Category: Paris Texas

Our government

Figures don’t lie …  so, according to our government, everything is just hunky-dory; the borders are safe, and there’s no inflation at all – it’s just that prices are rising, which show positive and great economic percentages in growth – and it has all the data to back up the claims. The fly in all this pile of government manure is that while figures don’t lie, liars can figure.

Insanity is believing that inflation is a good thing and that liars can’t figure…

It’s things like those that make people distrust government.

It seems that those employed in or working for more government, including in Paris, seem to believe in the stupidity of voters.

The City of Paris budget has increased over 7-percent during the last two fiscal years, and it has added two new assistant city managers to help give away cash (and other incentive tax dollars), while adding litter, letting the weeds grow, allowing telephone poles to injure and kill citizens, and watching too many neighborhoods continue to succumb to blight and decay . . .

The federal boys and girls report National Retail sales (NAICS 44-45) increased 3.1% from $5,402.3 billion in 2019 to $5,570.4 billion in 2020, according to estimates from the U. S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Annual Retail Trade Survey <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/arts.html> (ARTS).

Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses (NAICS 4541) <https://www.census.gov/naics/?input=4541&year=2012&details=454111>)// had $888.5 billion in sales in 2020, up 35.2% from 2019. This was the largest year-to-year increase of any industry in 2020.

Other highlights:
* Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers’ (NAICS 441) <https://www.census.gov/naics/?input=441&year=2012&details=441>) sales decreased 2.4% from $1,237.7 billion in 2019 to  $1,208.3 billion in 2020.

* Grocery Store sales (NAICS 4451) <https://www.census.gov/naics/?input=4451&year=2012&details=4451>) increased 9.4% from $694.3 billion in 2019 to $759.7 billion in 2020.

* Gasoline Station (NAICS 447) <https://www.census.gov/naics/?input=447 &year=2012&details=447>) sales decreased sales decreased 16.6% from $513.5 billion in 2019 to $428.1 billion in 2020.

The Census Bureau has been conducting the ARTS since 1952. This survey included 16,500 employer businesses that sell directly to consumers classified in the retail trade sector in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It does not include data for businesses in U. S. Territories. Firms without paid employees (non-employers) are included based on administrative data provided by other federal agencies and through “imputation.”

The data are published on a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) <https://www.census.gov/naics/> basis. They are used to benchmark monthly retail sale and inventory estimates each spring used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and other federal agencies to develop related products.

 

According to this data, national retail sales increased by 3.1%, grocery prices by 9.4%, and a decrease in auto sales (2.4%) and gas prices (16.6%).

While the report doesn’t touch it, isn’t it likely that inflation created most of the increases, not value. And consumers made market choices on just what they could afford, and that much of the online and catalog sales came from the politically-inspired Covid19 shutdown? 

As sayth the national Democrat Party and the RINO’s in it, “there is no inflation.” The Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce is just wondering, (a) what caused the prices to increase? And (b) how much neighborhood improvement could be accomplished annually by half of what the City of Paris is now paying its administrative staff? 

                                          return to the Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce

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               Slidin’ up to it or slidin’ away from it . . .           

               The Community’s Condition

                                                                                                  

(It doesn’t seem the first part of this has a point to it. But it does. And it doesn’t have anything [much] to do with football. The first four paragraphs are just there to lead you to the first of two points).

Arkansas 2022 offensive line commit Eli Henderson (6-4, 305 pounds) of Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes gave his pledge to the Razorbacks on Aug. 10, 2020, despite having never set foot on campus.

Henderson, who chose the Razorbacks over Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Louisville, and 15-other Power 5 schools, was emotional walking into Reynolds Razorback Stadium with Arkansas coach Sam Pittman. “The Zoom and online stuff doesn’t do it justice,” Henderson said. “I have to tell you that when I first walked into the stadium with Coach Pittman by my side, I almost teared up a bit, because you don’t get the full impact until you are actually there.”

Henderson has talked plenty of his desire to play for Pittman. “He is a genuine guy in a very non-genuine profession,” Henderson said. “You don’t see that much. He is a very special guy in a very special city. Everyone there loves him and it’s not just because he is the head coach and they are not just saying it, you can see that everyone actually does love the guy.”

