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Headline News - page 52

Seattle Council Members Not Listening

Yesterday, May 17 2011, your Seattle Council Members cancelled a meeting to discuss the possibility of voting on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.  The meeting was scheduled after a judge’s ruling that stated the public could vote on the much debated tunnel. 

There is no doubt in anyones mind the viaduct needs construction.  However, how much we spend on this project is the question.  In such bad financial times should we really be spending billions and billions on all these extra and elaborate things for the tunnel like a community park looking over the water?  Do we really need to bore a tunnel underneath Seattle or should we just flatten the viaduct and connect the roads (saving billions)?  There are so many options available that could save billions yet we have to go the most expensive and elaborate route.

The Seattle Council Members have made up their minds obviously and are pushing forward with all the bells and whistles for the viaduct project.  They don’t want to discuss it and they certainly don’t want the public to vote on it.  The May 17th cancelled meeting demonstrates that they are moving 100% forward no matter what.

If you’re for or against the Seattle viaduct project, one thing must be represented and that is the people.  Seattle Council Members or elected officials with their own egos and agendas must be pushed out the door if they are being shady.  Trying to make deals behind the general public backs (or thinking they know best) is not acceptable.  These officials represent you (the public) and they really need to accept the publics vote.  Shutting out the people out on voting and proposals is clearly a communist move.  A move that is based on what they feel is best (and egos) without getting any feedback from the people who they should be representing. 

Alaskan Way Viaduct
Alaskan Way Viaduct

City of Puyallup Road Construction

It’s amazing the amount of money we waste on road constuction.  Our system is setup so different cities get a certain amount for road construction.  Anything above and beyond the cost the city has the cover or sometimes they can get it from other federal programs etc.  From my research, most road construction isn’t really needed.  Cities use it because they have to.  It’s a use it or lose it system.  The City of Puyallup has several projects going on that are a complete waste of money and now we are starting to hear they can’t cover the extra costs.  Recently, they have been working on Highway 512.  I personally drive Highway 512 between Puyallup and Lakewood all the time and this is a good example of just blowing the money because they need to.  There is absolutly nothing wrong with the Highway.  The other City of Puyallup road construction project we are hearing about is on 39th avenue.  There is no dought this area is congested (it always has been and will continue to be) but this project wasn’t really necessary.  First this road construction project in Puyallup has been going on since 2002.  So far the project has cost the City of Puyallup 15+ million.  The City of Puyallup even had to use a shady practice called “eminent domain” to legally steal the property of many hard working families.  One of them sued the City and won (by jury) a 5.4 million dollar settlement.  His legal fees were over 1 million dollars.  

This is not just about Puyallup it’s about the country and the way our transportation taxes are being wasted.  Instead of just using it (because we’ll lose it) mentality there needs to be a way so this money can be pushed into the areas of the city that really need it.

Seattle’s 6-Figure Salary Club

This is a totally different take on 6 figure salaries that this website has written about because this story in the Times appeared to be highlighting Fire Chief salaries. They stated the Fire Chief was paid slightly more than Mayor Mike McGinn. I am the first to say that public employees salaries are so bloated, out of line, greedy (rest of descriptions are not fit for family reading). BUT, that being said, I want to just stick to the Fireman. I have to defend them completely. If people were paid for the good they do for the community and citizens Fireman would be right at the top. No matter what disaster, whether a little kitchen grease fire or an earthquake they are there. They are also basically on call 24/7 thus a lot of overtime gets racked up. Their job is dangerous but lets not view their salaries on that alone. They are there because they want to be there, they can quit anytime they want. If they cant stand the “heat get out of the kitchen”. That being said they are doing a job that our lives depend on. If ANYONE deserves a high salary it is them and the Policeman. Without them our lives would be in jeopardy.

