Louisville’s Continuing Love Affair With Political Mediocrity

As those who follow Another Opinion know, I typically write about global and national issues. However, recently I’ve had a number of people ask me about Louisville Mayor, Craig Greenberg. Most of those asking about Greenberg were interested in his political experience prior to his election as Metro Mayor in 2022. So, here it goes.

Craig Greenberg was born on August 22, 1973 in Commack, New York, which is a small upper middle class hamlet (comprising 12.23 square miles) on Long Island. It’s claim to fame is a Methodist church built in 1789 and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum which is located in the Suffolk Jewish Community Center.

His family moved to Louisville in 1980 where he attended Ballard High School in Louisville. From there, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in political science and government, from the University of Michigan. He was the student government president and Phi Beta Kappa.

It’s worth mentioning that Phi Beta kappa is one of America’s oldest and most prestigious  academic honor societies, having been founded in 1776. It’s members have included 17 presidents, 42 U.S. Supreme Court Justices, and 136 Nobel Prize recipients.  After graduating in 1995, Greenberg went on to attend Harvard University’s School of Law where he graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctorate in 1998.

In 2000, Greenberg cofounded the Venture Capital Fund and Technology Consulting Company I-Visionary in Lexington, Kentucky, where he served as the Chief Operating Officer and the company’s general council. That same year, he was named one of Business First’s “Top 40 Under 40”. In 2001, Ballard High School named him “Alumni of the Year”.

In 2003, he attended Leadership Louisville and then was a 2005 Bingham Fellow graduate. He went on to serve Metro United Way’s board of directors, as well as the board of directors for Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, the Jewish Community Center, and the University of Louisville’s Board of Trustees.

He was part of the development team for the Museum Plaza and Whiskey Row, and then with art investors, Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown, cofounded the 21C Museum Hotels chains. He served as president in 2012 and CEO in 2017 before stepping down in mid-2020.

Prior to his election, Greenberg was an attorney with Frost, Brown, and Todd, one of Louisville’s best known law firms. His job there was developing some of the firm’s ancillary business ventures, including an initiative to secure and “deploy” new market tax credit investments to lower tax liabilities for businesses. He helped to raise and invest roughly $100 million dollars in low income communities throughout Kentucky and elsewhere using the federal tax credit program.

Greenberg is also a cofounder with sports radio host, Matt Jones, of the Greenberg Group, which co-owns the Ohio Valley Wrestling,  holding a majority share of stock, where he served as CEO, president, and general counsel.  According to Gurufocus, Greenberg is also a director of Republic Bancorp and holds about 6,272 shares of Republic Bancorp stock.

Craig is married to Rachel, a public school teacher. Together they have two children, Daniel and Benjamin. His mother, Dr Ruth Greenberg, died at the end of January 2024 after what was described as a “brief illness”. Greenberg, like his mayoral predecessor, Jerry Abramson, is Jewish.

In April 2021, Greenberg announced his candidacy for mayor on the Democratic ticket seeking to replace outgoing  Mayor Greg Fischer (if mediocrity had a child, I think he would be a strong contender). Greenberg stated platform was public safety, universal pre-K, affordable housing, getting illegal guns off the streets, reducing crime, supporting abortion rights, and government transparency.

Ultimately, Greenberg was just one of seven running on the Democrat ticket, with 3^rd District Metro Council member and mayoral candidate, Shameka Parrish-Wright appearing to be the early favorite given her strong support among black voters (she won her seat in 2023 with 88% of the vote).  However, all that changed on February 14^th---Valentine’s Day---2022.

That was the day when 21 year old Quintez Brown walked into Greenberg’s campaign office in the Butchertown Market area on Story Avenue and fired several shots from his 9mm Glock semi-automatic at near point blank range at Greenberg, who was seated in his chair, miraculously only nicking his shirt and sweater.

Brown, who was a prominent spokesperson for the local Black Lives Matter movement and a professed “social justice advocate”. Interestingly, Brown himself was running for a seat on Metro Council. Brown then turned and ran as staff members immediately tried to barricade the door.

According to reports, Quintez Brown was arrested a few blocks away, still carrying his Glock. The police reported that he was also carrying nine fully load clips! Sounds like he was anticipating a showdown with someone. During questioning, Brown confessed that he went to Greenberg’s office with a single intent---to kill him.

He later admitted that he was wanted to be the “Equalizer”, a reference to the role portrayed by Denzel Washington who, as a former Marine, was something of a vigilante-like crusader out to rid his fictional city of criminals. Brown added that he expected the police would arrive before he had an opportunity to shoot Greenberg, and he would die at the hands of the local police.

According to the city prosecutors, Brown was miffed at Greenberg because of his support for the  West End Increment Financing (Greenberg helped draft the legislation). Brown believed that the proposal would result in the “gentrification” of the West End which would draw in wealthier individuals  and upscale businesses, thus forcing out existing low income residents  and neighborhood businesses.

