Happy Birthday Jesus

and Merry Christmas to the rest of you. I hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Peter Schiff knows what he is talking about

10:51 Peter Schiff: Cold Hard Reality


10:39 Peter Schiff: The U.S. Governments Ponzi Scheme Economics


10:53 Peter Schiff : Madoff's Ponzi Scheme


Peter Schiff: In Madoff We Trust
http://www.europac.net/externalframeset.asp?from=home&id=14928

Time to Change the Archaic Law about Public Meeting Notices

Hello all, I would like to ask you to consider helping me get a needed change started. We need to change the archaic law pertaining to public meeting notices. In the internet age we should not be spending money on newspaper ads when Cities and towns can communicate directly to their constituents. Newspaper readership is declining and government at all levels have a cost effective way to increase the dialogue and participation with the internet. The law was written in an age when no viable options existed and should change to reflect the times we live in. I sent the following to my State Senator Austin Allran:

Dear Mr. Allran,

I would like for you to consider sponsoring a bill that would permit Cities and Towns to advertise public hearings, meetings. propery auctions, etc. via the City's website. Cities have to spend considerable money to advertise in newspapers and would benefit from the cost reduction the internet would allow. In addition, newspaper readership is declining and the use of the internet would be just as broad if not broader in the number of people reached.

In the age we live in, governments can communicate directly to citizens more effectively without third party intermediaries. Thank you for your consideration

Would you please consider contacting your Mayor, City Council members and State Senators and ask their consideration?
Merry Christmas. Harry Hipps

Newsletter about the City Council Meeting of December 16, 2008

This newsletter is about the Hickory City Council meeting that I attended this past week. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.

At the bottom right of this page under main information links is a Hickory's Local Government link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the bottom of the page you will see the future dates for meetings scheduled for this year.

At the top of the page, if you click on the “Documents” link, you will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date.

Here is a summary of the agenda of the 12/16/2008 meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below.

Invocation by Rev. Robert Shoffner of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Consent Agenda:
Social Items - Proclamation Declaring December 11, 2008 as “National Active and Retired FederalEmployees Association Day” in the City of Hickory.

Approval of Citizens’ Advisory Committee Recommendations for Assistance Through the City of Hickory’s Housing Programs. Timothy Bolick 36 20th Avenue, NW (Approved for up to $10,000). Joshua & Jennifer Gonzales 1427 5th Street, NE (Approved for up to $10,000). Mrs. Patto recused herself from voting on this issue, because her daughter is a party to the project (is assume Mrs. Gonzalez).


Informational Items:
A. Mayor Wright’s Travel to Raleigh, NC from 10/10-11/2008 to attend the NAACP State Conference, and invite the conference to Hickory in 2009 for the 100th Anniversary Event – hotel - $99.22; per diem - $25.50; mileage - $203.58.

B. City Manager Berry’s Travel to Charlotte, NC from 10/12-14/2008 to attend the 2008 NCLM Annual Conference – registration - $250.00; parking - $10.00.

C. City Manger Berry’s Travel to Raleigh, NC on 11/6/2008 to attend the NCLM Annexation Meeting – registration - $20.00; mileage - $207.09.

New Business - Public Hearings:
1. Amend the Final Statement of Community Development Objectives and Projected Use of Funds for Fiscal Year 2008 - This amendment is for funds to be loaned to Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley in the amount of $40,000.00 to be used for building materials for new Habitat homes in the Blue Sky Court Subdivision. Funds are budgeted for these items through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant funding received in FY 2008. Unanimously Approved.

2. Resolution and Order Closing a Portion of 2nd Street Drive, NW as Requested by Drendel Investments, LLC - On November 5, 2008, Attorney, Warren A. Hutton submitted a petition on behalf of property owner, Drendel Investments, LLC, to abandon a portion of this right of-way, which is no longer necessary for public use. The Agreement for Easement and Consent to Road Closing is signed by the affected property owners that spoke in opposition to the closing in 2006. Unanimously Approved

3. Adopt Ordinance Amending Article 2, Section 2.6.6; Article 5, Section 5.4; Article 7, Section 7.1 and Article 16, Section 16.1 of the Hickory Land Development - City Council on October 7, 2008 adopted a development moratorium on the establishment or expansion of drinking establishments in the zoning jurisdictionof the City of Hickory not to exceed 120 days. Proposed amendments will require special use approval for the location of drinking establishments in each of the districts where they are currently permitted by right and will eliminate the term “discotheque” from the Use Table. Additionally, it will modify the standard by which a parking space reduction is permitted in the City Center Pedestrian Overlay District and clarify the definition of drinking establishments along with adding clarification to the conditions that the Hickory Regional Planning Commission can place on a Special Use Permit. Staff finds the proposed changes are consistent with Hickory by Choice and recommend approval.

