Its Protest Time!

Please attend DFM Movie Night And Bush Protest primer on Thursday, June 29, 2006 at 7:00 PM. You can RSVP at :http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=9702
Come join us as Democracy For Memphis, the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center and other local progressive groups as we join forces to plan a protest action to mark the arrival of President George W. Bush in Memphis this Friday, June the 30th. This action will highlight not only our concerns about the war in Iraq, but the war at home as well, and the cost of human life in this war.
Currently we are making arrangements for permits to protest across the street from Graceland from 10am until Noon Friday June 30th and wish to invite participation from any and all local progressives and like minded groups and associations. This thursday night june 29th at 7pm at Reedmeisters at 3439 park ave, 327-1270, DFM will host a protest primer to make sure all those participating are prepared and aware of any important details in the way of location changes parking and how to protest within the law.
We also will be hosting a screening of the film STREET FIGHT which deals with a grassroots candidate for Mayor in New Jersey and his struggles with the local political machine.
Several speakers will also attend to remind us of why we are progressives and why we are morally obligated to take action.
So spread the word and come on out this thusday night to prepare to give George Bush a warm Memphis welcome

Event Date: Thursday, June 29, 2006
Event Time: 7:00 PM Central

Venue Name: ReedMeister's
Address: 3439 Park Ave.
City: Memphis
State: TN
Zip Code: 38116
Handicapped Accessible: Y
Google Maps
Phone Number: 801-237-2563

Chances Are You Do Not Have Upward Social Mobility

The other day there was a discussion on the Al Franken show about social mobility in the United States. I had heard that the idea of Americans pulling themselves up by their boot straps was becoming anachronistic. In fact if a person lives in almost any other developed country, the chances of middle and lower class people moving up the social ladder is higher than in the United States.

The study focused on two points. “The first is the question of intergenerational mobility, or the degree to which the economic success of children is
independent of the economic status of their parents. A higher level of intergenerational mobility is often interpreted as a sign of greater fairness, or equality of opportunity, in a society. The second aspect is the short-term question of the amount by which family incomes change from year to year. By studying short-term mobility we can determine whether incomes are rising or falling for families at different points in the income distribution. We can also determine whether the size of these income variations, or the level of annual income volatility, is changing over time. Increased volatility is undesirable to the extent that it represents an increase in economic insecurity.”


This is the link to the study of social mobility in the United States. http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7BE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7D/HERTZ_MOBILITY_ANALYSIS.PDF

Here are some main points from the executive summary and conclusion of the study.

Long-Term findings:
Education, race, health and state of residence are four key channels by which
economic status is transmitted from parent to child.
-This is interesting by the fact that health care is becoming such an economic burden. Everyone assumes education levels, race, and living in some bumblefuck state like Tennessee can greatly limit intergenerational social mobility. But the lack of universal healthcare is now contributing to economic stratification too.

African American children who are born in the bottom quartile are nearly twice as
likely to remain there as adults than are white children whose parents had identical incomes, and are four times less likely to attain the top quartile.

The difference in mobility for blacks and whites persists even after controlling for
a host of parental background factors, children’s education and health, as well as
whether the household was female-headed or receiving public assistance.
-This is intolerable. It’s 2006 and it still sucks to be black in America.

After controlling for a host of parental background variables, upward mobility varied by region of origin, and is highest (in percentage terms) for those who grew up in the South Atlantic and East South Central regions, and lowest for those raised in the West South Central and Mountain regions.
-Memphis falls more in the West South Central area of the country (Arkansas and Oklahoma).

By international standards, the United States has an unusually low level of
intergenerational mobility: our parents’ income is highly predictive of our incomes
as adults. Intergenerational mobility in the United States is lower than in France,
Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Among high-income
countries for which comparable estimates are available, only the United Kingdom
had a lower rate of mobility than the United States.
-The New American Way: The rich stay rich and poor stay poor. Rewarding merit is so Horatio Alger. Eliminating estate taxes will definitely fix the problem of America not having a permanent aristocracy.

Key findings relating to short-run, year-to-year income movements include the following:

The overall volatility of household income increased significantly between 1990-91 and 1997-98 and again in 2003-04.
-That fucking sucks.

Since 1990-91, there has been an increase in the share of households who
experienced significant downward short-term mobility. The share that saw their
incomes decline by $20,000 or more (in real terms) rose from 13.0 percent in 1990-91 to 14.8 percent in 1997-98 to 16.6 percent in 2003-04.
-Is this what Bush meant when he talked about an ownership society?