Officers found images of Greenberg, portrayed as a “devil” engulfed in flames posted online allegedly by Brown. They also discovered that Brown belonged to a Black nationalist militia which self-identifies as “Black Jews” and God’s true “chosen people”.

The day following Brown’s arrest, the Black Lives Global Network Foundation and the Louisville Community Bail Foundation jointly posted $100,000 to cover Quantez's bail. Greenberg, as well as Democratic Senatorial candidate Charles Booker, and incumbent Republican Senator Mitch McConnell expressed utter dismay that (as Greenberg said) “someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday”.

Nevertheless, Quintez Brown was rearrested a short time later on federal charges and sent to the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky. In March 2022, a grand jury indicted Brown on state charges of attempted murder and four federal counts of wanton endangerment. Although his attorneys said they would consider an insanity plea, Brown confessed to the changes on July 2024 and earned himself a 17 year sentence.

As an aside, it was revealed during the trial that Brown had done an extensive online search in an attempt to find where Greenberg lived and like to hand out. Additionally, Brown was  interested in knowing the personal details of Republican mayoral candidate and popular former Jeffersontown mayor, Bill Dieruf as well (something which the media downplayed).

Following the murder attempt (and subsequent publicity), Craig Greenberg’s campaign jumped into high gear, picking up huge numbers of endorsements and massive amounts of donations, winning the Democratic Primary with 41.3% of vote, defeating Shamika Parrish-Wright, the former top contender, by 16, 848 votes.

The history of the mayoral race in Louisville is, to be polite, a bit lopsided. The last Republican candidate elected as mayor was Ken Schmied in 1965. Ever since it’s been a Democrat, no matter how things went in Louisville, it seemed that the Republicans didn’t have a chance (of course, part of that is the cliquish nature of the local GOP and its tendency toward being disorganized and not thinking out of the box).

However, the best chance to pick up the illusive seat seemed to be former Jeffersontown mayor, William “Bill” Dieruf.  A self-identified “centrist”, Dieruff was president of the Jefferson County League of Cities and served on the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency, as well as Greater Louisville, Inc., and was the owner of Dieruf Hardware Store. He also had a history of working with all sides irrespective of party and given that Louisville is one of last Democrat bastions in Kentucky, that’s a good thing.

For those unfamiliar with Louisville and Jefferson County, Jeffersontown (aka “J-town”) is the second largest city in Jefferson County with a population of 29,388.  and, thanks to the Bluegrass Commerce Park, the third largest employer in the state. The Commerce Park alone has approximately 850 employers (Papa John Pizza is headquartered there).

Just 4.3% of the J-Town’s population live at or below the poverty line. Compare that to 15% of Louisville’s population or the fact that Louisville ranks 7^th among its peer cities in poverty and the 5^th highest poverty rate in the country. Not exactly something to write home about.

Dieruf was appointed to J-town’s City Council in 2000 and served until 2010 when he was elected mayor and would go on to serve 10 years as its mayor. Running on the platform of “Mayor for Everyone”, he promoted public safety, job creation, economic development, and improving the quality of Louisville’s and emphasizing “solutions with accountability”.

 But, facing a Democratic majority of 324,434 to 185,701, and with a history of strong turnouts, a local Republican party known for shooting itself in the foot, snubbing potential political allies, traditionally low Republican and conservative turnouts, a questionable media,  Dieruf had a tough row to hoe (not to mention the “free press” the attempted murder of Greenberg generated locally and nationally).

In the end, Craig Greenberg, a largely unknown candidate with no political experience won with 51.7% of the vote, defeating an individual with years of actual hands on political experience in running a city. In hard numbers, Greenberg received 143,799 votes to Bill Dieruf’s 128,690. As an aside, I can relate.  With over 25 years’ experience at the time, I ran for Metro Council against an unknown and lost in what was later deemed a “questionable race”.

Since Greenberg’s election, there’s been a lot of “buyer’s remorse” coming from the Democrats and the Left. Crime remains a serious problem and gang activity, once denied by the LMPD, is an undebatable fact. The city’s infrastructure continues to deteriorate, the quality of local schools haven’t improved (in 2024 the schools faced a disaster when the bus schedules were badly botched, leaving some without transportation), and of course, well-paying jobs remain elusive with taxes continuing to go up.

Louisville, once a major transportation and manufacturing center, could claim Nashville Tennessee, Indianapolis Indiana, St. Louis Missouri, and Cincinnati Ohio as peer cites. Sadly, those days are long gone. Louisville has become largely a warehouse hub filled with “McJobs”.  Carjackings, assaults, gangs, and until recently, years of low police moral, high turnover and a total lack of leadership, has become the norm. We depend on whiskey and a two minute horse race we milk for two weeks to keep our relevance.