Hounds Comment : We have been over and over this issue. It is more than obvious that this issue was never about safety. It has been about the control of land-use all along. The Moratorium was issued under the guise of safety. Where in the above ordinance is the issue of safety addressed?

Mr. Frazier admitted that the Planning Commission voted down the ammendment changes in their October meeting. Newsletter about the Planning/Zoning Meeting of October 22, 2008 . I have a recording of that meeting. Mr. Frazier obfuscated the issue by saying that text ammendments made to the Ordinance would probably be more acceptable to the Planning commission. The truth is that they laughed at the Council for bringing this issue to them and said that Council was going about this the wrong way.

Mrs. Fox jumped all over the adoption of this Ordinance and the Mayor seconded it. Unanimously Approved.

Departmental Reports:
1. Adopt Ordinance to Demolish Abandoned Dwelling Located at 169 14th Street,SE Owned by the Heirs of Kenneth E. Brown - This structure is unoccupied and is creating blight within the neighborhood along with evidence of vagrant use of the structure for shelter.

2. Approve Increased Funding to Western Piedmont Council of Government for an Additional Staff Member to Provide Mortgage Default Counseling in the amount up to $15,523.61 - With the dramatic rise in unemployment, there has been an increased need for mortgage default counseling. Foreclosures in the region have grown from 473 in 1998 to 1,952 in 2007. Data provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond further documents the growing need for assistance in foreclosure prevention counseling in the sub-prime loan market. Most of the four counties in the WPCOG region have 7.1 to 10 percent of their subprime mortgages more than 90 days past due.

Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba Counties have a larger share of the subprime mortgages in danger of foreclosure than many other areas of the State. The WPCOG is attempting to reach out and assist residents with a variety of needs surrounding their foreclosure situations. In 2003, the WPCOG began implementing the Home protection Pilot Program offered by the NC Housing Finance Agency. Over 50 homeowners have benefitted from this program, receiving assistance with mortgage payments while they return to school to learn new job skills. The WPCOG is also a HUD Certified Counseling Agency. Since January 1, 2008, 136 families have received foreclosure prevention counseling from WPCOG staff. City and County Managers within Caldwell, Catawba, Alexander and Burke Counties requested WPCOG to provide a formal request including budget data showing current staff costs, grant funding they receive and a cost proposal for hiring one additional staff for foreclosure counseling activities.

WPCOG estimates that to add an additional full time staff member to aid with the increased workload would cost $64,750.00 annually. Based upon population of the four (4) counties, the City of Hickory would contribute $15,523.61 in additional funds to the WPCOG for the entire two years. Actual costs are expected to be a little over $4,000. Unanimously Approved.

The Hounds View: This is a noble attempt to try and help people and it is morally the right thing to do. I do, however, think it is time to wake up and face the truth. No matter what is done, a good many of these people are going to end up right back in a pickle, because of current economic circumstances.

True Predatory Lending is not the problem. If people were lied to or defrauded, then those individuals and companies that are guilty must be prosecuted; but that is a miniscule part of this issue. Loan Officers and Banks are paid a commission to make loans. From top to bottom, finance people are paid to sell the products they represent. Whether you sell signs, mats, socks, appraisal services, or hotel rooms; you are going to do your darndest to sell the products or sevices you represent. Your income relies on your ability to sell and service your clients.

The major issue is that the vast majority of the people that took out these loans don't understand money, economics, and don't care. Is it your job to be a fortune teller and look into your crystal ball and determine whether someone will be able to afford long term, what you are selling them in present circumstances?

Very few of these people are true victims of current economic circumstances. They are in trouble, because housing values were overinflated during the bubble, they took out Adjustable Rate Mortgages when interest rates were at historic lows, and the government gave them the ability to buy houses with little or no downpayments. These people don't have much skin in the game.

