This blog is maintained for the sole purpose of allowing the people of Peru and those interested in the cities of the Illinois Valley to express their views.
“It doesn’t take a majority to win, just a tireless minority that will keep starting brush fires in the mind and hearts of their fellow men.” Samuel Adams
I agree 8:45 Am. It is has a basic structure one would desire for now and future use and rather than being rebuilt in years to come it will only need updating. Years ago I thought I was getting the best deal in the world when I bought a little shack in the back only to discover it was more economical to tear it down and start all over than modernize. Similar to a computer it was outdated the day I bought it. The city officials are smart in paying a little more now to get what is needed than a lot more later considering inflation.
2:07 PM I can tell most everything you would want from a drawing because I am not only educated in engineers drawing I have a lifetime of reading them in New York, in Upper Manhattan. The size of the buildings that I have been a involved in, in the city as the Chief Engineer had storage buildings bigger than the size of this building.
12:52 PM has a keen insight into building for the future. I consider it a engineering or architectural failure to have to update for at least the first 20 years to 25 years. It must be understood that as technology rapidly changes this number is getting smaller and smaller.
In conclusion I have full faith that your city officials are way ahead by doing things now rather than looking back in the future and wishing they had done what they were thinking about in the past and this goes for the citizens as well.
sure you are 2:07. You sound like somebody that works for one of the local Pork Consumers.
What technology is going to change? It is a garage with offices and some work benches.
I agree we should have a new building. The Tobler building has outlived its usefulness. But the city is spending to much. Go with a Steele building. Easy to construct, easy to maintain, and will last fifty or more years.
No Links to the Mautino Scandal? If they keep digging, I think he will be impeached.
This case also gets down to the basics of Illinois problem. Campaign contributions. Who else do we know that has a slush fund that far exceeds what it costs to run for the office? Who is the only Mayor in LaSalle County that asks for donations when the next election is years in the future?
To 5:30 PM, The crap your spreading is getting pretty deep. You must be a Prince or Princess of the Peru Royal Court doing your best to promote the waste and corruption of the Monarchy. On second thought, I think the best way to describe you would be as "just a Pawn". But based on your comment that you "have full faith" in Peru city officials you are certainly also a "Joker".
Well, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. This drawing shows me that somebody hired a Civil Engineering Company to prepare an Architectural Drawing. Yup, we got lots of "Bread to Butter" built in to this project. How much you want to bet that they buy their pipe and wire from a famous "Old Town, Downtown" hardware store instead of instead of an industrial supply house? How much of the materials will be purchased from the local nail maker? Don't forget the concrete. Since this is a government job, they will need to charge twice. Ha Ha - Harl is going to need another tub of butter for this project.
10:39 - Hopefully all materials will be purchased from local companies. For you to complain about keeping dollars within the community tells me that you don't understand how an economy functions successfully at the most basic level.
Interesting news for the Illinois Valley "Is New Auditor General Frank Mautino the Next Illinois corruption Crisis". This article is from Forbes and makes for interesting reading.
4:15 PM, January 24, 2016 - I have no problems "keeping spending local" - I have a problem with selecting vendors and contractors simply because they are local. And more importantly because they have political connections.
As far as understanding how the economy works, I understand that it works best without government involvement. WE need to minimize government spending across the board. Peru seems to be the only local government that understands that.
About 70 percent of economists will tell you the opposite is true about government spending and the economy but whatever. There is a reasonable balance but if you are indeed stupid enough to think that "minimizing government spending" somehow stimulates the economy, then on that basically all economists agree you are wrong. In fact there are countless sources that will show the opposite is true. I am not an advocate of spending more necessarily, I just hate partisan lies and talking points from people like 6:42.
Maybe you should read Milton Friedman Mr. 8:02. I don't know who the 70% of economists you follow are, but I tend to trust Mr. Friedman's view on things. Maybe it has something to do with that Nobel Prize in Economic Science. He pretty much disproved the Keynesian theory that you are eluding to.
I know Friedman well but I choose to read a wide range of views, not just one that fits my political ideology. He was one economist and while I do agree with some of his views, the facts don't generally support his views over time. That was my point. The fact is he did NOT disprove Keynes' theories.