This was a perfect time for the Times to print their salaries and the perfect time to ask if you would rather pay $160,000 to a Fire Chief, or $600,000 to the Port of Seattle CEO, or $224,000 to the new Superintendant of Schools, $700.000 to the new President of UW. $1.7 million to the UW Football coach etc. Would any of these people be able to help you in any way if you needed help? Would you miss them if everyone quit today because they thought they were working to hard?  They are simply milking the system big time.

I think its time to start thinking what services we can do without and cut the pay of the useless bunch of CEO’s. Managers and Presidents of company’s that are taxpayer supported. It would be fun to see a debate of a Fire Chief and the CEO of the Port of Seattle to see which one performs the most necessary service and rate their pay on that basis.

What is the Difference Between a School Levy and a Family and Education Levy?

There is so much talk of the financial situations at schools and colleges that a person cannot find out where there tax dollars are going. Silly me, I thought the Family and Education Levy was the same (or nearly the same) as a regular run of the mill School Levy. Mayor McGinn was backing the Family and Education Levy so I decided to ask him. Below is his explanation. If you can figure it out please feel free to list your comments on this website or send in a submission for possible publication.

Thank you for writing me about the Families and Education Levy and Seattle Public Schools administration. I want to clarify that this is a Levy for city managed services that support students, and not a school levy for the Seattle Public Schools. The City uses outcome based budgeting to get results for kids. This means we track how we spend our levy funds, to make sure they are meeting our outcomes, instead of being wasted on salaries.

As you know, I do not have jurisdiction over the school district administration. I appreciate your concern about Seattle Public Schools’ difficult financial situation.

Sincerely,

Mike McGinn
Mayor of Seattle

I think we need clarification on what exactly does city managed services do. How does it help the students? The money from this levy goes to the city not directly to the schools to pay their salaries. It must pay some city employee salaries to disburse these funds. He is trying to distance himself from the school district administration and their bloated salaries and how they skim off the major portion of levy money.

The school administration is run about as poorly as the State Welfare dept.  One small example is the unequal treatment kids get. At Garfield kids THAT WANT to take Spanish classes can’t because the classes are full but they were able to come up with a special Spanish class for Tony Wroten so he can cheat his way to play ball at the UW. His enabler Jim Valiere was fired for giving him and Valentino Coleman a “C” grade on his course he never took. Tony Wroten tweeted “we get a three person Spanish Class, #Niceeeee.” Wroten already showed he was trouble when he started at Garfield and had to hire a lawyer (I imagine taxpayers paid for that too) to prove he was eligible to go there. They are cutting Spanish classes, laying off teachers but can still have a special teacher brought in to help a “liar and a cheat” get into the UW. Wroten lied on his application so he should not be able to go to the UW at all, especially on a scholarship. Do you feel this is a good way to spend your tax dollars?

Where is our new Superintendent when we need her? Maybe she is ticked that she is only paid $224,000 where the old one that got fired was paid $294,000. For sure Levy money comes out of our pockets, not thin air like they want you to believe.

Troy Hutson Handed Out Seattle Welfare Benefit Cards, No Questions Asked.