The city has spent billions repeatedly trying to revive a downtown whose best days past in the 1960’s. Taxes increase proposals are rubber stamped. The infrastructure will continue to deteriorate until something tragic happens to force change. Residents in the county bemoan the choice they made when they approved a  grossly misrepresented city-county merger while talk of local succession grows.

Meanwhile, in just a couple of years, residents will go to the polls again. Will we buy the shiniest rotten apple in the bin? Probably. It seems to have become our most defining national trait.  A self-inflected wound we try to blame on the other side. It reminds me of Charlie Brown and Lucy at the start of every football season. But remember, there are alternatives. We just have to look up from our Smartphones and take a look around.

 

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Craig Greenberg

MoxieTalk: Craig Greenberg

Craig Greenberg

Gurufocus: Craig Greenberg Net Worth and Insider Trader

Quintez Brown said he would be Equalizer on day he shot at CraigGreenberg, prosecutors claim

Metro United Way: Strong Households

William Dieruff

Dieruff for Metro Mayor

From J-town to downtown, Bill Dieruff touts his ‘centrist’  bona fides for Louisville mayor

Attorney, developer, runner: Craig Greenberg wants ‘bigchanges’ if he is Louisville mayor

 

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Breaking Up May Not Be So Hard to Do: Secession from High Crime, High Taxes, and Failing Schools is on the Rise

Remember Reverend Louis Coleman (1948 - 2008)? He was a widely known black social activist in Louisville Kentucky, noted for his megaphone and had a national following. He was sometimes referred to as Louisville's "Dr. King". or "Jesse Jackson. Others called him an extortionist or race baiter. 

Rev. Coleman would ago around organizing protects mainly along racial lines outside of businesses  with the media in toe often inspiring fear from local business (mostly white) owners. City government agencies weren't exempt either. Coleman was active from the 1970's until his death in 2008.

Most every owner (or "target" as some called themselves) would typically cave to whatever his demands were, which usually included hiring more black employees, the cleanup of predominantly black neighborhoods, investment in or relocating businesses to the West End as well as "suggestions" of making a substantial financial "donation" to some black owned program (the majority of which were aimed at remedial education and ending substance abuse). Frankly, he was a hoot to watch in action!

Not long before he died in 2008, the megaphone toting activist grew frustrated with the City of Louisville's hiring policies and especially its budget allocation. (he claimed that black areas were being short changed). Coleman demanded more taxpayer money be directed to Louisville's West End, Portland, and Newburg areas which are predominately black (blacks comprise approximately 24% of Louisville's population, Hispanics and Asian populations were nominal). Interestingly Coleman faced resistance, which was  rather unusual.

Coleman threaten to form a movement which would result in the West End leaving Louisville and becoming a self-incorporated city, taking its tax base and voters with them. (while it produced little in the way of taxes, its resident voted solid Democrat). Rather than inspiring angst and caving to his demands, Coleman and his supporters were meet with a mixture of laughs and "encouragement" to pack up and leave.

Knowing his bluff had been called, Coleman quietly backed down. There was no way the West End, even if joined by Portland and Newburg had the tax base to support itself as its own city.  Nevertheless, the idea of splitting off from a high crime city with a largely inept Board of Education, a hamstrung police department, a rubber stamp Metro Council (which replaced a rubber stamped Board of Aldermen with the City/County Pact of 2003), and a string of worthless mayors, hasn't gone away (it's worth noting that since 1969, the City of Louisville has been run by the Democrat Party).

Since the merger between the City of Louisville and Jefferson County in 2003 (and county residents got screwed), there has been widespread public and private conversations about breaking up with Louisville, which has gone from an important production hub to a city of warehouses.

Reverend Coleman's "Achilles heel" in his threat to succeed from the city was the lack of an organization and having an adequate  self-supporting tax base, hasn't been lost on anyone. It seems that the desire to leave is still there, but as of yet, not the organization or money.

In recent years, as things have continued to decline in the city (which now has murders on par or exceeding that of much larger cities like Chicago and Detroit), the lack of high end jobs or even something as basic as quality schools which are safe, the talk about a "municipal divorce" has taken on a more serious tone.

Communities in the Greater Louisville area have begun exploring a number of possibilities ranging from reversing the 2003 City-County merger to the succession of parts of the southwest portion of the county (which also most strenuously opposed the merger) such as the communities of Pleasure Ridge Park (PRP), Valley Station and Prairie Village. Residents in other parts of the county, including Hillview, are starting to explore other options outside of Louisville proper.