Some people got in over their heads, because it is inherent in their nature. Some could afford a house, but they overbought by buying an expensive house that was outside of their economic level. There are a few that are hurting, because they have been laid off, had their hours cut back, and this has resulted in their current mortgage squeeze.

Buying a house involves the "total present cost" of the house; the monthly payment, the interest rate, and the payback period. Once you buy the house then the "total present cost" is set in stone. The three variables are the monthly payment, the interest rate, and the payback period.

Alot of these people are in trouble because of Adjustable Rate Mortgages. Sub-Prime Mortgages are all about creative ARMs. When these loans are renegotiated, the rates are going to have to be turned from ARMs to Fixed Rate Loans and/or the payback period is going to have to be extended out. The bottom line is to get the monthly payment back down, because the monthly payments skyrocketed to unaffordable levels when interest rates increased a few years ago.

These problems are going to be persistent, because our local economic malaise is not conducive to a turnaround on personal finance issues. Low Income levels around here brought about the overabundance of Sub-Prime Mortgages in our area. This issue is most definitely a symptom of our area's economic illness.

Address to Council: Beverly Sipe is involved in a Ministry to the homeless. She has been hanging out with homeless individuals so that she can understand how they live. She said that this has become an eye opener.

She says that during the week, that the homeless have CCM and the soup kitchen, but when they are closed there are no bathroom facilities. Something needs to be done. Her Suggestion, the bathrooms need to be reopened on the Square during daylight hours. She cited Bible verses James 2:5-9.

Accountability on Jobs

Submitted to the Hickory Daily Record on December 8, 2008.

Mayor Wright was on Hal Rowe’s radio show last week addressing the challenges that face Hickory. He blamed current issues on “having to deal now with the effects of the National and State economy” and said, “our unemployment rate has ratcheted back up, it is not as high as it once was, but it is discouraging.”

Later he stated that we had added 1,400 jobs here in Hickory and that did not include outlying areas. He mentioned Williams-Sonoma, MDI, Convergis, and FedEx (now we find out that those numbers are from Scott Millar of The Economic Development Corporation). He stated that these jobs would offset job losses and that from an economic development standpoint that this has been an excellent year.

Now for a dose of Hickory Hound reality: In my opinion this presentation was purely political spin. These 1,400 jobs are definitely not counting in current employment statistics. An objective look at the numbers show that this has been a dreadful economic year for Hickory. It is nice, that the City’s budget is in order and has a $2 million surplus, but frankly the near term future looks bleak. How long will that “Rainy Day” fund last under current circumstances?

Unemployment is up 2.2% in Catawba County to 8.3%. Statistics show that we have lost approximately 1,401 jobs in this county this year (January through October) and 3,513 in the Unifour (January to September). We have been hit a lot harder than the state or the nation.

The worst part is that local officials take no responsibility for the causes of this situation. This area has been in a malaise since 2001. Since the employment peak of June 2000, we have lost 9,290 jobs in Catawba County and 24,493 jobs in the Unifour. Under any guidelines, this is failure.

In Catawba County, since May 2001, we have only had monthly unemployment lower than 5% one time. Disastrously, during this period, we have not had a single month where we had a better unemployment rate than the state or nation. 56 of the succeeding 89 months have seen Catawba County at least 1% worse than the state’s unemployment rate and in comparison to the National rate, we have been at least 1% worse in 63 out of 89 months. Where is the accountability?

Local government leaders have stood by and watched our manufacturing base shrivel, while constantly telling us our economy is turning around. The numbers don’t lie. The time has long since passed for results. If this were a corporation, we would have changed management teams a long time ago. These results are inexcusable under any criteria. What would Donald Trump say?

The Hounds Point : I do not understand why this has not been published. Does this seem too controversial to any of you? I just question Mayor Wright and Scott Millar's numbers and why they have been presented this way. It seems as though the Hickory Daily Record wants to go along with anything our bureaucratic leaders say, even if it doesn't add up.

In the blog article below I have links that show the statistics cited in this article. I sent those statistics in with this submission. I have always been honest, thorough, and straight forward in my submissions to the Record.

The Record, in the last few days, has begun deleting any comments that I make to their online site that make reference to this site. I have not spammed their site. I only make reference to this site when I feel that one of their stories has relevance to this site. I also reference their paper as source material and have a link to their paper listed at the bottom right side of this page. I have always been more than fair to the Hickory Daily Record.