Troy Hutson  the head of the states food stamp and child support agency quit just before he was fired. He was defending himself as doing a real good job. His boss Susan Dreyfus thought he did a good job. And believe it or not State Rep. Mark Miloscia D Federal Way hated to see him quit. He says Economic Service is the best run agency in the state. He wanted to give the best customer service he could and said these people are poor and wanted them to feel good about themselves and make it as easy as possible. Well what about the taxpayer that is furnishing the money DHSH to hand out? Mr. Troy Hutson had to know those people were not losing their cards. He replaced 27,000 cards($600 a pop) no questions asked. Why not make it even easier, just stand on a corner near a bar or strip joint and say “step right up” get your entertainment money right here. Kind of like a hot dog vendor. I know from being a landlord of a low rent apartment house and living beside one that the people who are getting a welfare check and debit cards are NOT POOR. They are alcoholics or druggies that have no intention of ever going to work. Of course they can’t hold a job. If they had to pee in a bottle everyday to see if they were drinking or on drugs they would all fail. The ones I know are young, able bodied and say they have issues. Their issue is they don’t want to go to work. You do not help an alcoholic by giving him money. You do not help a drug addict or gambler by giving them money. They know every trick in the book to get more help and not have to sober up or find a job. The fact that they might have a child or two does not help that child if they spend the money for booze or sell their card for cash instead of buying food. It sounded like Troy Hutson had a good education but he was brain dead when it came to common sense. He will not have to pay back a cent of the millions he handed out no questions asked. He wanted to give the best customer service, well he really nailed that one.  But it a recent news article published also said he believed in innovation and accountability. Accountability to who?  I think the DHSH should be completely done over. They have so much money and forget that they can’t give a thing away until it has been taken away from a worker and a lot skimmed off to pay their wages. Its like a white collar crime with the taxpayer getting fleeced.  I wonder with the blatant handing out replacement cards if someone was getting a cut. I worked all my life and I live on my social security. If I lost my check, it would take 30 days to get it replaced. I have to eat just like the drunks and dopers but I would have to figure out how to make it. Guess we old people don’t deserve good customer service. Why couldn’t I walk in and get a new check and just say I lost my old one, and not even tell my name? This is so completely stupid its hard to write. Well in another article you will see that now you can get free tuition to a Seattle University with a free lunch and a flunking grade. Well they could certainly take over Troy Hutson’s job. It would not take much education to hand out replacement cards, no questions asked. No one would ever complain that they did not get good customer service that’s for sure. When will the wasting of our tax dollars ever end?

Getting a Free School Lunch Qualifies you for a Free Scholarship to a Seattle College

I wrote this letter/email to our Seattle Mayor McGinn in response to a recent program created by Washington State that guarantees a free scholarship to any students getting free lunches (or reduced lunch programs).  It’s called the “College Bound Scholarship Program”.  Here is the program summary from Seattle Mayor McGinn’s office here.

Dear Mayor McGinn:

I was so surprised to get this notice about guaranteed tuition to any student on the federal free and reduced lunch program. WOW. This sure beats the toy in the Cracker Jack Box or the Happy Meal at McDonald’s.  It is so STUPID (you know it and you know we people know it) it is hard to know where to start. Up until you sent this notice I have been reading about how our LOCAL kids who have a 4.0 grade average, valedictorian of their class are denied entry to the University. Hundreds of kids were turned down because the University pays their management all 6 figure salaries. Just out of whack completely the waste in upper management but they wont listen at all. They cant afford local students because they can sell the spots to foreign students who will pay 3 times more. NOW, with your hair brained scheme of offering free tuition with a free lunch should really be challenged. You know nothing is free. You have to take it from a worker to give it to someone who does not want to work. I am sure there are some families that need help but any one I know on the free dole sure does not deserve it. You do not have POOR people. You have alcoholics, dopers and people who have never worked and never intend to work that know how to work the system. If the people who are getting welfare checks had to show up every day and pee in a bottle and pass the drug and booze test to get help it would cut the welfare rolls by 90%. Why do you think taxpayers should contribute money for these people. Low paid workers know they cant sent their kids to college. I could not send mine to college. I was a single mother working at Boeing. (For the record, I was married when I had them, all had the same father, but he died of cancer). We were poor. I would write a check for food and hoped that check did not clear before my Boeing check did. I was the youngest of 12 children during the depression. but want to add here that I did get a scholarship to go to any college in Montana. I got it because I had a 4.0 grade average and was the valedictorian of my class in 1941, Victor, Montana. We didn’t get free school lunches, and you could not be poorer than we were. No electricity, running water, but I did not get into any trouble. What you are offering is that if people can somehow stay on welfare, til their kids are old enough to go to college they can go free. 2.0 is actually flunking. What is a college going to do with those kids? Maybe put them to work handing out free welfare debit cards, no questions asked like they do at DHSH. These kids can get a felony plea bargained down because they will have free lawyers. Hope this is the thing that tips the ice burg. Shame on you for thinking this is right. It encourages people to stay on welfare and it does not even require the kids to get a 4.0 grade. I know you don’t read a thing I send, and I will get a copy of a website page from some staff member but needed to write it down and have a paper trail.