The middle class is experiencing more insecurity of income, while the top decile is experiencing less. From 1997-98 to 2003-04, the increase in downward short-term mobility was driven by the experiences of middle-class households (those earning between $34,510 and $89,300 in 2004 dollars). Households in the top quintile saw no increase in downward short-term mobility, and households in the top decile ($122,880 and up) saw a reduction in the frequency of large negative income shocks.
-So middle class people are less secure and rich people are more secure? Its good those tax cuts for the rich are working.

The median household was no more upwardly mobile in 2003-04, a year when GDP grew strongly, than it was it was during the recession of 1990-91.
-And republicans wonder why people don’t think this is a great economy. Get a clue assholes!

Households whose adult members all worked more than 40 hours per week for two years in a row were more upwardly mobile in 1990-91 and 1997-98 than households who worked fewer hours. Yet this was not true in 2003-04, suggesting that people who work long hours on a consistent basis no longer appear to be able to generate much upward mobility for their families.
-Republican talking point: Rich people are rewarded for working harder than poor and middle class people. Just work harder. BULLSHIT!

So what does this mean for Memphis? Well, we have a predominantly black population. Strike one. We border the area of the country with the lowest rate of social mobility. Strike two. We live in one of the unhealthiest cities in the America. Memphis is the unhealthiest city in America to be a woman. Strike three. (Shit! We’re not even done with the subjects and we’ve already struck out.) Our population is undereducated and the school system isn’t very good. Strike four. This doesn’t even factor in the corruption and incompetence permeating our local and state government.

I once had a friend who told me about a conversation he had with a guy from Lagos, Nigeria. The Nigerian guy described how hard it was for him to watch his country decline. When he was a kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s, it wasn’t unusual for middle class families to have decent houses and kids playing Atari game systems. But by the 90’s, the middle class was almost completely wiped out. People could only dream of the opportunities that once existed only a few years earlier.

Some will say I’m once again being negative.(I seriously tried not to be negative.) That good things are happening in Memphis. There are some good things happen, but I don’t think it is enough and the benefits are not very evenly distributed. In addition, on a national level, I think Memphis is hypersensitive to larger trends. Bankruptcy, healthcare, poverty, public education, and social stratification are all national problems which are extremely pronounced in our city. I don’t want to be like the Nigerian guy in 2012 saying how great the late 1990’s were, but how can I not worry.

Bush's and the GOP's Plan for Iraq

Here is a copy of Bush's and the GOP's plan for the successful completion of the Iraqi Occupation. (Do not adjust your screens, you are seeing it correctly.)

?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?

There isn't one.

Let's All Remember What Southern Republican's Really Want

Makes you sick doesn't it. Southern republicans don't want to extend the voting right's act.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/22/washington/22vote.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Thanks Harold

Harold Ford Jr voted the right way on that ridiculous resolution stunt the republicans put forward this week about the Iraq war.

FedEx Forum

Well it looks like the the thinking that the FedEx forum is a clusterfuck and the city got screwed with the Grizzlies is reaching a critical mass. It was the big subject of Leon Gray's show today. The funny things is none of this information is new. In February of 2005, I was doing a paper about the funding of the FedEx Forum. I got the minutes from a county commission meeting about the parking garage in February 2005. Here they are. It makes for a fascinating read. You should check out the contingency fund scheme as well (but that's another posting).

February 23, 2005
Comm #7 - PUBLIC SERVICE & TOURISM
1:17 pm

Commissioners present:
John Willingham, Chair
David Lillard
George Flinn
Cleo Kirk
Walter Bailey

Guests: Willie Gregory, Sports Authority Board Chair
Lisa Daniels, financial advisor from PFM


Willie Gregory introduces staff.
Willingham asks to track where monies come from that are allocated to
Sports Authority, how they arrive at Wachovia, Wachovia to pay whomever
needs to be paid, then in lower right corner what happens to the county
if funds insufficient. Also hear mumblings that Grizzlies, if
city/county took over responsibility would allow Coliseum and Pyramid to be
used. Otherwise they refuse because they have full responsibility of
success or failure of Forum. However the parachute at lower right in case
sales tax is not sufficient, car rental, hotel/motel tax the PILOT from
MLGW, seat tax - if those become insufficient, then the county/city would
have to pay.

Gregory confirms the same understanding.
Willingham asks Gregory to explain the five categories, if receiving,
where it goes, how gets to Wachovia and where are we in the scheme of
things if we're on target, if PFM projections falling short, timeline,
sufficient funds.

