The Numbers Are In...

And I can't help but think of that marvelously apropos R&B sing: "You Dropped a Bomb On Me". The Yellow Ribbon Task Force has made it's decision on this "Hostage Deal" and the grand total is (I trust you ARE sitting down).....FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS! Well, that IS half of what was originally proposed, and a tad less than the $600 million, but STILL...that is a huge honkin' chunk o' change! They must have spun the "Wheel of Fortune" to arrive at THAT number....now all they have to do is pick a letter. I can think of three offhand...W-T-F.

Now...lemme do the math on that...$500 Million split between 53 buildings...comes to about $9,433,966.26 per building (give or take a buck). I have the twenty six cents right here! But wait you say, maybe not ALL the buildings will need THAT much. OK then...even after you spread the "wealth" around, it all goes into the same pot, more or less. Some schools will need more than the amount (per building) shown, while others will require less. It all balances out.....except in OUR bank accounts, where it really matters. All we will see from this is a lot of MINUS SIGNS!

So...by the year 2012, a homeowner with a $100,000 (that's THOUSANDS, not millions like FWCS likes to use) house will pay an ADDITIONAL $330 a year in property tax...that's *IF* the county doesn't go and RE-ASSESS that home HIGHER (which they probably will...you know how THEY work). Still, if we were to take a page from the MAYAN calendar, the world will come to an END on December 21st, 2012. Maybe we shouldn't sweat it so much then?

Funny, but with ALL the TOLL ROAD money coming in, why not "tap that keg", and get some of THAT? I mean the INTEREST alone for the "leasing" of that toll road comes to about $1 million PER DAY....let's check into that, 'ya think? Ironically, I can see people taking more LOANS to pay for things, while FWCS gets a "free-ride" at our expense. Hell, let THEM take out a loan...a big HUGE loan...interest rates are pretty good right now, and they DO have all those buildings as "collateral", right? Nah...all that makes too damn much SENSE to even consider those options...besides, why even bother the STATE (who mandates the testing & achievement levels in every school system as it is), right? It's wrong to bother that "rich uncle" when you can fleece Mr. & Mrs. taxpayer of Fort Wayne.

The word "EXODUS" (from Fort Wayne) comes to mind about now.

But I'm certain as the sun will come up tomorrow that when this $500 million buckaroo debacle is passed, and we get it up the "canal" again for years to come, our kids will be the SMARTEST little buggers on the face of the planet...right? I said... RIGHT? I'm not hearing anyone in agreement here. What? You don't think ALL that money will ENSURE a better educational venue that will allow every child to NEVER be left behind, provide them with every aspect of human nature and scholastic aptitude required for college entry? You doubt that?

You're putting up all the money....so you should be well "on board" with this, right? Oh, you're saying it's not all about the buildings, or even the educators..it's about the kids learning to become personally responsible and having the parents accountable for their success (or failure)...I get it now. So how much money do we decide to toss at THAT premise? Personally, I don't think all the money on the planet can DO what is required in this instance. How can you teach people about things they don't wish to be taught about in the first place? That $500 million won't buy (or even rent) THAT now...will it?

And therein lies our conundrum. Do we spend ALL that money to redress these 53 school buildings, and "hope" the kids learn better, or do we spend ONLY what is needed to keep the buildings safe and functional for the kids, and DEMAND better from every one of them (because we know they have it inside themselves to do better)?

Now there's something that "task force" probably didn't even consider.

Maybe we should just forget all the "city" mottos, and decide to change our STATE'S name instead....from Indiana to TAXUS!

(It does have the novelty of not having been tried yet)