About a year ago, I wrote a post that used George Bailey as a metaphor for the community. I suggested that the citizens of Muncie could all pull together, make relatively small changes and investments in their community, and our city would be a better place.
Well, it turns out that I haven’t been the only one thinking along those lines. Lots of people have been working to come up with effective and sustainable ways to improve their communities, and do so with minimal impact to the already-strained finances of its members.
As it happens, though, the simpler the idea, the better it is; and a group has come up with one of the simplest of all: Move your money.
Years ago, in my advertising agency days, I carried around this Harry Beckwith book called Selling the Invisible. It is a great collection of anecdotes about marketing and idea pitching. One that stands out for me is a story about Jay Chiat, who crafted some of America’s most memorable advertising campaigns – American Express, Apple Computer, Nike, the Energizer Bunny and others.
Chiat said that one of the secrets to his success was this little card he carried with him, and broke out whenever he found himself at an impasse with someone. It said “Maybe he’s right.”
I’ve thought about that recently, as the debates over local politics have become increasingly heated. Property tax caps, LOIT, public safety cuts, etc. have all brought concerned citizens of our city into conflict with one another over what the status quo is, what needs to change, and how to change it. The only thing we can seem to agree on is that the conflicts and infighting have done nothing to move us forward; and now, I have come to believe that the wrangling, and the impasse that results, is actually the status quo that needs to change.
As a result, I’ve come around to Chiat’s way of thinking: Maybe the people I disagree with are right. That being said, I’m going to propose the idea that we as a community go along with the Mayor and the tax repeal advocates that support her.
I’ve been an avid Bill Maher fan for many years. I find him to be astute, fair and absolutely intolerant of intentional stupidity – much like me.
A few months ago, he started in on this idea that what’s really wrong with this country is that we don’t treat each other very well, and that we’re obsessed with money. The two feed into each other until we get to the point where we are, well, here.
The first time he really brought it forward publicly was in an interview with Elizabeth Warren, Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP. He talked about the recent return to usury in our society, and how we’re having to work too hard to convince lawmakers that it’s not okay for credit card companies to use dirty tricks to bury fellow Americans under mountains of debt.
In a later episode, he goes further to illustrate examples of how we’ll do just about anything to anyone for money: Soldiers in Iraq being electrocuted in the shower because of shoddy electrical work.
“How can one American kill another American to save a little money on wire?” he asks, and it’s a good question. Greed exists in every society; but only ours touts it as a virtue.
Yes, the city is in crisis, to answer the question posed by Tuesday’s front page headline.
There is certain to be much continued discussion over who’s to blame. Republicans will continue to rattle off lists of Democrats, and vice versa. Members of anti-tax groups will blame the City Council, members of the Council will blame the Mayor, the Mayor will blame the unions, and it will go on and on and on. At the crux of this round-robin of finger-pointing will be endless debates over what to cut and how much; and lost in the din will be all of the sustainable suggestions.
The time has come to shout above the noise: I believe that, in pursuit of misguided political objectives, our city is being taken the wrong direction. The answer is not to try and cut our way out of this, but rather to build our way out.
Whenever I read thoughtless suggestions like “just cut X% across the board,” or “get rid of the deputy mayor,” or some other such position; it’s usually followed by some mission-accomplished sort of proclamation. “See? Problem solved.”
Except it’s not. We still can’t pave or even clean up our streets. Our fire department is one flat tire away from being incapacitated. Our police department is still using ’80s-era technology. Why would anyone want to move to, or more importantly, invest in a city that so clearly can’t manage itself?
Next year we’ll still have to cut more, and then more after that, and so on. If we eviscerate the city government now, what do we eliminate next year, or the year after that?
Such discussion always reminds me of the disgraced surgeon in Stephen King’s Survivor Type, stranded on an island, slowly eating himself, and rationalizing each amputation along the way – until finally, he’s left with only his hands and his hunger.
February 4, 2009 at 12:07 pm · Filed under Finish Ahead
In two weeks time, President Barack Obama has done what George Bush failed to do for nearly eight years: He made a mistake, admitted it and is working to rectify it.