So, where to go? Unlike Coleman's threat of creating a separate city, residents are looking to merge with one of the adjacent counties such as  neighboring Bullitt County. The reasons are numerous, but most notably center on the fact that as a whole, Bullitt County tends to be conservative with strong traditional family values, which closely matches the values in Southwest Jefferson County.

The City of Louisville has a long history of being quite liberal, especially in neighborhoods such as the Highlands and Phoenix Hills. Bullitt County and Southwest Louisville are mostly blue collar working class. Bullitt County has a lower crime rate, better schools, a more responsive government, provides better quality services, and best of all, has lower taxes.  

I said earlier that local residents lacked organizational know how (which plagued Rev. Coleman earlier). However, that may have changed. Residents in the Baton Rouge community of St. George faced many of the same issues as those in Louisville may have found a way to break from their decaying city. I've included a link to the story below in bold, which I think you'll find interesting. It may also give county residents in Louisville  a possible roadmap for making a successful break with the city possible.

Of course, the move prompted many to start calling St. George residents the usual name calling such as "racist", "supremacists" "red lining", "segregationist" and so forth. However, the real reason for the break was a dismal school system (and the refusal to allow St. George the opportunity to create a separate school district), high crime and a  highly unresponsive local government. Sound familiar? 

The break came as a result of several years in court with the state's supreme court finally granting the resident's application to break away. The move, according to Baton Rouge's mayor, Sharon Weston Broome (D), members of Metro government, and the NAACP, the break will hurt the city due to loss of the rather wealthy tax base of St. George and result in reviving the budget. She also said they would fight the high court's "mistake" and will continue every effort to force St. George back into Baton Rouge.

St. George is not the only community to break off. Similar movements (called "soft secession") are happening in New Orleans, St Louis, Atlanta, and in other communities. In Oregon, resident of Wallowa County, lead by the "Greater Idaho Movement" are close to breaking away from Oregon and joining with Idaho. Secessionist movements exist in places like Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Their are numerous communities throughout the U.S., but especially in parts of California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, which appear little different from communities in Cuba and Latin America. These are also forms of soft secession since there is little or no efforts to assimilate.  

Some survivalists and individuals  wanting to live "off the grid" have grouped together to form their own communities away from society are another form of "soft succession".  There are numerous Hispanic communities throughout the U.S. which are de facto ethnic enclaves totally immersed in their culture, language,values and traditions with no intentions of ever assimilating.  

The Black Panthers and Nation of Islam have long sought to create "separate but equal" zones away from others.  You could refer to certain religious sects such as the "Branch Davidians" led David Koresh in Waco Texas a soft secessionist. You could even argue that the wealthy elite are de facto secessionist too. After all, they tend to live in their own world, tucked away in protected gated communities, with their own values and laws. 

So what are secessionist movements on the rise? For many of the same reasons cited earlier, namely quality of schools, high crime and higher taxes, a breakdown in infrastructure, along with a unresponsive government. Wallowa residents say they have nothing in common with Western Oregon, which is known for being extremely liberal.  So-called "sanctuary" states and cities are de fact forms of this soft succession in that they are defying and operating outside of federal laws for instance.

Even the wealthy members of Congress, the judicial system, and the "nomenklatura" who run the government's agencies and bureaucracy are the same. They have little in common with the people they're suppose to represent. Ordinary laws and behavior don't apply to them. Even their values are different. As author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his 1926 novel, "The Rich Boy" "Let me tell you about the truly rich. They are different from you and me...They think deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves."

Lastly, did you know too that there are 14 unique secessionist movements currently active in the U.S.?  They  range from natural or historical sovereignty, race, ethnic heritage, religion, taxes and excessive government interference or control or nationalism. Whether any of these movements will succeed is matter of both debate and time. What might not seem plausible now may be common sense later on. One thing is for sure, America is more deeply divided than at any time since 1760's in Colonial American prior to our revolution or the late Antebellum period just prior to the Civil War.

As for Louisville residents, what the residents of St. George accomplished may prove to be a useful template. The merger wasn't as billed. Residents in the county, especially in Southwest Jefferson County, have repeatedly come up short since 2003. Perhaps the time has come to step up to the plate and swing for the fence. What do you think? Is it time to split? 

 

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Black Leaders PANIC After Whites Leave City

Report: Louisville, Jefferson County merger fails todeliver, No job growth seen for Louisville

Economic effects of Louisville merger remain uncertain 20years later

Louisville Crime Map

Reverend Louis Coleman: History Maker

Miracle on 34th Street: How Louis Coleman became our 'Dr. King' in Louisville

Wealthy white Louisiana residents win right to split fromBaton Rouge and form own city

Why Does St. Louis Continue to FAIL. 70 Years and Counting

Shocking Reasons Nobody Moves To New Orleans

Succession is here: States, cities, and the wealthy arealready withdrawing from America

Oregon break away effort is down to just 8 votes, deepeningurban - rural divide

List of Separatist Movements in North America

 

 

Is It Time We Consider Defunding the Police?

