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October 2008
Nov. 4 riot preparations not necessary in Gwinnett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Deputies in Richmond and Columbia counties are taking an eight-hour course today to deal with potential civil unrest or overexuberant celebrating after Tuesday’s presidential election, according to The Augusta Chronicle.
No, authorities don’t expect any problems. Nevertheless, as many as 60 deputies were to learn crowd control and dispursement techiques.
I e-mailed Gwinnett County Police Chief Charles Walters to see if similar preparations were taking shape here.
His reply: “We have no indication of those type incidents occuring here.”
Great, but does that mean plans or departmental meetings have, or haven’t, been held to prepare?
Reply No. 2: “This agency’s only comment is that we have no indication of the type of behavior you asked about.
Unsatisfied, I got Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. David Schiralli on the horn.
“{Election Day} will be a routine business day for us,” he said. “We would handle any incident on a case-by-case incident. If something were to happen, the department has procedures in place to implement immediately.”
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Not every good project deserves a TAD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Besides electing a president, Gwinnett County voters must make a decision about a proposed constitutional amendment.
On the ballot, it’s listed as Amendment No. 2:
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize community redevelopment and authorize counties, municipalities, and local boards of education to use funds for redevelopment purposes and programs?
The law would allow the creation of TADS - special tax allocation districts. The growth in value of the property is diverted to developers to finance renewal projects.
I wrote about this issue in a column that appeared on Feb. 2, 2008, in the Gwinnett News. I said that TADs were indeed viable funding mechanisms for truly blighted areas whose redevelopment proved too costly for local governments and developers. My example: the OFS Brightwave fiber optics plant at Jimmy Carter Boulevard and I-85, which would require expensive sewer and infrastructure upgrades.
But as we have seen in metro Atlanta, sometimes the term blighted is applied to areas that don’t fit the bill. Examples: Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta and, in Suwanee, the area surrounding Exit 111 off 1-85 where growth is occurring naturally.
Not every good project merits a TAD.
The question is: Should they be allowed at all?
You get to decide the issue on Nov. 4.
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Depression days brought to mind
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Elwood Hart lived in Canada during the Great Depression. He considers himself lucky. A Salvation Army was next to the family’s home in Hamilton, Ontario.
“Maybe it was a bowl of soup or a bologna sandwich, but I got something to eat,” said Hart, now a Lawrenceville resident. “If it weren’t for that, I don’t think we could have ever made it. We weren’t living in the United States, but the situation was the same all over.”
Comparisons and contrasts are being drawn between the current economic crisis and the Great Depression. Conventional wisdom says this is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Generally, experts say the odds of a full-blown depression are nonexistent. Let’s hope they are right.
Not many of us were around between 1929 and 1939, so we can’t compare the impact of that period’s economic crisis to today’s turmoil. Hart is now in his mid-80s, so his take on what he saw then and what he sees now carries weight.
We met years ago at the Gwinnett County Veterans War Museum, where his military career is on display. He served with the Canadian Army in Normandy during World War II. With the U.S. Army, he saw two tours of duty in Korea and Vietnam. He received an honorable discharge in 1967.
As for the Great Depression, “I remember it well,” Hart said. “People don’t realize what it was like back then.”
He remembers people lining up at food banks to get a hunk of cheese and powdered milk. He remembers stuffing newspapers in his shoes because they were way too big. And he remembers a white pet rabbit that just disappeared one day.
“I got up one morning and asked my dad where my rabbit was,” Hart told me. “He said, ‘It’s down your stomach. You had it for dinner.’ You ate anything you could get back then. There was no waste of clothes or food. Today, when I throw out trash, wild animals won’t find any food. I don’t throw it away.”
But how does that compare to today’s economic woes, particularly among everyday people barely making it?
Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, Hart drives to a local Publix to load his car with day-old breads, cakes and pastries. When he pulls up to the Salvation Army, where the goods are doled out, people are waiting.
“It’s gotten so bad right now that there are twice as many every day as there were a couple of months ago,” he said. “In fact, it’s so bad that, a lot of time, me or some of the women in the church have to stand there. We have a sign that says everyone is to get two loaves of bread and a pastry. If you don’t watch them, they will fill up on all they can get. That’s why I say things are getting bad, similar to the 1930s, I tell you.”
As a brass collector, Hart routinely visits Goodwill stores in search of treasures. He said he’s seen a noticeable uptick in the number of people buying clothes. And at his church, clothes donations have fallen off considerably.
“It’s not that bad yet now,” Hart said.
“But it’s getting there.”
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Stadium deal hits Gwinnett race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some residents pledged to “vote Democrat” shortly after Gwinnett County officials revealed that the new baseball stadium would cost $59 million instead of $40 million.
“I’d vote for anyone other than Charles Bannister,” Lawrenceville resident Steve Grant said in a Sept. 10 story that appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m just furious about the stadium deal.”
But is that fury enough to make an impact come Nov.4?