Personally I think there is some balance between the two but cutting government spending does absolutely nothing to improve the economy and the research supports the exact opposite over many decades of data. One can make the argument that in places or periods of high taxation, cutting taxes may do so as it has the same impact as lower gas prices. People spend the money.
Having said that, we are not in a period of high taxation historically speaking. Rates used to be far greater than they are now. Interesting discussion but I just don't like the one-sided anti-government views. There is a reasonable balance that makes the economy hum and it's not "cutting government spending" makes everything go.
the only thing that actually "stimulates" the economy are actual people spending actual money. There is no such thing as a "government stimulus" - all have failed miserably. Even the Progressive hero, Franklin Roosevelt, failed at all attempts to spend his way to national prosperity. The only thing that brought us out of the Depression of 1929 to 1945 was the death of 60 million people.
I don't think we are going to solve an argument over who is the best economist. I quoted an actual source that has an actual PhD and a Nobel Prize. You made up a statistic - "70% of economists favor government spending."
I'll end this with a few points of fact. Government does not produce anything. Government takes from the producers in order to provide services that could not otherwise be effectively coordinated or purchased by individuals. That is fine as long as the relationship is maintained. Government spending on anything besides which is within the strict limitations of its role in society is not good for the economy. Maintaining an Interstate Highway System, for example, is good for an economy. Overspending does not increase the effectiveness of that economic impact. For example, expanding that Interstate Highway to 8 lanes in each direction between Peru and Ottawa might provide some short term employment and ensure a present driving experience, it will not simulate any additional long term economic growth. One thing it might do is cause an over abundance of road construction workers within the market, driving down wages in the future. One thing it definitely will do is cause additional taxation which will remove real money from the producers and prevent long term investment in things that the market actual desires.
The argument that Peru needs a building for the public works department to call home is not in question. The question is how much building do they need and how much money is the government going to remove from the economy to build it? I do not believe the government has ever actually published an official budget for this project.
4:15 here. A discussion about whether or not government spending is in theory a good thing or bad thing wasn't the purpose of my initial "economics" statement. My point was that IF our local government decides to move forward on this project (ideally doing so only with the blessing of taxpayers), they owe it to the community -aka tax base- to buy materials from a local provider - not some industrial warehouse in the suburbs.
Therein lies the rub 3:19. What if these "local providers" overcharge for their goods and services because they know the government will not shop outside the area? In almost every instance that a government has imposed a rule or law requiring the use of local goods and services, the price of these goods and services has increased. Removing competition disrupts the free market. The only way around this is for the government to dictate the price and mandate the local source produce at that price. That is called Fascism.
I highly doubt a retailer such as Debo's or Maze Lumber is fluctuating their prices depending on the buyer - there is a price tag right on the stuff sitting on the shelf. Labor rates, on the other hand, are probably a little more subjective.
What would the same premium leather work gloves cost at the 2 popular stores in the North end of Peru. It makes sense to do price comparisons by a city government but best to keep the purchase in town.
10:49 PM, January 27, 2016 - make it 3 and about the same. Hilbilly Hardware is a little more.
The point is - our local governments waste a considerable amount of money purchasing locally. Take copy machine paper - why not get together with ALL the local governments, including the schools and the county, and have one paper contract? The GSA also has what is called a Schedule 70 purchasing program for IT equipment and services. GSA also negotiated wireless contracts for cellphones. Why does Peru have so many cell phone contracts, all with different equipment and diffent rates? Laziness and "buying local" - that is why. Meanwhile, the taxpayers overpay for everything, including the work gloves that our city workers seem to go through like Kleenex.
Work gloves are nothing more than a example and easy to analyze as they are a shelf product. By the way 9:12 AM how much did the city spend last year on work gloves? Down to?
Let me guess the next campaign will be about work gloves. This is the mentality that makes voters laugh. And that copy machine paper that if you were to get all the cities together you would get a discount. Guess what its called Staples and they have a national contract for municipalities and business. Please, these posts are funny and simple. We all get a kick out of the humor. The scary thing is that some of these bloggers are serious. I hope a few of these comedians will get elected. We have nothing to laugh about since the last election. We need more snowball fights, fire extinguisher wars, FBI investigations, flower power, field trips, fireworks safety inspections and the weekly facebook press conferences.
10:30 you should run for office and expose the latest work glove scandal! Lol
They have no desire to overspend on work gloves. I mean think about what you are saying. I own a business but when we need some new work gloves we don't comparison shop and waste time. We go to Debo's and buy what we need and keep on working.