Following the deaths (or murders if you'd like) of Floyd George and  Breonna Taylor, there were massive protests all around the country, especially in Minneapolis Minnesota and Louisville Kentucky where the respective killings took place.  There were calls by Antifa, Black Lives Matter (BLM), and others, mostly on the Left, to defund police departments throughout the country.  

About 20 major metropolitan cities answered the call, including New York, Chicago/Cook County, Los Angeles, Portland, Austin, Baltimore, and Milwaukee, to the tune of about $870 million dollars.  

They praised the idea of cutting the already strained budgets of police departments, forcing some officers off the force, reducing patrols, and increasing response times. They claimed that white police officers had a long history of brutality towards minorities, often leading to unnecessary and often violent deaths, as in the case of not just Floyd and Taylor, but also to Eric Garner, Daniel Prude, Tamir Rice, and Michael Brown just to name but a few.

They called for local policing by minority led volunteer organizations, albeit with little or no actual authority, as if some sort of public censorship would reduce crime; that public exposure would make any difference to these petty criminals, carjackers, drug dealers, or reduce the number of murders. Some wanted to create a "rate-a-cop" program to weed out bad cops and neighborhood police  review boards 

Proponents called for the hiring of social workers to meet with youths deemed "at risk" of falling into the dead end trap of crime. They demanded more pre- and after-school programs to give these kids a place to go and something to do thanks to single, and often absent, parent homes.  They wanted  to extend these programs year around as well as providing breakfast and lunch during weekends and summer months since these were typically the only regular meals these kids received. 

In Louisville Kentucky, the mayor made the idiotic decision a few years ago to actually hire criminals  to keep the peace and rat on fellow criminals as means of reducing crime. Not unexpectedly, the opposite happened. Crime actually increased as these criminal informants used their new found clout to set up and get rid of their competition, or use their clout as a form of immunity. The ultimate result for residents of Metro Louisville was more carjackings, more robberies, and more murders.

Since COVID took over the news cycle, there hasn't been much said or done about cutting police budgets. Funding of Antifa paid organizers and protestors has dried up. The same can be said of BLM protestors. Meanwhile, a number of police departments overhauled their leadership and introduced mandatory diversity training for their officers (in some cases, this has also included Spanish language classes).

Some police departments have taken steps to hire more minority officers through minority specific recruiting, lowering hiring and academic standards. Where possible, patrols are comprised of a white and racial minority officers, especially in highly diverse neighborhoods.  There are more public service interactions between the community and law enforcement in schools, community centers, and public events to rebuild a sense of trust and cooperation within neighborhoods. But what about the actual defunding of police departments?

According to a Politico/Morning Consult poll from February 2022, 75% of those surveyed opposed defunding the police. The respondents felt that cutting the police budget would result in a increase in crime. 49% said it would result in a "major increase" in violent crime.

In a June 2021 Pew Report, 41% thought that violent crime was an issue. In July 2021, that number had risen to 61%. Data provided by the FBI seemed to agree. It reported that the murder rate in the U.S. had increased by 30% in 2020 . More specific date shows that Democrats now oppose a cut in police funding. In 2020, 41% of Democrats favored a reduction in police funding. By 2021, that number was just 25%.

34% of Democrats said the police funding should actually increased while 40% wanted to keep it at its current level. Compare that to 61% of Republicans and Conservatives wanting to see an increase in the police budgets, with 29% saying by a lot and 33% wanting to maintain current levels. 5% would a reduction in overall funding of law enforcement (within the GOP, 64% white Republicans favored an increase in police funding while 53% of Hispanic Republicans did). 

Minorities comprised of Asians, blacks, and Hispanics also oppose defunding police departments. However, by how much is significant. Hispanic, along with whites, would like to see a greater police presence (46% and 49% respectively) compared to 38% of blacks and 37% of Asians. Still, this represents an increase from 2020.

When it came to age, those 18 to 49, who previously favored a reduction in funding, now supported an increase. Only 23% still wanted to see a cut in police budgets. Adults over 50 strongly favored an increase in police funding. When it came to shifting money from the police to providing more social services, 57% overall opposed the idea. 43% however, supported it according to a March 2021 USA/Ipsos poll.

Going further, the poll indicated that 63% of blacks would like to a portion of the police departments budget go to social programs while just 35% of white agreed.  The same poll also showed that 67% of Democrats backed the idea of redistributing at some portion of the police budgets to social programs while only 16% of Republicans agreed. Meanwhile, 84% of Republicans wanted to make sure police budgets were fully funded. 33% of Democrats wanted to police funding at their present levels.   