1:20 pm
Gregory will put all in layman terms to fill categories.
Lisa Daniels, financial advisor from PFM will walk through those
questions.

1) PILOT is simplist. MLGW pilot comes in twice year, June and December
contracted amount, right on target $2.5 million annually approximately.

2) TDZ (tourism development zone)- city/county hotel/motel tax dollars,
comes to county to free up Convention Center money to pay to Forum,
comes in once per year from state to Trustee. All goes directly to
Wachovia, who is trustee for bond holders, goes into trust for access for
specific uses.

TDZ defined a perimeter around the city whereas a sales tax is greater
than growth in defined area is greater than growth in county, the
incremental difference is pledged to Convention Center which frees up $ to
pay for Forum. It is a direct one for one sales tax revenue.
Willingham asks where found. Gregory states it is in the indentures.
Kirk assures is in there.

Daniels continues relaying how the 3 revenues go into a senior revenue
fund along with 2 other revenue sources. Eventually in 2017 will be
Hotel/Motel taxes pledged.

3) Sales Tax Rebate dollars - rebate of sales tax on all Grizzlies NBA
events, collected at Forum, recorded on citus(?) number/code to state,
and state sends on monthly basis the sales tax revenue dollars directly
to Wachovia.

4) car rental tax - collected by county clerk and submitted monthly to
Wachovia, fiduciary.
At this point PBA has been paid all that is due to them, no more
construction dollars.
Left now is paying bondholders = eventually after going thru many
iterations falls down to surplus fund if anything left over.

Excess revenues get paid to redeem subordinate bonds.
Of the A/B and CDE bonds - county secures A & B series only. This was
$202 million and $20 million, in effect private investors who invested.
Once clause in 2021 if Grizzlies leave, can collapse series B bonds and
still be hopefully ok the way revenue streams work. The revenue streams
are designed if the two went away in future, could collapse bonds.

1:30 pm
Excess flows to Wachovia, stream to bond holders, balance to ***
First place funds go to a dedicated fixed stream, with excess to excess
subordinate.

If not enough revenues to pay senior A/B bond holders, Wachovia has
debt service reserve fund with $18 million, held by Wachovia. If not
sufficient money flowing , the money from reserve fund then pays bond
holders. City/county pledge on a 50/50 basis pledge to replenish debt service
reserve fund - bondholders are always paid right away and gives
city/county opportunity within a year to replace reserve.

With $10 million shortfall, would draw from reserve, then within one
year $5 million from city and $5 million county - which cannot be ad
valorem property taxes, such as wheel tax (any funds that go into General
fund are not ad valorem monies). This addresses the flow of funds to
some extent.

1:34 pm
Willingham comments on contingency funds being 2.5-3%. Willingham
concerned have no money/ understands Hotel/Motel is somewhat ***. Never
really known that the heck is going on. Willingham questions if someone
gets a bill, someone auditing H/M industry.
1:40 pm
Lisa states actual receipt of county Hotel/Motel dollars does not
affect this cycle. As long as there are Hotel/Motel tax dollars greater than
tourism development zone (TDZ dollars), the TDZ is only affected for a
project already in operation. To attach to Convention Center can
collect immediately and did in 2002. Had attached to Forum and could not
collect until 2004 and would not have the benefit of that 2 years. By
attaching to Convention Center, freeing up money to Convention Center to
go to Forum. Therefore, Hotel/Motel tax does not mean anything for
Forum, only for county.

1:43 pm
Lisa states was designed to build in cushion, but based on current
projections, after bondholders are paid in May, hopefully there will be
$180,000 balance, although do not expect to have to dip into those funds.

Bailey asks how much TDZ has increased by virtue of Grizzlies'
presence.
Lisa not sure possible to figure without diving into TDZ, whose balance
depends on MLGW. TDZ is affected by weather and county's use of MLGW
services, and not so much the intended design to be with Grizzlies.

Huntzicker states was originally slated for downtown, but rely on
countywide sales tax. As goes the sales tax with MLGW, so goes the TDZ.
Really just saying MLGW sales tax.
Lisa states more cyclical and volatile.

Willingham asks if for 25 years or $64 million - are one in same or
separate?
Recalls the number couple years ago that MLGW contribution to big
picture was $2.5 million for 26 years (separate from TDZ per Lisa). All they
have to do is raise utilities price to get their money.

Kirk states LGW borrowed money to make changes, about to be paid off
and just continued it over.