Get a life! Or better yet, please keep up the laughs. This is good stuff.
Better yet 1:17 why not have a warehouse in the new Public Works building. Keep it supplied with common everyday products that are used consistently and buy them in bulk. Not only is it usually cheaper to buy in bulk it would save wear and tear on our city vehicles, gas for our vehicles, and man hours because Debo's will be much further away in the future. Ladders seems to have been another big purchase from them. Have various ladders in the warehouse, make the user sign them out and sign them back in. If you read the disbursements on a regular basis you would think every city employee must have a ladder. Food for thought!!
I followed a city truck around one day last summer. It's hilarious. First, they start the engine at 8:00 AM and it never turns off for the entire day. Up to the north end, back to home base to pick something up. Up to the park. Back down to the hardware store to buy some gloves. Up to the north end. Park under a tree for a couple of hours. Off to lunch. Park in the burger joint for 45 minutes. Time to fill the gas tank. Back to the barn 'cause its time to go home.
11:41 you are a liar and you know it. We are to believe that you followed a city truck for 8 hours so almost a year later you could tell us that anonymously on a blog.
Even if you did have nothing else to do for an entire day but stalk city workers, that is the stupidest lie of a story and you absolutely know it. Even the way you tell is sounds completely made up if I didn't know for a fact it was a lie. Our city workers are good workers and I know you lie and I am pretty sure I know who you are.
42 comments:
Taj Mahal.
It's perfect, something that will last into the future.
I agree 8:45 Am. It is has a basic structure one would desire for now and future use and rather than being rebuilt in years to come it will only need updating. Years ago I thought I was getting the best deal in the world when I bought a little shack in the back only to discover it was more economical to tear it down and start all over than modernize. Similar to a computer it was outdated the day I bought it. The city officials are smart in paying a little more now to get what is needed than a lot more later considering inflation.
and exactly how can you tell that from this drawing 12:52? You must be on the payroll.
They should have went with a Morton or General Steel building. This is a garage with offices and work benches. That is it.
2:07 PM I can tell most everything you would want from a drawing because I am not only educated in engineers drawing I have a lifetime of reading them in New York, in Upper Manhattan. The size of the buildings that I have been a involved in, in the city as the Chief Engineer had storage buildings bigger than the size of this building.
12:52 PM has a keen insight into building for the future. I consider it a engineering or architectural failure to have to update for at least the first 20 years to 25 years. It must be understood that as technology rapidly changes this number is getting smaller and smaller.
In conclusion I have full faith that your city officials are way ahead by doing things now rather than looking back in the future and wishing they had done what they were thinking about in the past and this goes for the citizens as well.
sure you are 2:07. You sound like somebody that works for one of the local Pork Consumers.
What technology is going to change? It is a garage with offices and some work benches.
I agree we should have a new building. The Tobler building has outlived its usefulness. But the city is spending to much. Go with a Steele building. Easy to construct, easy to maintain, and will last fifty or more years.
No Links to the Mautino Scandal? If they keep digging, I think he will be impeached.
This case also gets down to the basics of Illinois problem. Campaign contributions. Who else do we know that has a slush fund that far exceeds what it costs to run for the office? Who is the only Mayor in LaSalle County that asks for donations when the next election is years in the future?
To 5:30 PM, The crap your spreading is getting pretty deep. You must be a Prince or Princess of the Peru Royal Court doing your best to promote the waste and corruption of the Monarchy. On second thought, I think the best way to describe you would be as "just a Pawn".
But based on your comment that you "have full faith" in Peru city officials you are certainly also a "Joker".
I would assume we will be hiring some more administrative people and assistants to man this operation. Another increase in payroll.
Heard thru the grapevine that another well known and popular store will be leaving the mall soon - Kirlins.
My 8:47 AM, January 24, 2016 comment was directed at 5:30 PM, January 23, 2016. Sorry 2:03.
Well, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. This drawing shows me that somebody hired a Civil Engineering Company to prepare an Architectural Drawing. Yup, we got lots of "Bread to Butter" built in to this project. How much you want to bet that they buy their pipe and wire from a famous "Old Town, Downtown" hardware store instead of instead of an industrial supply house? How much of the materials will be purchased from the local nail maker? Don't forget the concrete. Since this is a government job, they will need to charge twice. Ha Ha - Harl is going to need another tub of butter for this project.
