be confined to the private sector with regulation and taxation as appropriate.
A more honest mission statement for the lottery would be “to fleece Arizona residents who are mostly poor and insufficiently educated to realize what awful returns the Arizona Lottery produces.”
roymilleraz 