SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 19, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/24/19
In this edition:
*Congratulations Janet Martin!
*Paying for Jobs?
*Wage Theft
*Shelter House Fundraiser
*Reminder – We Have Apples!
*Did You Know?
*Congratulations Janet Martin!
Johnson County is full of quiet heroes. One of those is retiring in short order. Janet Martin is retiring from the Johnson County 4H program after many, many years of quietly shaping our young people.
Janet is one of those people that simply puts a smile on my face every time I see her. She really cares about our children, and really works hard. She will be missed!
Congratulations on your retirement, Janet! Thanks for all your great work over the years!
*Paying for Jobs?
Let’s talk about jobs. Unemployment in Johnson County was 2.3% in July of 2019. It was as low as 1.5% in April of 2019. People in Johnson County clearly want to work. And they are working.
Federal, state, and local politicians always talk about jobs. They want to maintain and create jobs in their communities. They want to take credit for numbers like 2% unemployment. And too often, they are willing to pay wild sums of taxpayer money to achieve these numbers.
This may sound unbelievable, but Johnson County does not need new jobs like most of the ones we have. There is already no one to take orders, change the sheets, and pound drywall nails. We do not need jobs for the sake of jobs. What we need is an influx of GOOD jobs!
What do I mean by a good job? I mean a minimum of $20/hour, plus employee-provided healthcare equal to or better than the ACA, a retirement program, sick leave, and vacation. That, my friends, is my definition of a good job. And businesses are not creating many good jobs!
Most of the new jobs created in Johnson County do not approach these standards. So why are we putting so much effort into attracting jobs? More importantly, why are we putting so much MONEY into attracting jobs?
I have spent the better part of twenty years bemoaning the use of TIF. Oftentimes, TIFs only create taxable value. Those are very bad deals. A TIF should create increased taxable values PLUS offer public benefits. Sometimes the value of these “public benefits” is quite dubious. One public benefit upon which we have typically agreed is job creation.
But again – we are not creating the right kind of jobs. And that includes through the use of TIF. We are giving money to developers and companies, but we are not seeing good jobs come to our community and stay here.
So what can we do differently? Maybe we need to look at our local private sector employers who DO provide good jobs. Not a company looking to relocate. A company that has a track record in Johnson County. Perhaps we simply need to go to ACT, Oral B, Heartland Express, and others, and say, “How many good jobs can you create if we give you money?”
It sounds almost dirty, right? It feels wrong because it IS wrong! It is not supposed to be this way. But the current system is badly broken. It amounts to a rush to the bottom. We need to consider doing things differently.
There is another option, of course: the public sector can create jobs. We need cops, firefighters, and social workers. We need people to care for children, care for seniors, take care of parks, and so much more. We could simply hire more people into good government jobs. So long as public need exists, this makes sense.
This approach can work, up to a point. There still needs to be a private sector base. The problem is, nationally, the private sector has abdicated its duty to local communities. They are motivated by profit and profit alone, and it simply does not matter who gets hurt in the process. They do not care about anything but the next quarterly earnings report. As a matter of fact, that is the ONLY thing they are incorporated to do! Big business is REQUIRED to earn everything they can, everything and everyone else be damned! And smaller, local private firms cannot pick up all the slack.
I am not a supporter of Presidential candidate Andrew Yang. But his focus on the future of work is right on the mark! I hope a Democrat wins the Presidency, and I hope she brings Yang into the Administration! We need to talk about the future of work! Because paying for jobs the way we do now is poor public policy.
*Wage Theft
Wage theft is a huge problem in the US, and that includes right here in Johnson County. Luckily, the Center for Worker Justice leads the fight to ensure that workers get the pay they are owed.
There was a recent action against an employer in North Liberty that FINALLY resulted in workers being paid. My friend Robin Clark-Bennett recently posted about it on Facebook. Her post was so well written, I felt the need to simply repost it here:
“Congratulations to these workers and the Center for Worker Justice for holding lawbreaking companies accountable. Not paying your workers is theft. It's theft of the worst kind - stealing people's time, their labor, and the income they need to survive and thrive. Workers who experience hard economic times still face criminal prosecution if they steal from a business. But a business owner who repeatedly and fraudulently gave workers paychecks that he knew would bounce expects public sympathy. Shameless. We need stronger laws that penalize crimes against workers.”
Robin is absolutely correct! If poor Latinx workers stole thousands from a business, people would expect them to go to jail. But when a business steals from poor Latinx workers? Well, times are tough!
We really do need new laws to address this problem! Thank you, Robin, for writing this, and thank you for your efforts in this area!
*Shelter House Fundraiser
JOIN US for the third annual BBQ Bash to benefit Shelter House on Friday, September 27, 5:30pm - 8:30pm. Follow your senses and the savory smell of smoked meats in the air to the Fairgrounds and gather for a fun-filled Friday evening. The event features kid-friendly activities, backyard games, and live music in the entertainment hall. Dive into mouth-watering BBQ accompanied by your favorite side dishes, desserts, and local beer in the dining hall.
Proceeds from ticket sales directly support Shelter House programs to provide safe emergency shelter, case management services which connect people with necessary resources to move beyond homelessness, and mental health recovery programs through successful supportive community living.
*Reminder – We Have Apples!
We have apples! Please feel free to take all you want! Just e-mail me and we’ll arrange a time. We have a picker; bring your own bucket (BYOB)!
*DID YOU KNOW? If you want to learn more about Tax Increment Financing (TIF) visit the Iowa Policy Project website at: https://www.iowapolicyproject.org.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 2:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home