1:47 pm
Willingham asks some questions plaguing commission.
Original architectural scheme was to imitate to a degree the project in
Indianapolis (Conseco) but part of involvement of federal and state DOT
was parking garage and intermodal transportation system. Letter from
former Mayor Jim Rout to Governor Don Sundquist spoke to a 6 story garage
with 1800 spaces. We have 5 story with 1500 spaces with no office
building in plan. We have to come up with $5 million to complete garage and
aesthetics required by Beale Street and cultural environment design
requirements to maintain uniformity with Beale Street, somewhat New
Orleans style, and those things are gone. Who had authority to take out, who
approved and how do you change those things, where does the money go?
Wondering what we gave up.

Gregory states responsible for financing building; these are probably
PBA questions.
Willingham asking Gregory - was he ever asked about removing those
things? No. Sports Authority was not asked.

1:52 pm
Lisa states this May 2005 $5.2 million due and approximately $12
million per year to build to approximately $18 million according to growth.

Bailey asks about impact on sales tax rebate as well as rental tax, and
asks do we have experience with respect to Grizzlies' presence. Lisa
states all sales tax is from Grizzlies games.
Have received $8 million in sales tax rebates.

Bailey asks if meeting expectations?
No per Lisa, not meeting original budgeted numbers and based upon
season before this one, it's about $2.5 million short from original pledge.
Total aggregate is $2.5 million over a 3 year period.

Willingham thanks everyone.
2:00 pm
end


You see the Fed Ex Forum is fucked up. Maybe people should start thinking if the Forum was this screwed, what about the rest of downtown development? Between 1995 and 2009 a total of $3.8 billion will be poured into downtown. Was there ever really a debate about this? Anyone ask the people of Frayser, Raliegh, Whitehaven, and Hickory Hill if this was a wise plan. Maybe it's dawning on the people of Memphis and Shelby that the policy making for local government is not transparent and dominated by rich elites. None of this is a surprise. Just look at the Capital improvement budget of the city of Memphis. For FY2006, as of December 2005, it was $261 million. Over the next five years it was supposed to be $1.9 billion. That's an average of $380 million a year. Herenton anounces that the budget is fixed a month or so ago. All he did was cut the Capital improvement budget by $100 million. Yet we are only $8 million ahead? What about the next four years when the city was going to spend $260 million more per year on average? With the FedEx Forum so screwed up, what has the local government, especailly the city been doing with the money in capital improvement budget over the past 10 or more years? If you could cut $260 million, what were you spending it on? And this horseshit of county commissioners and city council members saying that they didn't know what happened is rediculous. I can only come to a few conclusions. Either you are incompetent, you are lazy and not willing to do the job of oversight, or you maybe getting kickbacks to look the other way. How can I come to any other conclusion.
Are you now kind of seeing we're screwed. We've left these people in charge of putting all the hopes of saving our city from becoming Detroit in the downtown redevelopment plan. While downtown has improved, what about the rest of city and even county? Median incomes dropping, property taxes rising, huge swaths of city falling into disrepair and poverty, not to mention the rising crime. When are people going to ask was pouring all the resources of city into downtown redevelopment good for the overall population or the elites?

Memphis: A Dying City, America: A Crumbling Nation

This is going to be rambling but fuck it. It's just the thoughts that come into my mind when I go around the city.
I came back to Memphis January 2, 2005. I had been back to visit a few times since 2000, but I didn't pay too much attention and only saw a few parts of the city. Since January 2 2005, I have had the fortune to be in a bubble, living next to the University of Memphis and working downtown near the Peabody. I didn't have to drive through Frayser, South Memphis, Raliegh, or Hickory Hill. But I got a new job that takes me around the city and into the surrounding counties. I now see how poor and decrepit our city has become. Perhaps people don't realize how bad the city is falling apart. The Poplar corridor, Walnut Grove, HWY 385, Interstate 55 into Desoto county, and Interstate 40 to Fayette County offer commuters a way into the city to earn a living without having to see much of the decline. But even on those roads the signs of decay can be seen. Certainly, driving back and forth the same route of everyday can numb us, but take a good look. How many subpar apartment complexes and crumbling neighborhoods are hidden behind curtains of trees line the interstates? How many closed warehouses, factories, and retail stores can be seen if you really pay attention? Hell, how little maintenance of the roads and medians is done by the city? Overgrown weeds, trash, and debris line the roads. You want a real shock. Get off the south leg of I-240 at Lamar and drive all the way to downtown. If you are not sickened that such a long stretch of American city can exist in such a state, than you are a poor excuse for a human being and a citizen. But don't end your tour on Lamar, you still have Frayser Boulevard, Chelsea, Third, Danny Thomas, Trigg, Weaverly, Tillman, Austin Peay, half of Park Avenue, most of Jackson, and any road named after a state. If you don't know where these streets are, look at a map, and go take a drive. Remind yourself of just how much of this city is buried under grinding poverty.