In cities like Louisville Kentucky where the shooting of Taylor took place, and throughout much of the country, public opinion is consistent in believing that police officers are essentially "judgment proof". There have been numerous instances of incidents where a police officer was clearly at fault, be it for a traffic accident (including drunk driving, speeding without siren or lights), physical abuse, lying under oath, or a shooting, and faced no repercussions for their actions.

Granted there has to be a level of trust between the judicial system and law enforcement, however, it shouldn't be at the expense of justice. That is to say, the courts shouldn't automatically assume that someone is telling the truth simply because they wear a badge. I've known a number of police officers who've more than "fudged" where the truth was concerned.

It seems that most Americans agree. A survey conducted by the Associated Press---NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicated that 60% of Americans thought that police officers should be penalized for any racially based crime or conduct. Another 60% of respondents said that officers shouldn't be able to hide behind their shields. They felt that law enforcement shouldn't be granted automatic immunity for their actions, as is often the case, and should be held liable in a court of law.

In a unrelated question, the same poll indicated that 75% felt that first time non-violent offenders should be afforded a bit of slack and given a shorter sentence, including community service rather than jail time.   

 So what do we take away from all this? The movement to defund police departments was, first of all, primarily urban. In small and rural communities, the support for law enforcement remained largely unaffected. It should be pointed too that these same communities are also primarily white with small populations of blacks and mostly migratory Hispanic workers.  

However, it was in the middle size and larger towns and cities that the defund movement was the strongest, and then with larger populations of minorities (mainly black). With this, there was also high rates of unemployment and crime, especially in predominately black sections of the town, which likely helped create a sense of fear and frustration among the residents.

The movement itself was largely started with the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014 (Ferguson is part of the Greater St. Louis metro area). That's when the nation first became aware of the Black Lives Matter through nightly images of the mass protests by a combination of the black residents of Ferguson and those bused in by BLM to artificially inflate the numbers, along with images of looting and arson (the irony that many of the businesses destroyed were owned by Hispanics and Asians wasn't lost on many).   Antifa also soon entered the picture. Despite their name, "Anti-Fascist" or "Antifa", they routinely used tactics reminiscent of Nazi Brownshirts or Mao's "Red Guard".

The strength, in terms of numbers and funding, of both groups seemed to grow exponentially with each subsequent killing of a black individual by police officers, which was almost always portrayed as unjustified by the media (and in some cases justifiably so).  However, it was the 2020 deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Louisville Kentucky that brought both BLM and Antifa to the forefront of public attention, along with starting the defund movement.

The reaction was largely in response of what was presented by the media as a "out of control" police force. Even among whites there was a growing concern over the increasing militarization of the law enforcement with things like armored personnel carriers, high-tech surveillance, military related equipment and training, leaving them looking like stormtroopers out of "Star Wars".

However, it was this militarization which created a greater sense of a "us vs. them" mentality and help poison the relationship  between the police and residents. It also resulted in a "siege mentality" among officers and making more likely to react in an aggressive manner.   

The original notion of defunding the police was to reduce this type of mentality and redirect funding to support low income and mainly minority neighborhood, as well as to require officers to undertake diversity and sensitivity training. The more radical elements wanted near total defunding with self-policing coupled with an increase in social workers to "council" non-violent offenders, which sounded good in theory but in practice was disastrous for residents. In communities where policing was reduced, crime, especially violent crime, increased, along with carjackings, burglary, and vandalism.

As the polling shows, defunding law enforcement was, in fact, mostly a knee jerk reaction in response to a media manufactured perception of increase in black killings by a "out of control" police departments amid "white racism" running amuck.  In truth, more whites were killed by police officers than minorities.

As the facts of the various cases ultimately revealed, many of the resulting deaths were as justified as they were unavoidable. However, not all were, as in the cases of Timar Rice, George Floyd, Eric Garner, or Daniel Prude.  As for blatant racism, that appeared as a virtual non-existent factor.  Additional data has repeatedly shown that when it came to violent deaths, blacks were likely to be killed by blacks than any other factor.

Based on the polls, it appears that the public wants to maintain current funding of police departments, along with added social programs within minority neighborhoods specially directed toward "at risk" children and teenagers. Officers also need to step back from their "us vs. them" mentality. Perhaps additional sensitivity and diversify training would help, but it must also acknowledge by all sides that racism is not a one way street.  

While the judicial system and law enforcement are required to work together, the courts must temper their willingness to assume that law enforcement does no wrong or that the accused (or the witnesses) aren't just as credible as the police officers irrespective of race, economic class, gender, or any other factor. Police officers must be held to a higher standard and that standard must be enforced.

As for the cities which defunded the police mentioned above, most have restore funding to the police. A few actually increased it with some of the larger cities investing an additional $450 million dollars. Much of the money has gone to hiring and rehiring officers along additional training and equipment. 