10:39 - Hopefully all materials will be purchased from local companies. For you to complain about keeping dollars within the community tells me that you don't understand how an economy functions successfully at the most basic level.
Interesting news for the Illinois Valley "Is New Auditor General Frank Mautino the Next Illinois corruption Crisis". This article is from Forbes and makes for interesting reading.
Who got the accounting on at city? The name I heard I can't believe..
5:58, Will the name ever be revealed?
5;58 DO YOU mean the accounting job? Tell us who you heard. I haven't heard any names.
4:15 PM, January 24, 2016 - Funny you should say that. Ask Happy and Frank how that works out.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2016/01/22/is-auditor-general-frank-mautino-the-next-illinois-corruption-crisis/#6ff0c8b0684e
Happy and Frank and Ladd Construction. Was there an enabler to get the feds to remove the Ladd dump? Someone should investigate that.
4:15 PM, January 24, 2016 - I have no problems "keeping spending local" - I have a problem with selecting vendors and contractors simply because they are local. And more importantly because they have political connections.
As far as understanding how the economy works, I understand that it works best without government involvement. WE need to minimize government spending across the board. Peru seems to be the only local government that understands that.
in my haste I forgot an important word in my 6:42 comment - it should be Doesn't understand.
About 70 percent of economists will tell you the opposite is true about government spending and the economy but whatever. There is a reasonable balance but if you are indeed stupid enough to think that "minimizing government spending" somehow stimulates the economy, then on that basically all economists agree you are wrong. In fact there are countless sources that will show the opposite is true. I am not an advocate of spending more necessarily, I just hate partisan lies and talking points from people like 6:42.
Maybe you should read Milton Friedman Mr. 8:02. I don't know who the 70% of economists you follow are, but I tend to trust Mr. Friedman's view on things. Maybe it has something to do with that Nobel Prize in Economic Science. He pretty much disproved the Keynesian theory that you are eluding to.
I know Friedman well but I choose to read a wide range of views, not just one that fits my political ideology. He was one economist and while I do agree with some of his views, the facts don't generally support his views over time. That was my point. The fact is he did NOT disprove Keynes' theories.
Personally I think there is some balance between the two but cutting government spending does absolutely nothing to improve the economy and the research supports the exact opposite over many decades of data. One can make the argument that in places or periods of high taxation, cutting taxes may do so as it has the same impact as lower gas prices. People spend the money.
Having said that, we are not in a period of high taxation historically speaking. Rates used to be far greater than they are now. Interesting discussion but I just don't like the one-sided anti-government views. There is a reasonable balance that makes the economy hum and it's not "cutting government spending" makes everything go.
the only thing that actually "stimulates" the economy are actual people spending actual money. There is no such thing as a "government stimulus" - all have failed miserably. Even the Progressive hero, Franklin Roosevelt, failed at all attempts to spend his way to national prosperity. The only thing that brought us out of the Depression of 1929 to 1945 was the death of 60 million people.
Then why did the Soviet Union fall?
I don't think we are going to solve an argument over who is the best economist. I quoted an actual source that has an actual PhD and a Nobel Prize. You made up a statistic - "70% of economists favor government spending."
I'll end this with a few points of fact. Government does not produce anything. Government takes from the producers in order to provide services that could not otherwise be effectively coordinated or purchased by individuals. That is fine as long as the relationship is maintained. Government spending on anything besides which is within the strict limitations of its role in society is not good for the economy. Maintaining an Interstate Highway System, for example, is good for an economy. Overspending does not increase the effectiveness of that economic impact. For example, expanding that Interstate Highway to 8 lanes in each direction between Peru and Ottawa might provide some short term employment and ensure a present driving experience, it will not simulate any additional long term economic growth. One thing it might do is cause an over abundance of road construction workers within the market, driving down wages in the future. One thing it definitely will do is cause additional taxation which will remove real money from the producers and prevent long term investment in things that the market actual desires.
The argument that Peru needs a building for the public works department to call home is not in question. The question is how much building do they need and how much money is the government going to remove from the economy to build it? I do not believe the government has ever actually published an official budget for this project.