Yet a few minutes away, are the aforementioned 8 lane highways or as I like to think of them, gaint tape worms sucking the life out of the city. These are asphalt enabling mechanisms of outsourcers. Yes outsourcers. Perhaps you are one of these 88,000 people who live outside Memphis and Shelby County but work here. Only 1 in 3 employed adults in Desoto County actually work there. I wonder if you outsourcers ever experience a shadow of guilt. Making a living off the city but not contributing whether it is tax dollars or civic participation. Do you know in the deep recesses of your mind that your outsourced living is really no different from a company moving a factory to China? (But that's a whole nother discussion.) I'm starting to feel a shadow of guilt myself. I sometimes think, "I've got to get the fuck out of this city. There's no hope. The politics are so corrupt, the rich so powerfully entrenched, and poor so numerous that nothing can be done to stop the decline." So I will most likely someday rationalize away my own escape from Memphis. Proving I have the luxury of mobility and no better moral integrity than some ex-Shelby Countian asshole mortgaged up to their eyeballs, driving an SUV, and going to a mega church off Goodman road.

Who is to blame though? There certainly is enough to go around. The city council and County Commission deserve their fair share of blame. There members have been on the council and commission for years. 9 years on average for the council. (I don’t have much faith in the majority of new people elected the commission. ) The council and commission went along to get along, so they have blood on their hands. How about the economic elites of the city? Most certainly, they’ve done well rigging government policy for their benefit. Many try to assuage their guilt by giving “generously” to nonprofits. Memphis has one of the highest rates of nonprofit organizations in relation to general population in the nation. It’s nice that their noblisse oblige is funding good works, but there is a by product to this. Having a million nonprofits fractures a possible progressive political front concerned with addressing poverty in a comprehensive way. Having nonprofits fight each other for funding keeps them from organizing on issues like tax reform and government policy. Is it really a surprise that Fred Smith gives “generously” to nonprofits with one hand, while serving as a board member and donor to the CATO Institute on the other? Concentrating wealth in a few hands in order for them to dole it out in whatever way they fancy later. That just sounds fucked up and it is fucked up. How about Herenton? Oh Herenton, if he was a mayor in Romania, the citizens would have chased him out of town with torches and pitchforks like Frankenstein. I will give him props though, that boxing match bullshit is a stroke of genius. It solidifies his base of support while driving down the overall vote. People who would have possibly voted against him have even more justification to believe that the mayor is crazy and the political system is beyond repair. So why even bother to vote, just move to South Haven. But the most disappointing politician is AC Wharton. Who else has so much political capital but doesn’t do anything with it but cut deals with republicans in order to not shake up the system. AC is talented though, has any elected official overseen the median family income of his county decline from $43,000 to $41,000 and debt go through the roof, yet still gets 95+% of vote in the Democratic primary? Amazing. The benefits of having Herenton to stand next too.

Perhaps the most disheartening part of Memphis crumbling under poverty is the indifference. People don’t give a fuck. Or even worse, assume that is just the way it is. I may offend some people I know who think downtown is great, but is it really worth getting all excited about 5 blocks of South Main being turned into goddamn art galleries and coffee shops, when over 5 miles of Lamar looks like Beruit circa 1982. I have been a lot of places around the world and outside of underdeveloped countries I have never seen such a tolerance to huge sections of cities being dilapidated. It’s not like this in Spain, Germany, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands or Belgium. Hell, it isn’t like this in Canada. There is no such thing as the common good anymore. (I guess aside from debt, that is the lasting accomplishment of Milton Friedman and Republicans.) No matter what you tell yourself to the contrary, America is not a good, just, or equitable society. You and I are part of and responsible for a failure affecting too many of our fellow citizens. We have no excuse. America is the wealthiest country in the world. We are 4% of the world’s population yet consume 25% of the earth’s resources. But some how huge sections of our urban and rural areas, especially Memphis, are in decline. In 1975, America was number one on the human development index, by 2002 we were number 8. All I ask is that when you drive around the city, open your eyes, pay attention to what you see, and ask why does it have to be this way when it doesn’t need to be.