I would add that there needs to be a return to an academic understanding of civics early on in school and ending this false sense of perpetual victimization. The youth must also be taught right from wrong, which begins at home, along with a sense of self-worth and respect for others.  

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Louisville Crime

Poll: 75% say 'Defund the Police' caused violent crime wave

Growing share of Americans say they want more spending onpolice in their area

Fewer than 1 in 5 support 'defund the police' movement, USA/Ipsos Poll finds

Americans Don't Want to Defund the Police. Here's What They Want to Do

 

Uncivil Rest in Louisville Kentucky: When Enough is Enough

Well, things got exciting recently in Louisville Kentucky. The normally sleepy city burst on the national scene with the death (some would say murder) of Breonna Taylor, a former EMT. To briefly recap, three narcotics officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department had been staking out the apartment of Ms. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker for several months. The officers believed that either Ms. Taylor and/or Mr. Walker were jointly distributing drugs or were part of a larger distribution ring.

On March 13, 2020, the officers were ordered to raid the apartment using a "no knock" warrant, which had been issued earlier that day by Circuit Court Judge Mary Shaw. The warrant allows police officers to enter a residence without permission or having to identify themselves. Typically, this gives officers to catch suspected criminals off guard; often with drugs, guns, stolen merchandise, and money laying out in the open. That's when things go right.

There have been numerous occasions when officers acting on faulty information have raided the wrong residence with terrible consequences, ranging from heart attacks to officers being shot (or shot at) to the residents being killed by the cops. Unfortunately, officers are rarely disciplined for these mistakes.

At most police departments try to sweep the incident under the proverbial rug by issuing misleading or inaccurate statements through their PR department. In some instances they may try to justify a shooting by withholding, delaying, or "spinning" the information. A lot of people believe that's what happened in Breonna Taylor's case.

Oddly, the officers were ordered not to use their body cameras even though they were all wearing one and had used them in a earlier raid that evening. They maintain that they announced themselves before bursting in. Mr. Walker and neighbors, however, said that they didn't. I've been told that one officer did activate his body camera audio despite the order, so that should prove interesting if true.

Mr. Walker stated that he thought someone was breaking into the apartment, grabbed a gun and fired a single shot, slightly wounding one of the officers. In response, the officers returned fire into the dark apartment, shooting somewhere between 20 and 25 rounds. Several rounds went through the wall and into an adjacent apartment (thankfully no one else was injured or killed).

We were originally told that Ms. Taylor was asleep in her bed when the assault by officers began and was struck by eight bullets killing her almost instantly. We were later told that Ms. Taylor got out bed and was standing in the doorway of the bedroom and hallway when she was hit.

Other stories claim she actually in the hallway next to Mr. Walker, who was crouched when she was hit. Walker, who claims he fired once and took cover behind the hallway wall and during a brief lull made his way over to Ms. Taylor who died in his arms. The police department originally said there was "multiple gun shots" but later confirmed that Walker indeed fired only once as he claimed.

As a result of this, and following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, there has been protests pretty much across the country (and even overseas). The protests originally started off questioning the official narrative of the deaths and how they were being handled by the respective police departments while demanding justice quickly morphed into something else.

The deaths became a rallying cry for what the protesters claim is "systematic racism" not just within police departments nationwide, but within the entire government edifice itself. Enter Black Lives Matter (BLM). This organization first made its appearance in Ferguson Missouri in 2014 following the shooting death of Michael Brown who allegedly attempted to attack a police officer (further investigation would bear that out despite earlier claims by BLM that the shooting was unprovoked). Nevertheless, protesters had turned into rioters and looters, burning down much of the community's business center.

Louisville now finds themselves in a similar situation. Members of BLM came to Louisville shortly after Ms. Taylor's death and began organizing. They were joined by the militant group Antifa which is known for its violence. As expected the protests quickly morphed into riots and the citywide destruction of private and public property including irreplaceable monuments over a century old. Some were spray painted while others were toppled or outright destroyed.

In addition, local businesses, already struggling thanks to the COVID-19 virus, were further rocked with graffiti, busted doors and windows; many were looted. As of yet, neither BLM or Antifa have explained how destroying struggling businesses or robbing them has any bearing on the death of Ms. Taylor or calls for "social justice". I can't wait to hear their explanation.

Meanwhile, the protesters aka rioters were aided by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who isn't known for his leadership abilities, when he told police officers to "stand down" and basically do nothing during the rioting and looting. BLM and Antifa never had a better friend than Greg Fischer.

As an aside, Fischer's long time pal, Chief of Police Steve Conrad, was fired in June over a laundry list of charges ranging from allowing sexual abuse of members of the Explorers, a youth police auxiliary, to continue to his failure of leadership and proper oversight, misuse of the budget, and much more. Even the city's FOP twice voted "no confidence" in his leadership. In short, he was let go, despite Fischer's protests, for what could be considered malfeasance and gross incompetence. I guess what they say about "birds of a feather" strikes pretty true in this case.