Is it enough to put a Democrat in office in this heavily-Republican county?
Democrats hold no countywide office. The commission chairman’s race pits Republican incumbent Charles Bannister of Lilburn against political newcomer Democrat Vincent Passariello of Snellville.
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Girls, football and the Bible
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Bible has been used to justify lots of things. Slavery and female servitude come to mind.
Now it seems the good book was used in an attempt to sideline Kacy Stuart, a female kicker for the New Creation Center Crusaders in Spalding County.
Before a recent game, the East Atlanta Mustangs read a Bible verse to express its beliefs about female football players. In a pre-game statement, the team used verses from the book of Romans. The game went on. The Crusaders crushed the Mustangs 39-8. Stuart did all the kicking and extra-point attempts.
Now the Crusaders are supposed to face a Bartow team on Saturday, but the game has been canceled. Stuart’s mother thinks it’s because of her daughter’s gender.
What do you think about a team using the Bible against a female kicker?
Should females be allowed to suit up for the gridiron?
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Residents offer aid to shoeshine man
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Things didn’t turn out so swell for Lawrence Hardnett the last time someone dropped by his shoeshine stand to talk about his taxes.
That was back in 2006, when the Internal Revenue Service audited his business. Based on income estimates Hardnett provided, the agency calculated the shoeshine man owed Uncle Sam almost $90,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest.
Hardnett knew he owed the government. After all, he’s been shining shoes for decades, starting at 12 years old in his home state of Ohio. He took it upon himself five years ago to start filing income tax returns after years of neglect.
In recent months, Hardnett has struggled to make monthly payments to the IRS as agreed upon. The economic drought has hurt his business, which he operates out of Bennie’s Shoes in Norcross. He fell behind on his mortgage, too. The IRS replaced a federal lien on the house in Lawrenceville he shares with his wife, Laura.
Last week, I wrote about Hardnett’s situation in this space. Some readers chided Hardnett for what they called his lack of personality responsibility. He should have been paying all along, they wrote. Most people, though, were outraged that the screws were being applied to a shoeshine man.
Hardnett never wanted a bailout a la Wall Street. He just wanted a little understanding, some help in dealing with the IRS. It appears he might get it.
Thursday, yet another person stopped by Hardnett’s stand to talk about his finances. Only it wasn’t an IRS tax man. It was a certified public accountant with good news.
“He said there is something that can be worked out about this,” said Hardnett, 58, who provided the accountant with paperwork related to the lien and his $175-a-month payment plan. “He said there may be hope for my situation.”
I contacted the accountant, who had offered his help at no charge. He declined to be identified for this column, but says he is a former IRS employee with 30 years of experience. He and two colleagues plan to help Hardnett file an appeal. If nothing else, the hope is to get the monthly payments reduced to a more palatable amount.
If their efforts fail, Hardnett said he’d press on, pay what he can when he had it.
“I have to accept this and deal with it,” he said.
In addition to the offer of free representation, Hardnett has received phone calls and letters from people across metro Atlanta. Many have sent money — $15 and $20, the occasional $100 check.
One woman dropped by his stand and pressed a check in his hand. He asked her what could he do in return. She said she might need him to run a few errands some day or pick up some groceries for her on his way home.
Of course I will,” he said. “The American people have come to my rescue.”
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Joe the Plumber stars in TV debate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let’s forget about Joe the Plumber, the representative for hard-working, upwardly mobile American who was channeled numerous times during the televised debate between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain.
Let’s focus on the candidates themselves.
If you tuned in, which candidate did the better job?
Did the debates influence your vote?
Why?
I
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Police with criminal records patrol Atlanta’s streets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You may have read the story about Atlanta police recruits. More than a third of the city’s recent academy graduates has been arrested or cited for a crime, according to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The arrests ranged from minor offenses to violent charges like assault. Hiring the offenders to serve as cops is a concession authorities say they’ve had to make to grow the force.
The Gwinnett police department doesn’t hire recruits with felony convictions, but they consider individuals with misdemeanor arrests on a case-by-case basis.
Should a blemished record, depending on the nature of the offense, keep someone from wearing a law enforcement badge?
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No bailout for shoeshine man
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In 2003, Lawrence Hardnett may have made his worst mistake in almost five decades as a shoeshine man. He decided to start paying taxes.
Three years later, an IRS representative visited his shoeshine stand at Bennie’s Shoes of Norcross. He asked Hardnett several questions:
What’s the charge for a shine ($6 for a regular shine; $8 for a “spit” shine); how many pairs of shoes might you do on a truly busy day (30); what do tips average ($1 per pair).
Based on those calculations, the IRS informed Hardnett that he owed Uncle Sam nearly $90,000 in back taxes, interest and penalties. In this economy, for Hardnett, it may as well be $89 billion.
Hardnett agreed to a repayment plan of $175 a month, but that was before the economic downturn hit his business. In 12 years, he’s built up a loyal clientele at Bennie’s Shoes, but some regulars are feeling the economic pinch like everybody else. Getting shoes shined is a luxury, not a necessity.