4:15 here. A discussion about whether or not government spending is in theory a good thing or bad thing wasn't the purpose of my initial "economics" statement. My point was that IF our local government decides to move forward on this project (ideally doing so only with the blessing of taxpayers), they owe it to the community -aka tax base- to buy materials from a local provider - not some industrial warehouse in the suburbs.
Therein lies the rub 3:19. What if these "local providers" overcharge for their goods and services because they know the government will not shop outside the area? In almost every instance that a government has imposed a rule or law requiring the use of local goods and services, the price of these goods and services has increased. Removing competition disrupts the free market. The only way around this is for the government to dictate the price and mandate the local source produce at that price. That is called Fascism.
I highly doubt a retailer such as Debo's or Maze Lumber is fluctuating their prices depending on the buyer - there is a price tag right on the stuff sitting on the shelf. Labor rates, on the other hand, are probably a little more subjective.
11:12, we are talking about constructing a building, not buying a pair of work gloves.
50 pair of premium leather work gloves at popular downtown store = $757
50 pair of the same premium leather work gloves from on-line source = $632.
What would the same premium leather work gloves cost at the 2 popular stores in the North end of Peru. It makes sense to do price comparisons by a city government but best to keep the purchase in town.
10:49 PM, January 27, 2016 - make it 3 and about the same. Hilbilly Hardware is a little more.
The point is - our local governments waste a considerable amount of money purchasing locally. Take copy machine paper - why not get together with ALL the local governments, including the schools and the county, and have one paper contract? The GSA also has what is called a Schedule 70 purchasing program for IT equipment and services. GSA also negotiated wireless contracts for cellphones. Why does Peru have so many cell phone contracts, all with different equipment and diffent rates? Laziness and "buying local" - that is why. Meanwhile, the taxpayers overpay for everything, including the work gloves that our city workers seem to go through like Kleenex.
Is this what we are down to now? Pizza, beer and the cost of work gloves? Good grief.
Work gloves are nothing more than a example and easy to analyze as they are a shelf product. By the way 9:12 AM how much did the city spend last year on work gloves? Down to?
Let me guess the next campaign will be about work gloves. This is the mentality that makes voters laugh. And that copy machine paper that if you were to get all the cities together you would get a discount. Guess what its called Staples and they have a national contract for municipalities and business. Please, these posts are funny and simple. We all get a kick out of the humor. The scary thing is that some of these bloggers are serious. I hope a few of these comedians will get elected. We have nothing to laugh about since the last election. We need more snowball fights, fire extinguisher wars, FBI investigations, flower power, field trips, fireworks safety inspections and the weekly facebook press conferences.
10:30 you should run for office and expose the latest work glove scandal! Lol
They have no desire to overspend on work gloves. I mean think about what you are saying. I own a business but when we need some new work gloves we don't comparison shop and waste time. We go to Debo's and buy what we need and keep on working.
Get a life! Or better yet, please keep up the laughs. This is good stuff.
Better yet 1:17 why not have a warehouse in the new Public Works building. Keep it supplied with common everyday products that are used consistently and buy them in bulk. Not only is it usually cheaper to buy in bulk it would save wear and tear on our city vehicles, gas for our vehicles, and man hours because Debo's will be much further away in the future. Ladders seems to have been another big purchase from them. Have various ladders in the warehouse, make the user sign them out and sign them back in. If you read the disbursements on a regular basis you would think every city employee must have a ladder. Food for thought!!
No disagreement there 12:10. I am assuming they do purchase some things in bulk and maybe the new facility will allow for some of that.
I followed a city truck around one day last summer. It's hilarious. First, they start the engine at 8:00 AM and it never turns off for the entire day. Up to the north end, back to home base to pick something up. Up to the park. Back down to the hardware store to buy some gloves. Up to the north end. Park under a tree for a couple of hours. Off to lunch. Park in the burger joint for 45 minutes. Time to fill the gas tank. Back to the barn 'cause its time to go home.
11:41 you are a liar and you know it. We are to believe that you followed a city truck for 8 hours so almost a year later you could tell us that anonymously on a blog.
Even if you did have nothing else to do for an entire day but stalk city workers, that is the stupidest lie of a story and you absolutely know it. Even the way you tell is sounds completely made up if I didn't know for a fact it was a lie. Our city workers are good workers and I know you lie and I am pretty sure I know who you are.
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