After he and his family spent four days in Fayetteville last week, Henderson said, “My family loved it. My mother had a ball up there. They showed her a great time . . .”

(And here is the first point of this): “We went out a couple of nights while we were there … and I talked to as many people as I could to ask them about the area and I literally heard nothing bad at all. We tried to look for a piece of trash on the ground, but we couldn’t find one. It was amazing how clean it was. It was awesome.”

In Paris, Texas, its difficult to find a piece of ground without trash on it.

 

If Fayetteville, Arkansas can do it, why can’t Paris Texas?

Fayetteville, the woo, pig, sooie! capital of Arkansas, was founded in October, 1828; Paris, once the North Star of Texas, was founded in December, 1839 – only 11-years later. 

In 1920, Fayetteville’s population was 5,362; population in Paris was 15,040.

So, where do the two cities stand today?

Fayetteville: The 1990 federal census showed population to be 42,099, an increase of 15 percent from the 1980 census. And the 2020 census reported a population of 73,580. It has been chosen as the best city in all of the SEC states to live in, and the #3 best place in the nation to live, by Forbes Magazine.

Paris:  From a 1880 United States census population of 3,980, the population of the City of Paris increased to 25,898 at the 2000 census; in 2020, however, its population had declined to 24,171.[3].  It now ranks as the 9th worst place to live in Texas by the Texas Police News, which uses the crime rates for property and violent crime for its assessment. According to their statistics, you stand a one in 17 chance of becoming a violent crime victim in Paris.

 

NOW, don’t shoot the messenger.

The Paris Texas Chamber is just reporting existing information and data. We don’t like the bed we find ourselves in. Either.

It’s hard to feel pride when you’re in a city known as the 9th worst place to live in a state with 254 counties, and 1,216 incorporated cities.

So, as promised: The second point being the question, what made the difference between these two towns?

There’s always a reason . . .

                                     return to  Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce

 

 

 

In 2017, the Paris Texas Chamber of Commerce urged development of the flood plain swamp ground areas at Lake Crook as a state and/or national Wetlands and Wildlife Area. This, we said, would drastically reduce the costs of a new sewer treatment plant, now and in the future, and be a visitor’s and educational draw for Paris.

We even published a survey of new treatment facilities of varying sizes and their costs in cities across Texas, and a few in other states.

Using the development of a Wetland project, projections showed a greatly reduced overall cost for a new plant, the cost coming in at a low of $30 million to a high of $35 million.

We warned, based on what other cities were doing, that the process being engaged in by the City of Paris for a treatment plant, with its estimated cost of $40 to $70-million, would likely end in an exorbitant cost, as bids were not being solicited.

Neither the City of Paris, nor its taxpayers, listened or seemed interested.

The city, the PEDC and the Lamar County Chamber reportedly claimed the Paris Chamber didn’t know what it was talking about –

So, here in 2023, Paris is facing a new sewer treatment plant cost of $100-million-or more. (with the highest 2017 cost under-estimated by $30-million?)

The result for simply not looking at all possible options is that a newly-born baby in Paris will owe another estimated $4,000 dollars of the costs of this one item – as will every man, woman, and child inside the city limits – in addition to the $2600 each already owe in fees and taxes to cover the annual city budget.

While its true that worlds of knowledge exist that we personally know little-to-nothing about, we do know that wasteful spending and higher taxes is no way to run a railroad.

Or a city.

Those in charge of our local community and economic development shouldn’t be talking about anyone not knowing what to do when Paris has lost population for over a quarter of a century.

For decades, not a city council has looked after the taxpayer’s actual interest.

For instance, for over over 25-years Paris has known a new plant was needed. A period of time when city council after city council increased water, sewer and trash pickup fees; money which has generally disappeared into the general budget – and to pay for costly studies. How much of such funds were set aside to meet the future costs?

How were bids requested? Where? When?

City leaders have again contracted for another $300,000-plus study of the problem, which is more waste of money.

It’s worse than gambling: A Paris is always beaten by a flush . . .

return to The Paris Texas Chamber