“People shine their own shoes,” Hardnett said.
With his business experiencing a downturn, Hardnett fell behind on his IRS payments as well as his mortgage.
He has explained his situation to the mortgage holder and said they are trying to work with him. Uncle Sam, on the other hand, is playing hardball. A “federal lien” has been placed on Hardnett’s house for failure to make payments, according to IRS paperwork he showed me.
In recent weeks, we’ve learned about financial barons and tycoons who pocketed millions as they left lofty financial and investment firms in ruins. Then those same executives appear before Congress and offer solutions to the economic meltdown.
Will they be held accountable?
Free marketers seemingly run amok on Wall Street. Meanwhile on Main Street, the government is going after a big player — a shoeshine man. Here’s a man trying to earn a living, a man who acknowledges his wrongdoing and agreed to restitution, yet stands to lose his shirt.
“I don’t make $1,800 a month, but my expenses come to $2,400,” he told me. “It’s already the 9th of the month, I’ve only made $300. This is an honest living, but I’m at the mercy of the mortgage company and the IRS. I don’t know if there’s anything that can be done.”
It probably wouldn’t have mattered, but I wish the Wall Street high-fliers, presidential contenders and political posturers could have seen what I saw the day I talked to Hardnett, 58.
Tears.
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SPLOST paves the way for roads, streets and bridges
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett voters will do more than elect a new president come Nov. 4. On election day, voters will be asked to renew a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST. The 1 percent sales tax will be used for roads, bridges, libraries, public safety and other improvements.
Residents have a history of supporting the tax; since 1986 the county has approved more than $1.6 billion to publicly finance necessary infrastructure. The tax allows the county to complete projects on a pay-as-you-go basis, according to an editorial in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that ran Thursday.
Do you think Gwinnett voters will stay the course, and vote, “yes” on the ballot measure?
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The $480 million-dollar man
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Richard Fuld, the chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers Holding, Inc., apparently pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars while the company’s financial crisis grew year after year, the Los Angeles Times has reported.
At congressional hearings held Monday, Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, presented information that put Fuld’s pay at $484 million - earned in salaries, bonuses and stocks since 2000.
Not true, said Fuld.
It was “a little less than $250 million, still a large number, though,” he said.
Is any CEO worth that kind of money?
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Battling the auto-sales slump
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last month, Jeff Burg sold eight cars at the Ed Voyles Acura dealership off Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
In a good month, the Norcross resident sells 15 or more. But sales are dwindling.
“It’s tough man,” said Burg, who’s sold vehicles for six years. “The pressure is on.”
Nationwide, auto sales have plunged. Dealerships have closed, including Bill Heard Chevrolet, the Columbus-based firm that shut down 15 locations and laid off 2,700 workers.
Major automakers reported a 26 percent drop in U.S. sales for September; the Detroit Three reported a double-digit decrease in sales.
The headlines reinforce what Burg already knows.
“There is not much traffic,” he told me. “I know people who have been doing this for 20 years, and they say they’ve never seen anything like this.”
He runs through the usual factors offered as explanations for the decline in automobile purchases. High gas prices. The credit freeze. Stricter loan financing. For Burg, all translate into fewer deals.
“People don’t have money for a down payment,” he said. “Banks are looking for people with pretty strong credit. If you’re a little shaky, they are saying, ‘no.’ It used to be you could work with Bank of America or Wachovia or whatever for a better rate. Now they say, ‘Nope, we’re not doing it. If you don’t like it, too bad.’ “
How’d it get to this point?
First, let’s tone down the volume from the economic experts and analysts with pedigrees. View the economic meltdown, instead, through the eyes of a common man with common sense. One root cause of the crisis stems from the fact that capitalism has been hi-jacked by a five-letter word.
G-R-E-E-D. Corporate greed. Political greed. Materialistic greed — in which many of us pine for items, products and stuff that we really can’t afford, yet feel entitled to. The party had to come to an end, had to crash at some point. The housing market collapsed first, and now it appears banks and the auto industry will suffer domino effects. Who knows what sector will tumble next.
Burg has faith the current financial crisis will rebound sooner, not later.
After all, he said, gas prices and the local supply already appear to be stabilizing. We’ll elect a new president in 31 days.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he told me. “I don’t know what the time table is, but I hope in October, [the auto industry] springs back. People need cars, and we have a great inventory and a great manager.”
I talked to Burg on the second day of October. His month had started off on a positive note.
He’d already sold one car.
Fourteen more to go.
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Main Street vs. Wall Street
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CNN has reported that a “sweetened” bailout plan could be passed by the Senate late tonight. If that happens, a House vote is expected on the issue by mid-day Friday. $700 billion. That’s a lot of cheese. I, like the majority of most American citizens, disapprove of the bailout because I’m not so certain it’s going to benefit Main Street as much as some political supporters say. Your thoughts?
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