Lilly – Seattle

Free Tuition At Seattle Colleges
Free Tuition At Seattle Colleges

University of Washington Leadership Failure

College Books Photo

A new President is about to be named at the University of Washington and his name is Michael Young.  He was a busy guy today with press conferences and visiting the University of Washington.  Today was his first time ever at the University.  He took questions from the student leadership and the general feedback was that he is “down to earth guy and honest.”   The previous President was scheduled to make a little over $900,000 per year.  When asked today about his salary, he said he would be willing to take less.  Michael Young was very excited to be working at the University of Washington (I’m sure he was – I would be to if I was making 75K a month!).

You can read our previous article about the University of Washington and Seattle’s Schools bad revenue but it all comes back to a failure in leadership.  Money that could be used for the students is being used and abused by upper management.  Teachers are the first ones to get the cut in the pay and we continue to hear about schools wanting more and more money in taxes and funding.  Should we keep increasing the taxes and approving school bonds that are just being wasted by upper management?  Michael Young isn’t special. We could have had a qualified University of Washington President for less than $250,000.  The rest of the money could have been used on students in need, low income, or scholarships.  This is just another example of a failure in leadership and the people in charge don’t have a clue.  Unfortunately, seeing it again at the University of Washington is sad.

About the University of Washington

The University of Washington (UW), established in 1861, holds the distinction of being one of the oldest and most esteemed institutions on the West Coast of the United States. Nestled in the city of Seattle, Washington, UW not only stands out for its rigorous academic programs but also for its innovative research, drawing students and scholars from around the globe. Encompassing three campuses – Seattle, Tacoma, and Bothell – the university presents a dynamic learning environment, intertwining beautiful landscapes with state-of-the-art facilities. Offering a plethora of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across various disciplines, the UW sustains a robust educational ecosystem that cultivates intellectual prowess and research aptitude.

UW’s formidable reputation in research has been underscored by its contributions to various fields, including medicine, science, engineering, and the humanities. The university is renowned for its research in space exploration, environmental science, public health, and myriad other domains. Furthermore, UW consistently ranks among the top recipients of federal research funding, reflecting its pivotal role in advancing knowledge and innovation. With a strong commitment to sustainability, diversity, and societal impact, the University of Washington continues to shape future leaders, foster innovation, and contribute significantly to the global body of knowledge and research.

Update about Michael Young

Michael Young

Michael Young served as the President of the University of Washington (UW) from 2011 to 2015. Before his tenure at UW, Young had an extensive career in academia and administrative roles at other notable institutions. He served as the President of the University of Utah and had roles at other universities before taking the leadership position in Washington. Michael Young was earning an annual salary of $854,000, following a 6-percent raise implemented in October. After 3 years at UW, Young took a position as the president of Texas A&M University.

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Emergency Managers or Dictators

Benton Harbor, Michigan has been taken over by the state. An Emergency Manager has been assigned all the duties. Benton Harbor/s elected commissioners have lost all of their power. They do not have the authority at this point in time to order a pot hole fixed. The new Emergency Manager, named Joseph Harris can set aside all union contracts with the city and call it budget repair.

Does this look like Dictatorship? If a state can take over a city, can Washington D.C. take over our states? Can they say we are in a financial crisis, and appoint an emergency manager, that takes away all the power from our elected officials, break all the unions and even replace the police force with Homeland Security. Obama has mentioned a time or two that he wants to have more Homeland Security force larger than the Military. This has to be really looked into. Could we wake up some morning having been taken over by the government homeland security and our police department gone? Does this scare you?