“I screwed up.
“I’ve got to own up to my mistake. Ultimately, it’s important for this administration to send a message that there aren’t two sets of rules — you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes,” Obama said on NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams.”
Change was the big buzzword during the campaign; and after President Obama’s election, the expectations couldn’t have been higher. From the very first days of the transition, every decision, every cabinet choice, was closely scrutinized and gauged for it’s “change value.” Then, as familiar faces filled the cabinet selections, critics lined up to gloat about how, at the end of the day, all we could really expect was more of the same.
It turns out, though, that those comparisons were superficial. The real evidence of significant change came yesterday, after Tom Daschle withdrew his name from consideration for Secretary of Health and Human Services, when the President went on national television and admitted he had made a mistake.
The real change is a leader that takes responsibility for what happens on his watch, even if he personally wasn’t the one that fumbled the ball. This is in stark contrast to the former occupant that – even when asked directly – could not bring himself to admit that he had ever made a mistake until his farewell speech, three weeks ago (and is something the former vice-president has still yet to do).
“It’s not never making mistakes;” the President said, “it’s owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them and that’s what we intend to do.”
The holiday season is here, and no December is complete without a cozy evening spent with the Bailey’s, Viola, Bert & Ernie and the rest of the friendly folks of Bedford Falls.
George Bailey, arguably one of the greatest movie characters ever written, embodies all of the qualities we admire and aspire towards. Selfless, thoughtful and humble, George loves his “crummy old town” and all of the people in it, much more than even he realizes. Despite the quiet desperation he harbors for the relinquished plans of his youth, he faces every challenge that presents itself to his community, and always does what he truly believes is best for the people around him – even if that choice doesn’t benefit him at all, personally.
When George finds himself in dire financial straits – caused not by him, but by another’s honest mistakes – his spirit is saved from despair by both the realization of how many people’s lives he’s touched, and the warm generosity and gratitude displayed by those same fellow citizens.
I often wonder how George Bailey would have fared here in Muncie.
While the budget will likely be the most talked about segment of the Dec. 1 city council meeting, the Muncie Police Department funding exchange was for me the most interesting.
Police Chief Deborah Davis wanted to access money she had saved in the department’s labor budget to upgrade its computers. The project would cost $150,000 over three years, and upgrade computer capabilities in vehicles and in station record-keeping, replacing the ’80s technology they (and the fire department) are using.
Council member Mary Jo Barton wanted to be sure the available funds were not the result of back-door staffing cuts. Davis gave a clear, and impressive, explanation of how she saved the money by downsizing the officer staff and replacing those positions with additional patrolmen. The difference turned out to be $336,500.
I read many letters, blog posts and online comments that express a real frustration and powerlessness over is happening in government today. At the federal level, it looks like the Bush administration has managed to make one more massive money grab, before heading out the door.
At the state level, sources of tax revenue are being shuffled around at a dizzying rate, resembling a game of three-card-monty.
And at the local level, which may be the most maddening, the city and county grapple with a desperate financial situation, while numerous parties vie to protect their own interests. What makes the local government situation particularly frustrating is our proximity to it. Indianapolis seems far away, and Washington D.C. even further; but we see City Council members every day around town, and yet still feel like we can’t be heard.
The best ideas are always the simplest.
I’ve been an avid Bill Maher fan for many years. I find him to be astute, fair and absolutely intolerant of intentional stupidity – much like me.
A lot of people on the right are complaining that the media isn’t taking their 
In two weeks time, President Barack Obama has done what George Bush failed to do for nearly eight years: He made a mistake, admitted it and is working to rectify it. 
While the budget will likely be the most talked about segment of the Dec. 1 city council meeting, the Muncie Police Department funding exchange was for me the most interesting.
I read many letters, blog posts and online comments that express a real frustration and powerlessness over is happening in government today. At the federal level, it looks like the Bush administration has managed to make one more massive money grab, before heading out the door.