Author: parischamber

 

Spending Money . . .

Folks in Paris, Texas, never seem to ask where the city’s getting its spending money. Every October 1st a new fiscal year begins for the city, and no one seems to know where the money comes from . . .

One-fourth of the fiscal year is gone. Things inside the city limits, other than gaining another assistant city manager and more plans for spending money, are still about the same as all of last year. And the year before. And the year – Well, you know –

On the plus or negative side, depending on how you look at it, during the last two fiscal years, city property taxes increased over 7% (a compounded 3.5% increase each year, which is the maximum allowed by state law without a citywide vote); and Paris added an assistant city manager.

Again.

Now, bless us, we have two assistant city managers to help the city manager tell city council members how to do their jobs; especially, when it comes to spending money. So, taxpayers and citizens are either needing to cry or celebrate, depending on what they see as progress.

Most of the input to the Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce seems to indicate that Paris is following federal policies.

Evidently, only a few folks know that the only money that government has, including the City of Paris and the PEDC, are dollars collected by threat force of a police state. What Was The Lamar County Chamber supposedly operates on money voluntarily donated to them, but it has been subsidized by city tax dollars for years. (An example being the city gives it the annual $700,000 or so of visitor’s tax to managed, and pays it a healthy sum to do so.)

Like the feds, not one of these Three Mustyrears have money of their own. They operate by OPM (other people’s money).

Government, including Paris’ own, always seem to agree that there is a lot of activity going on in drug use, border crossing, crime, and wishful thinking on the part of those who want someone to give them other people’s money.

Victims (those providing the money) take a dim view of these activities, however, arguing they only benefit a few, and the positive long-term benefits are questionable.

Paris needs a big production to offset the arguments: Play some of that Devil Music and have a high ol’ time. Do some boot-scootin’ booging around the dance floor. Sing a little bit of “Give Me That Old Time Religion”- which we need while cussing about some things that were done last year:

  • The leadership purchased a few industries to replace the ones we’ve lost: Giving land, abatement (no taxes), other incentives, and our hard-earned cash in exchange for a promise to create jobs.
  • A similar policy subsidized a few promoters offering to build 1000 to 1200 square foot “affordable, low-income homes” (at a $200,000 cost per home).
  • A portion of the Retail Tax dollars collected by four retail businesses (replacing four businesses that closed in a shopping center) were refunded (given back, whether legal or not, to the retail businesses), and a partial abatement of property taxes given the shopping center owner.
  • The city pledged $7 million to build a street for a proposed residential development with a retail shopping area on the SW Loop – in violation of existing city ordinances requiring developers to pay the cost of new streets to/from and in their developments.
  • A proposed motel on North Main Street got an abatement and utilities help.
  • The city, PEDC and What Used To Be The Lamar County Chamber paid a Florida firm $85,000 to develop a logo for use as a local “Brand.” Then, spend an another estimated $85,000-or so painting the brand on vehicles and signs, re-doing websites, reprinting brochures, business cards, stationery and other office materials, etc. (Its hard to tell, but the brand or logo seems to promote or warn of drug use: Paris Texas – where Texans Reach Higher.)
  • The city entered into an another reported $230,000 study on what Paris should do. (As at least five such studies are on shelves or in boxes at city hall – if not lost among the old files or thrown out. They should be like new. They’ve hardly been used.)

In general, these are some of the things Paris have done over the last year or two, or is doing.

But is picking – choosing – who gets what, who wins and who loses, and robbing Bob to pay Paul, progress? Or is it s regression to old world socialism, where a few individuals control resources and the means of production?

 

                             return to  Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce

 

You don’t stiff your customers

Candid. Truthful. Ethical. Transparent. Plain-speaking. The true goals of reasonable behavior – the recognized building blocks of self-responsibility and accountability – are the guiding standards for an honorable and just society: You don’t stiff your customers.

What should be obvious is that factual information is essential for voters to make informed decisions about issues, and the result of those decisions.

Recently, the Paris Texas Chamber recognized that TV program re-runs from two to three decades ago were popular for a simple reason:  Mostly, what you see today is progressive ‘woke’ crap, packaged to confused genders in the alphabet world, and unending ads by some of the nation’s largest corporations, which are great at separating money from those who labor for it.

Most ads seem to be selling a “woke” counter-culture, using gender-confused fake-happy “spokespersons” regurgitating words provided by some creative-challenged copywriter employed with an endeavor “too big to fail!”

These monopolies and conglomerates are:

* A few that invent a disease for some drug that was discovered as a side-effect of another drug, and the side-effect of this new drug sold to hypochondriacs – for this newly discovered disease – will kill them.

* A few want to sell you questionable processed food mixed (for taste) with flavored sugar that will make you not just a little dietetic, but will fatten you up before Christmas.

* A few have miraculously put “bushels of fruit and vegetables” in one little-bitty pill.

* A few have pills that will help you sleep; a few have pills that will keep you awake, and all of them guaranteed to make you healthy just enough to live long enough to regret it.

* Eight national Internet Providers and telephone companies openly lie about download speeds; “apps” that you don’t need; and never ever mention the robocalls that pay them billions of dollars for our data and personal information that they sell.

* Then, there are hours of ads for “free” money and “free”assistance by a myriad of programs from government agencies (using taxpayer dollars), which take our money by force and use what remains after political salaries and retirement to try and convince the taxpayers that more government is the answer to all our problems.

Its all a partnership between Big Business and Big Government, leading to pay-TV for sports and Google’s YouTube like-promises of no ads and better quality programming. All for a higher cost. Naturally.

 

The objective seems to be to stiff their customers – playing them as dopes –  by lying about products or services.