There is no mistake our cities and states and Federal Govt. have to stop their spending. But is this the way to do it? Hundreds of rowdy non-union protesters filled the State Capitol, and a day later the Senate voted to grant broad new powers to emergency managers who oversee financially struggling cities and schools, including the authority to void union contracts and remove elected officials.

This website is for independent thinkers and it is time for all of you to put on your thinking cap. I know the cities are wasting money, I know there is fraud, but would we better off under a one man dictatorship. I don’t think so. Better really keep up on this story while you are still allowed to read stories like this.

Obama 2012 Election

Does Barack Obama still have what it takes to run this country and how will you vote in 2012?  The Obama 2012 Presidential election is coming soon.

Obama 2012 Election Seattle
Obama 2012 Election Seattle

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Obama

Obama Keeps Blowing Money

As reported previously by Lilly, it is now official President Obama will be making a visit to the devastated OSO

Out of YOUR pocket comes the Federal, State, County and City taxes

This will be a general disgruntled taxpayer/worker diatribe about how it sounds when we get these promises from various branches of government. How often have your heard your President, Govenor or Mayor stand and say with a straight face that THEY have the funds to help you? Once they spend what they can get locally they begin to promise state or federal funds. They make it sound like the Easter Bunny is right there with his basket of money, and if he runs out Santa is standing by with his bag of money or they have the Good Fairy wave her wand and none of this will cost you a cent. Wow bring on the money. What most people don’t think about is that no branch of government has any funds that they didn’t take away from We the People first and skim a big percentage off the top. I am not trying to supply exact numbers or percentages. There are good articles on the website with dollar amounts squandered by the Washington transportation dept, the Seattle Washington Public Schools, Seattle welfare fraud etc. The IRS eats up the big portion of what they collect to pay their bloated salaries and perks and hire more agents to keep us paying out taxes. The state, county and city have to pay all the excessive wages and perks from what they screw away from us via sales, property, gas, and other assorted taxes. Most of the time there is nothing left after they pay for a few evaluations, studies, and meetings to do anything with. They blew over $500 million on the 520 bridge and not a shovel or hammer has been touched. They blew over $300 million on the tunnel that we the people don’t want and not one thing has been done except some shady deals done so they can say a referendum cant be binding now. The monorail money got ate up entirely. Check out the salaries of the heads of transportation, schools, University of Washington etc and you will agree its out of hand. We cannot afford that greedy bunch at all. Of course if they cut anything it will be crossing guards, foot policeman and teachers to punish us for voting down another levy. They cant let our local grade A students attend the University of Washington because they can sell his spot to a foreign or out of state student, but still take our tax dollars. We have to cut them off at the pocketbook. I hope people start to think when the president, governor, mayor stand up and promise you federal dollars. They have taken it away from our state, skimmed off at least 40% of it for salaries. They only take on huge projects so they can try to get more federal funds. The president tools around in his little Air Force One telling us to stick within our means while he is squandering millions traveling around for nothing but photo shoots. He can’t even give an interview without a teleprompter.

 Try to put this in perspective and think of it this way. You cash your paycheck and 4 robbers are waiting outside the bank. Their names are Federal, State, County and City. They take at least 50% and leave you with barely enough to pay your rent and eat. But they live way better than you ever have or will live. They pay big wages and perks to the people they give your money too and squander most of it. If it were a normal robbery you could fight back, but the law says you have to pay income tax or go to jail, pay property tax or lose your home, pay sales tax or you cant buy anything etc.

The government cannot give seattle welfare debit cards(that get spent in strip joints and on booze or sold on Craigslist) until they take the money away from some working citizen.  We have four pockets and somehow we have to find out how to put a zipper on them without going to jail.  Hope everyone starts to realize the government can’t give you anything.  They don’t produce anything.

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