A few thoughts for a summer Friday

Whether you care for the development of the west side areas or not, a TIRZ district is not "taking money" from anyone.  The money does not exist now and only exists when the TIRZ is applied to the area.  You can not be robbed of money you do not have.  The dollars that don't go to the TIRZ go to the city coffers thus giving you money you never had.   

I don't mind any other arguments against the TIRZ, but let's not make stuff up. 

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I hear Rep. Ordaz has some kind of leftist/socialist/communist running against her.  You probably heard about the socialist who beat a Democratic party big in New York earlier this week.  We're all going to hear some interesting campaign promises being made in the near future.

Ordaz is a pretty run-of-the-mill Democrat. She's not middle of he road, but she isn't so far left that she can't be an asset to her constituents.  Most importantly she's been in the kitchen and she knows how the sausage is made.  It's hard to pretend you don't know what you know after you've seen that. 

Her opponent, like the socialist in New York, is going to promise all kinds of things to constituents that can't possibly be delivered.  Free healthcare, free housing, free transportation - free free free free free.  This is extremely dangerous for people like Ordaz.  If there are a lot of "low information voters" in the district, they will bite on the promises of free things. 

Ordaz is put in the position to try and combat these promises and there's no good way to do that.  Ordaz can only tell voters that they are not allowed to have all those free things because of how the government actually works.  Ordaz is forced to tell the truth because she knows the truth.  Her opponent, not so much.  

I'm hopeful Ordaz can win, but it will be interesting how local Democrats fall in this race.  When the party, on a national level, is going straight to socialism; will the rank and file follow the party line or vote for the old party line (Ordaz)?

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I hear a lot of local liberal voices talking about the immigrant detention programs.  I find it hilarious that Vero is not being criticized for not only turning the county jail into a immigrant detention center, but also being married to Trump's immigration judge who puts all these people in those places.  

Why isn't anyone asking Vero about this?  It's like there's a fire burning out of control and nobody is asking any question of the guy carrying a lighter and gas can leaving the scene. 

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I do not thinking sinking tens of millions of dollars from the arena into a Mexican Latino Hispanic Chicano American Historical Museum Event Center is a good idea.  Especially if you're going to put it in a building that looks like a giant sombrero.  El Paso is a living tribute to Latino culture.  You don't need to dedicate a building to what a city is dedicated to already.  

Like my argument with the proposed arena - What are you going to do with that building?  How will generate enough income to pay for it's own maintenance and operation?  It won't.  No Latino is going to pay to go to the sombrero to learn about themselves.   

How about not spending the money at all?  

Comments

[Confirmation Bias]

I hope the far left continues its push for more control in the Democratic Party. I hope Ordaz loses, so I can watch the comedy show that socialist is going to cause. Just look at the #walkaway hashtag that is trending on Twitter. The further left the party moves the more people are pushed towards the center. The Democratic Party is imploding. They have no policies to run on that are ACTUALLY achievable.

One of my favorite quotes is "When the facts are on your side pound the facts. When the law is on your side pound the law. When neither of those are on your side pound that table." The Democrats have pounded the table for over 2 years now and it's own voters are excusing themselves from the table.

[voter]

The City does not seem able to "not spend the money." Don't spend money on the arena and don't spend money on the cultural center. Neither make sense. If they need to go back to the voters to get approval to dump those projects, then they should do so. As much as I do not like Max, I don't think dislike of him, his tactics and his penchant for publicity should prevent us from dumping the arena....not for "historical" reasons but for practical reasons.

[I will do the same thing]

Ha! Classic conservatives. Named whatever other first world countries have, and labeled it socialism when it comes to America.

If you have no special interest in not having Medicare for All, and yet you are adamant against it, you're just another tool used by the elite.

[Ashkenazi]

The post above is a straw man logical fallacy, please ignore.

[David Rout]

Once again, put it to a vote.

Some people want infrastructure (a building) named after someone nobody has heard of.

Then there are permanent jobs and a city line item.

What would be best would be to set aside the money for Hispanic Education. Use the money and create a fund. Profits from that fund could pay for Top Notch Hispanic Ed programs for El Paso schools. Guest speakers, artists, and musicians many of whom would be willing to work for very little compensation. Donations from the community could expand the power of the program.

Non-profit, no paid full-time administrators. Unpaid Program Coordinator.

A better solution and would really help expand student knowledge about themselves and their community.