Northwest Indiana Discussion

I find highly irregular to any claim of media neutrality Jim Dedelow's introduction of Mike Repay as politically savvy, in terms of serving as Matt Reardon's substitute on the weekly Kusiak/Reardon show this morning. Everyone pretty much knows Kusiak is biased but then he is only a weekly host on the air and pays for it. So if he wants to implicitly give Repay free media time, on his dime, I suspect it is in compliance with electoral rules.

Meanwhile, though, particularly egregious was Dedelow's representation that Repay was politically knowledgeable about substantive political issues simply because Repay recalled electoral voting patterns at the precinct level.

The problem with Dedelow's tacit endorsement of the rookie county councilman Repay as knowledgeable is it completely overlooks the glaring immature political judgment exhibited by him last year in seriously backing a novice like Oscar Sanchez, against incumbent Mayor McDermott, who went on to win re-election by a electoral vote ratio of 4 to 1.

Unappreciated by Dedelow is how readily apparent Repay needs more tutoring in reading past precinct voting patterns and/or gauging voter trends and sentiments. The tacit WJOB endorsement of Repay as an experienced politician, if not an outright mistake or fabrication, is most certainly an unwarranted appraisal of his true skills at evaluation.

As one blogger recently noted on the issue of spiking administrative fees to fund further government cuts in the county budget, Mike Repay's administrative thinking operates in two modes: Cut & gouge. Ostensibly cut an item from the county budget but surreptitiously restore the function by increasing the individual cost burden to any citizen utilizing government services.

Repay's standard approach to efficiency is utterly violative of the entire political philosophy of democratic taxation: A means of distributing costs of government across a large collective group so that the price of any government service to each individual isn't cost-prohibitive but substantially lessened.

Now we are going to have new county fees that include $125 to have police summon a tow truck for a disabled or illegal car, $5 to have police inspect cars for proper ownership, $60 to have police inspect a junked car for ownership, and $200 to have the sheriff oversee the sale of a foreclosed home and several fees to process court paperwork. And these prices will go up.

Repay calls this progressive efficiency. What should it be called?

It should be called "Taxation without representation"!!

Now we are going to have new county fees that include $125 to have police summon a tow truck for a disabled or illegal car, $5 to have police inspect cars for proper ownership, $60 to have police inspect a junked car for ownership, and $200 to have the sheriff oversee the sale of a foreclosed home and several fees to process court paperwork. And these prices will go up.

Repay calls this progressive efficiency. What should it be called?
I find highly irregular to any claim of media neutrality Jim Dedelow's introduction of Mike Repay as politically savvy, in terms of serving as Matt Reardon's substitute on the weekly Kusiak/Reardon show this morning. Everyone pretty much knows Kusiak is biased but then he is only a weekly host on the air and pays for it. So if he wants to implicitly give Repay free media time, on his dime, I suspect it is in compliance with electoral rules.

Meanwhile, though, particularly egregious was Dedelow's representation that Repay was politically knowledgeable about substantive political issues simply because Repay recalled electoral voting patterns at the precinct level.

The problem with Dedelow's tacit endorsement of the rookie county councilman Repay as knowledgeable is it completely overlooks the glaring immature political judgment exhibited by him last year in seriously backing a novice like Oscar Sanchez, against incumbent Mayor McDermott, who went on to win re-election by a electoral vote ratio of 4 to 1.

Unappreciated by Dedelow is how readily apparent Repay needs more tutoring in reading past precinct voting patterns and/or gauging voter trends and sentiments. The tacit WJOB endorsement of Repay as an experienced politician, if not an outright mistake or fabrication, is most certainly an unwarranted appraisal of his true skills at evaluation.

As one blogger recently noted on the issue of spiking administrative fees to fund further government cuts in the county budget, Mike Repay's administrative thinking operates in two modes: Cut & gouge. Ostensibly cut an item from the county budget but surreptitiously restore the function by increasing the individual cost burden to any citizen utilizing government services.

Repay's standard approach to efficiency is utterly violative of the entire political philosophy of democratic taxation: A means of distributing costs of government across a large collective group so that the price of any government service to each individual isn't cost-prohibitive but substantially lessened.