I have been disappointed lately by their general lack of any in-depth journalism on the relevant issues in this city. They have decided to become the equivalent of a school newspaper and that is their choice. They own their newspaper and if they have directly decided not to stir up any controversy or question the "Powers That Be" on relevant issues, then so be it. But in my opinion, when they do this, they throw away any modicum of journalistic integrity and become a marketing tool for local bureaucrats.

With all we have seen in the city of Hickory and the Unifour, Is that really what we need?

24,493 Jobs Lost in the Unifour since June 2000

I heard the Mayor last week touting the fact that we have gained 1,400 new jobs in Hickory this year and the same number was touted by Scott Millar, the head of the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation, yesterday in the Hickory Daily Record. The Mayor stated on Hal Rowe's show that he believes that the uptick in Unemployment is a result of National and State Economic Issues. He hopes that these job losses will be temporary and these 1,400 jobs will make quite a favorable impact. He says that from an Economic Development standpoint that we have had an excellent year.

Mr. Mayor I just don't see it that way. It is nice that Mr. Rowe gives you a platform to speak from, but please leave the political spin at home. Let's talk about results. You mentioned that these 1,400 jobs were created at Williams-Sonoma, MDI, Convergis, and FedEx. How many of these jobs have actually been realized, versus proposed?

These jobs have little impact on our area's current unemployment numbers. Most of these jobs do not exist at the moment. Local officials have never stated how many of these proposed 1,400 currently exist (people actually doing the work). They act as though they are all currently online and they are not!!!

It is time to stop the obfuscation! Unemployment is up 2.2% in Catawba County to 8.3%. Statistics show that we have lost approximately 1,401 jobs in this county this year (January through October) and 3,513 in the Unifour (January to September). To get back to 5% in Catawba County unemployment, we have to find a net-plus of 2,489 jobs.

It is ridiculous to blame the state and federal government for our situation. This area has been in a malaise since 2001. Since the employment peak of June 2000, we have lost 9,290 jobs in Catawba County and 24,493 jobs in the Unifour.

In Catawba County, since May 2001, we have only had unemployment lower than 5% during one month. Disastrously, we have not had a single month where we had a better unemployment rate than the state or federal government. 56 of the succeeding 89 months have seen Catawba County at least 1% worse than the state’s unemployment rate. Comparing to the Federal rate, we also have been at least 1% worse in 63 out of those 89 months.

I know that these a lot of numbers and many of you may not be interested in the numbers, but there is a pattern here. We were a successful community, because of our robust industrial based economy. The community was doing well as a whole and now only certain pockets of our community are doing well, while most of us are worried to death about our future.

City officials seem to think that we can magically transform this area into a more service oriented economy, while watching our industrial manufacturing base wither and die. Our successes in the past were brought about by an industrial based economy. While the days of the hosiery industry have long since passed, there are still new, innovative, technical manufacturing industries waiting to be brought here or discovered. We should not seek to return to a bygone era, but we should learn the salient points of our history.

Do we not expect Accountability? Local government leaders have stood by and watched our manufacturing base shrivel, while constantly telling us our economy is turning around. The numbers don’t lie. The time has long since passed for results. If this were a corporation, we would have changed management teams a long time ago. These results are inexcusable under any criteria. The Wright path has led us in the wrong direction!!!

The Unifour's Unemployment Numbers:
http://hickoryhound.googlegroups.com/web/Unifour%20Area%20Unemployment%20figures.xls?gsc=wiJC5BYAAAD6B-_n9Gqh7BP95elZ_rEh57an5Fe8QJeePd7zpGv9tg

Catawba County Unemployment Spreadsheet:
http://hickoryhound.googlegroups.com/web/Hickory+Unemployment+4+-+2k81205+(3).xls?gda=s4SZuF4AAADNJTwgxLHl9sR8sNs28UTRi4vdkNwo0RBTBC1DMH_pYIFlaxaQ3AwJ_PQYCE0hwCt1ev9eErEjiTzqK7Iu2WwPmww4DpCobtkUhHoXAeUyAeOwpdWz5ftt1dlzlu5J-bE

New Article at Common Sense and Clear Thinking Blog

Citibank Memo confirms Hard Times Ahead