This is a must read for all who live in Spokane, WA and have wondered about the status quo and the low prevailing wage base:
Recommendations 2 Part 3 – Wages and pouring concrete
See my comment I just posted in the thread:
Mr. X,
Excellent piece. I will take this several steps further. Here’s an email I just sent to some friends that think as I do. BTW here’s a link for the Francher Report – see right side rail for PDF copy.
Ron the Cop
*****
Mr. X has a new post up at his blog. Mr. X’s final installment will be posted tomorrow. I’ve warned Mr. X to watch his back as he’s letting the cat out of the bag a little too much for the comfort “of the few.” I sense the Deathstar may be energizing to target Mr. X.
FYI – I think Mr. X sees the same common element that we all do but from our discussions he wants to show the data and let others make their own conclusions. I think I’ll send him a copy of the Fancher Report:-)
In my opinion the wage base is artificially low in the Spokane Area because of the operation of the criminal enterprise “of the few” that engages in predatory, unfair and illegal business practices/competition. The cost of entry into this market for those that don’t want to play ball with “the few” is too high and they simply go elsewhere. These others would bring new jobs that would begin to raise the prevailing wage base.
We have a cluster of universities and colleges in this town but many upon graduating must go elsewhere to earn a decent living unless as Mr. X suggests they go to work for government and or the health care profession. I won’t even go into the national ranking of Gonzaga Law School (very low) but I will say this, most of their law students don’t attend legal ethics and or sleep through class from my observations of those in town that service “the few.”
Because of the regional hub nature of Spokane other sector businesses should be encourage to locate here as the health industry has, to draw business/clients from Canada, Idaho, Eastern WA & OR. Spokane/CDA are undiscovered country that is ready to grow substantially if we cast off the dampening yoke “of the few.”
Actually I chose to locate here because of the many fine amenities and other qualities of this area has to offer. Unfortunately I did not study local government but this is fixable if enough of us who “get it” choose to make a difference and demand better.
The downfall “of the few” has actually began with the new/alternative/social media ability to push information that so far “the few’s” lock on the local media has been able to control. The tipping point will soon come when the masses realize that they’ve been lied to for many years. Information is very dangerous thing. This is why the work of Mr. X’s is so damning as it quantifies/visualizes what we all know to be the truth of the operation of the criminal enterprise in this town.
As Mr. X notes re “the few”:
We pour lots of concrete partially because the Federal government hands out a lot of grants for pouring concrete. And we really like to spend money on downtown Spokane, delivering large benefits to a few. When we spend money on X it means we are not spending money on Y – and around here, Y is everything else.
I’ll go one step further – “the few” have so co-opted/corrupted local government (yes there a good argument this continues all the way up the food chain to the federal level) to ensure its gets the most of the public benefit for its own personal benefit to the detriment of all others. In the process this spills over into why we have incompetent law enforcement leadership. It would be too dangerous to “the few” to have uncoopted police leadership as they might not turn a blind eye to the criminal activity of “the few.” So “the few” have condone the status quo and are elected reps will not take action to correct the situation with local law enforcement.
OK in full disclosure I’m a capitalist and free market person. I’m not bent on a socialistic redistribution of wealth. However government exists to prevent the tragedy of the commons when a few impose significant negative externalities on the many. In short certain things are criminal and folks should go to jail e.g., Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and many others (Watch the movie Inside Job and read this article in the Rolling Stone).
This is why we have laws to provide a level playing field for all to succeed on their own merits, ingenuity and creativity. No one or a few should be above the law because they’ve successfully gamed the system. Looked I’m no big fan of corporate America either but the referees and the cops are on the take and off the playing field. This is not good as this makes us vulnerable to attack from the radical left to exploit the loss of hope and fairness within the general public.
Where the Hell are the sheepdogs that should be guarding the flock from the wolves?
OK and for the conspiracy theorists out there you can chose to go down this rabbit hole:-)
When our enforcers are toothless and or paper tigers and they don’t hang the hides of the financial cons on the wall that gambled with other people’s money and suffered no personal loss, the trust in the fairness of our system is greatly diminished in the eyes of the general public.
The danger of not enforcing our laws and ensuring that no one is above the law is that we expose our financial/economic underbelly to attack by the leftist that will seek to sow the seeds of chaos to destabilize our government for the purpose of instituting their Utopian goal of the redistribution of wealth to achieve this desired fairness.
The only problem is that those in charge become corrupted, despotic and tyrannical – the USSR, the Third Reich, the NORKS, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Libya, Syria, the Iranian Regime and the House of Saud to name just a few. Is there a common element here – Communism, Fascism, Nazism, Maoism, Islamofasciam – I could go on but I think you get the generally idea. These ideologies have failed because power corrupts absolutely, they don’t recognize the universal truths that all men and women are equal and free will. These ideologies have failed to deliver an equitable distribution of goods, services and wealth.
See