Now we are going to have new county fees that include $125 to have police summon a tow truck for a disabled or illegal car, $5 to have police inspect cars for proper ownership, $60 to have police inspect a junked car for ownership, and $200 to have the sheriff oversee the sale of a foreclosed home and several fees to process court paperwork. And these prices will go up.

Repay calls this progressive efficiency. What should it be called?


Maybe we should call it "paying for a provided service". Perhaps the "political philosophy of democratic taxation" is partially responsible for the implementation of the tax caps due to government bloat and inefficiency. Just sayin'.

What Bert said.

And Mr. Dedelow? He can be forgiven many of his transgressions because he is a simpleton trying to sound thoughtful.

It is a page out of the McDermott play book. Neo... u must not live in Hammond. McDermott moved the cost of trash service out of the general revenue fund & moved the cost over to the water/sanitation department, now billed on a monthly basis monthly.

This was accomplished with out the city council voting on it and now each property owner pays an increased "fee" for their trash service.

That cash bonanza brought McDermott's claim that he reduced the city payroll. Sure did, he moved over 32 people to the sanitation department their salary to be paid for by inflated fees....billed on a monthly basis. Cost a cool $2.5 million when you consider benefits.

How McDermott got around that was by not publishing their budget, as required by law.

McDermott also, I will say illegally, put the cost of code enforcement on the backs of muti unit property owners, establishing one fee for in town property owners and another larger fee to out of town property owners. Now despite the legal opinions telling McDermott that was legal, A federal magistrate found the practice to be illegal.

Now McDermott increase fees of property multi unit property owners to fund the code and building departments. This practice as well will be found illegal.

So Neo, Repay took a page out of the McDermott play book. You going to point a finger, make sure you point at all who are doing it.

And Neo as to Repay supporting a change, I can support a person with conviction, even if it is not popular.

Sort like cattle following each other to slaughter.

LMAO JCMT. Shame on you. You can support someone simply because they have conviction? Hitler had conviction. Stalin had conviction, so too did George Wallace, and Barry Goldwater. We need people with well-developed judgment gleaned, presumably or hopefully, from extensive experience. Most of all we need men and women capable of political wisdom. Because the decisions being made are a matter of collective consensus, actualized by the specific agency authorized to represent -- advocate -- the best interests of all the People, and not the agent's personal whim.

What many who espouse the mantra of efficiency conceal is that the Kernan-Sheppard report represents a default position, not a viable plan for the reformation of county government. It's a means of plugging the resulting holes produced by a sudden cut in revenue. It is a REPORT outlining one coping strategy now that real property tax cuts are the order of the day.

Lets not forget. Mr. Repay also supported Cheatin Seaton for County Assessor!!! As for Dedelow and WDEM radio. What do you expect?

Neo, nothing like taking something out of context. Fran, a person of conviction, has kept you from paying an income tax, which would be abused by the lake county politico's. Just like McDermott & Soliday's plan on the CARP. The maintenance fees were nearly doubled under the plan with a new "board" Why are you silent on the post below Neo? Tom your hero?

I get it. This explains the widespread support of people like Tom Philpot, George Van Til, Carol Ann Seaton, Michelle Fajman, Rudy Clay, and other such visionaries. You get the conviction (of one sort or another) AND peerless political judgement. The best of both worlds.

JCMT - you're simply too biased and it's made you and others so cynical, not just of McDermott, but of government in general, if not in principle. So much so you compensate by resorting to ever-increasing idealizations in a domain of pragmatism. Nothing and nobody are perfect. The problem with cynicism is it knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.

My distaste for Mike Repay is his hubris. But for his brother Dan, this guy is just another John Doe that had no hope of winning that county council seat. And now, at the very beginning of only his second year in government, after a year of noting but a tactic of cutting and now gouging the citizens, he seeks to be a commissioner.

This guy simply isn't ready-for-prime-time. He's the type that seeks to privatize government. The problem with that is actual government protections and participation are then based on how much money you have and, in practice, not by right. What good is a right or service if you literally can't afford the price to exercise it?

Oh yeah, it's efficient alright, but only to those who believe in regressive, alienating, administrative practices.

Wow, that seemed really long and boring. I wonder what it was about?

Yep...when littledebbie (fArtie60438) posts, Sprinkles is right behind him...seems appropriate. And why not, NOBODY posts on their board...I wonder why?

So now I can add artie60438 to the long list of who I really am supposed to be.

Ditz.