Its an idea they got from Government.  

The problem is that there is no accountability for how government does what it does. And evidently, it has recently assured its Big Business cronies that they are not accountable for what they do. Either.

Logic has been buried in the years of lies by big government and its big business cronies.

We all want increased salaries or incomes to improve our lives economically.  Sometimes our greed makes us foolish.

So, totalitarians sell the sizzle, not the steak.

The sizzle of greed is an easy sell. The steak, however, is a conflict with their interest, so they keep the steak.

Because you don’t stiff your customers, taxpayers are – rightly – losing our faith in government. It takes away our power to keep it our servant every time it or one of its “too big to fail” cronies acts against just one of us.  They are, by forcing us into compliance, using that power to become our master.  Examples being Internet providers (IPs):  Each of the three largest IPs in Paris, are redlining their digital service areas, while lying to us about the download and upload speeds.

Each firm has 15-or more carefully small worded pages of their “customer service” and “privacy” agreements telling each customer that they must agree to surrender every right they have as individuals, plus pay for “access” to a free Internet. In short, as the agreements and privacy policies are basically the same at every firm, customers (who must use their services to remain current in the digital world) are forced into compliance – while paying the firms to act as their masters. And government allows it.

While being inundated with issues that appeal emotionally – as logic and Constitutional principles are ignored – voters, are told – lied to, mostly – about glorified political personalities who allow forced compliance – and benefit by it.

Unfortunately, most of us are unaware that we’re being stiffed by a corrupt privilege few.

 

                            return to   Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce

                                                                                                                                links:  Trash Pick-up

                                                                                                                                        An Organizational Innovation

                                                                                                                                           Fish or Cut-Bait !

To please silly people, The first Texas Right-To-Farm Act (RTF) was passed in 1981.

Legislators proposed the act “to reduce the state’s loss of agricultural resources.”   Silly people believed it was needed. 

Since then, the number of operators in the state has grown by 27 percent, while the number of acres in farmland has dropped by 8 percent (largely due to the growing number of wind and solar fields, lakes, and the expanding population centers).

Basically, it was sold as a way to protect certain agricultural operations from nuisance suits when they impact a neighboring property, such as through noise or pollution. (Texas defines nuisance as actions that cause (1) physical harm to a property; (2) physical harm to persons on their property by assaulting their senses or other personal injury; or (3) emotional harm to persons from the deprivation of the enjoyment of their property through fear, apprehension, or loss of peace of mind.)

“Loss of mind” is not mentioned.

 

The 1981 Act…

…supposedly was centered on protecting certain types of operations from such lawsuits if they are engaged in soil cultivation, crop production, floriculture, fviticulture, horticulture, silviculture, wildlife management, raising or keeping livestock or poultry, or other agricultural land set aside in compliance with governmental conservation program. (That was the kicker.)

It was, voters were told, a way of providing agricultural operations broad immunity and limit a neighbors’ ability to sue by protecting an operation from nuisance suits (if it has lawfully existed for one year). It also was to “protect” agricultural improvements that are not prohibited by law at time of construction or restricts the flow of water, light, or air onto other land.

The law required that agricultural operations adhere to federal, state, and local laws in order to receive protection from nuisance suits. (More kickers!)

Additionally, the law required facilities to comply with local governmental regulations that protect the health and safety of residents. (Keep adding those kickers!!)

In practice, it’s obvious that (1) the 1981 Act demonstrates that “the right to farm” took away the owner’s basic right to control and manage their farm or ranch land, and (2) that government takes care of government.*

Isn’t it amazing that legislation often achieves exactly what it is designed to avoid?

 

42-Years later, on November 7, 2023 …

...Texas voters approved HJR 126, changing the landowner’s right to farm and / or ranch to a “privilege” – whereby, the state’s governmental units allow a landowner to “engage” in farming or ranching. By voter approval, the amendment allows the state to create future administrative agencies to control and manage farm, ranch and other agricultural endeavors – operating on some currently-unknown “generally accepted” practices – to “assure public health and public safety” unknown issues based on yet unknown rules and regulations. (Nothing in it, but kickers!!!)

The Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce warned property owners not to approve this horrendous legislation, as it opened the doors to more government control and management of private property.

We were ignored.

But if your neighbor can control and manage your property, what good is your ownership of it? You get to pay the taxes and the costs of maintenance, but they reap the the benefits of ownership – if any remains after the next 42-years . . .

We won’t be around then; however, if you are one of those who voted to approve the change, and are, remember you were warned ––

We’re supposed to be a nation of limited government based on self-responsibility with accountability for wrong-doing. But today, Texas, and the nation, are in a mess because too many silly people want the government to take care of them. They see themselves as a victim or being incapable of taking care of themselves.

Silly people take a great deal of pride in being stupid; believing everything that government tells them, while ignoring the fact they cannot name three problems that government has solved over the last three-quarters of a century, while creating the mess we’re in . . .

Please, stop being one of the silly people voting for silly people.

 

* 20-years later, the Texas Legislature created the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (in 2001);  while supposedly eliminating the Natural Resources Department. In 2019, the Athens, Texas Daily Review newspaper, followed the TCEQ’s charge and investigation into Sanderson Farms as being in violation of nuisance statutes due to odors, noise, emissions, and runoff. In October 2020, the paper reported that a court ordered Sanderson Farms to pay plaintiffs $6 million in damages from nuisances related to its sixteen poultry barns. This despite the 1981 Right To Farm Act, which was sold to “protect from lawsuits in regard to such nuisances.” (In reality, the 1981 Act, like HJR 126, encourages government’s growth, which adds additional burdens to farming and ranching.)

 

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Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce