Crime Smothers Economic Recovery
My latest column has been posted at the Rock River Times, check it out:
In a recent report on crime in Winnebago County, former Rockford Register Star executive editor Linda Grist Cunningham concluded that fears about Winnebago County crime are “more hype than fact.” Given Rockford’s reputation for being somewhere between Mad Max and Grand Theft Auto, that may be superficially true, however, her assessment fails to acknowledge the profound impact both crime and the fear of crime have on society as a whole, particularly on the local economy.
In other words, crime is not merely an issue of criminal and victim, courts and judges, costs and savings. Crime and the economy are intimately connected, and a safe and prosperous community cannot be built without taking that connection seriously. Dismissing public perception as hype or irrelevant is not helpful.
It is no coincidence that Winnebago County has been in the top five Illinois counties in terms of both crime and unemployment rates for more than a decade. Robberies, especially armed robberies, have a devastating effect on business. It is not just money taken during the robbery that is lost—the damage can be measured in terms of customers who stop visiting for fear they will be there at the wrong time, employees who are too scared to come back to work, and in difficulty in hiring new employees. As a result, a business that was already operating at the margins can be forced to close, lowering surrounding property values and adding to urban blight.
Read the entire column at the Rock River Times
Rockford’s Fatal Conceit
My latest column has been posted at the Rock River Times, check it out:
To many people, it seems natural to think that an elite group of central planners can accomplish more than free people pursuing their own interests. When there is a problem in the economy, they reason, government action is the best way to solve it. This is often called Keynesian economics, after the economist John Maynard Keynes, who believed that government should spend tax dollars to stimulate the economy. More than that, this belief embraces the notion that a very small number of politically-connected individuals know where, when, and how the rest of us should spend our money as well.
Economist F.A. Hayek called this notion a “fatal conceit,” because no one person or group of people can ever hope to manage the complexities of a modern economy. Unfortunately, the predictable results of government intervention in the economy is that government grows even larger than before, a few well-connected people get rich, public debt increases, and the average citizen is left out of the process. More unfortunate still is the fact that the Rockford political class, and politicians in Winnebago County generally, seem to be enamored with this top-down approach.
Read the entire column at the Rock River Times
New Website for Keepin it Kleen
I’m happy to announce that I the Rock River Times, Rockford’s independent newspaper, will join southern Illinois’ monthly Disclosure News Magazine in publishing my opinion columns. My columns will appear every two weeks in the Times, while they are still published once a month in Disclosure. All of my columns will be archived here, but I am happy to announce that both my columns and my weekly radio show will also be accessible via one convenient website, makleen.com (where all posts are available via e-mail subscription), or via Kindle subscription. So, check back for weekly updates!
Can Our Republic Survive?
By Michael Kleen
Past the sea of colorful yard signs and half-empty polling places, the contentious candidate forums, robo calls, and gray haired election judges, stands a question about the fundamental legitimacy of our form of government. Without a significant shift in public interest, can our republic survive? Will it be possible to have a healthy election for local, state, and national representatives without a new generation of educated volunteers, judges, public officials, and voters to sustain it?
I am guessing that most people who read this column will never have participated in a primary election. A primary election is an election in which the established political parties decide who their candidates will be in the general election in November. It is open to the public; one only has to ask for a Democratic or Republican ballot. These elections are important because, ideally, they present a number of different candidates for any particular public office and allow the voters to decide which of those candidates best represent their views. If you want an incumbent out of office, the primary election is the easiest way to make that change. Recent experience has taught me, however, that the primary process is in serious trouble, at least in the State of Illinois.
First, the majority of primary races are uncontested, and those that are contested usually come down to only two candidates. So out of all the lawyers, business owners, community leaders, teachers, and otherwise qualified people in a county or district, 99.99 percent of them have no interest in running for public office. In the County Board Chairman race in Winnebago County (pop. 295,266), for example, there were only two Republicans running against each other in the primary, with no Democratic candidate to oppose the winner come November.
Machesney Voters Should Reject Sales Tax Extension
By Michael Kleen
March 20, voters in the Village of Machesney Park will have the option of renewing a 1 percent sales tax that was levied in 2008 to pay for road repairs and construction. The imposition of this tax brought the combined state and local sales tax on most retail items in the village to 8.25 percent.
A misleading campaign by proponents of the tax is taking an “all-or-nothing” approach, claiming that roads will go unrepaired in the village if this sales tax is not approved. I believe Machesney Park voters should look past these arguments and reject the sales tax extension. Instead, the village should levy a small land-value tax, which would accomplish its goal of funding roads without all the negative side effects of a sales tax.
“Citizens for Roads,” a private and largely union-funded committee in favor of the tax, in conjunction with village officials, has begun a campaign to “inform” voters about the benefits of the 1 percent road tax, which will expire in 2013. In their arguments, they imply that there are only two ways of funding road construction, a sales tax or a bond issuance. Bonds are an inferior revenue source, they say, because the village will have to pay interest on them. That is fair enough, but voters need to ask themselves why these are the only two options. Surely, there are other ways of paying for roads.
My 2012 Election Headquarters
For those of you who weren’t aware, I wanted to let you know that I am running for Winnebago County Board in this upcoming primary. My campaign theme is “It’s time for some common sense and accountability in local government!” I am pushing for more openness, more efficiency, lower taxes and fees, and better communication between county officials and their constituents. I have created a website, www.citizensforkleen.org, to better inform the voters about myself and my positions, as well as to provide a place where supporters can donate or volunteer. Make sure to check it out!