Unfortunately, when the city's Metro Council was created back in 2003, it was intentionally to be a weak, with the Mayor's Office having the power. Given how things have turned out, it's pretty obvious. Despite Fischer's inability to lead, Metro Council seems almost powerless to do anything about the violence; few members of the Council have even spoken up or offered any solutions (David James (D) of District 6, a former police officer and current council president, has proven to be an exception. He would be a good choice for Louisville's next mayor. Heaven knows we could use one).

Fast forward to July 27th and Louisville found itself "invaded" by an openly black racist group which identifies as a militia and goes by the name of "Not Fucking Around Coalition" or NFAC. They were all decked out in their all black uniforms with militaristic looking gear and semi-automatic assault type weapons. It was all intended to be both intimidating and reminiscent of Huey Newton and Bobby Seale's Black Panthers of the 1960's although they claim they're not related to the Black Panthers.

Their self-proclaimed "Grand Master" who goes by the name of "Jay" (real name John Jay Fitzgerald Johnson), had announced their intentions of a full mobilization of its 5000+ members through a deliberately ominous looking video. As it turned out only about 150 or so actually showed up (three were accidentally wounded by someone mishandling their weapon. Although Jay claims they're weapons competent, someone obviously forgot discussing loaded guns in formation and not using their safety).

Mayor Fischer issued a statement to Louisvillians about "not being afraid" and having adequate police officers available. I don't know if anyone other than Fischer was actually "afraid". Meanwhile, members of the Three Percenters, a conservative oriented militia, promised to show up.

However, only around 50 or so showed up. A couple of individuals said there were more, but that the police said they had to disperse and leave the area in order not to present themselves as a "threat". Individuals from other conservative groups were present and mingled in the crowd in what was described as "intelligence gathering".

Nevertheless, it needs to be pointed out that this was the second that conservative groups failed to gather in sufficient numbers to have any impact. Regardless as to the reason, the local media and political observers saw it as a severe weakness by conservative groups to match the organizational ability of the Left. In other locations, the conservatives have had much better success. Besides it's not like protests, riots, or march by NFAC were unexpected.

The march by NFAC was itself uneventful. What was interesting, however, was two bits of information. One was the unintentional acknowledgment by Grand Master Jay that at least some of those who showed up to march were being paid, which really isn't a big deal, and the other involved his conversation with the Kentucky's Attorney General, Daniel Cameron (R), before their march.

According to Jay, he and Cameron had discussed the events surrounding the investigation of Kenneth Walker and Breonna Taylor (including the events leading up to and just after her death). They discussed the Attorney General's investigation of the officers (all three should have been fired), and the general situation within the LMPD. I suspect they discussed the presence of BLM, Antifa and people's mounting frustration to the entire situation and increasing potential for serious violence.

Grand Master Jay went on to say that he told Cameron that he and his group would return in 30 days, at which time he expected that the investigation to be complete and that the three officers involved to be held accountable for Ms. Taylor's death (he apparently expects them to be tried, convicted and the bonfires properly stoked by the time he returns too).

He added that if the officers aren't formerly charged with murder that his militia would "burn Louisville to ground". Obviously he's not aware that the LMPD rarely are held accountable for their actions and rarer still, receive the same punishment mere taxpayers receive for the same crime, which brings up the final part of his conversation with the AG. In essence, regardless of how onerous the death of Ms Taylor was or the fact that one of the officers was fired, Jay is demanding these individuals be denied their day in court. He is also threatening the AG that unless his "demands" are met, he intends on committing a crime (remember, he said he would "burn Louisville to the ground" which is not the same as protesting).

His previous appearance in military gear and with weapons was obviously an implied threat. It's not much different from what the old Mafioso did back in the 1920's and 30's. It's called extortion or "blackmail". City leaders or business owners had to pay some sort of "protection money" to avoid their businesses or offices from being bombed or shot up. This isn't any different. Guerrilla movements around the world still use that technique to fill their coffers.

With a milksop Mayor, no strong Metro Council leadership, no police chief (just a reluctant Acting Chief) and a demoralized police force, along with a highly militant BLM and Antifa on one side and a seriously ticked off and generally frustrated citizenry on the other side, this should prove interesting.

People are tired of the riots and looting; tired of seeing businesses destroyed; tired of monuments and parks vandalized; tired of wannabe Che Guevara's trying to intimidate them (or the few enterprising little thugs using the protest to rob people in stopped cars); the lockdown; the masks; tired of being out of work; tired of being told what they can do, with who, and how many.

We've reached a boiling point, and it doesn't matter what your political registration is, your race, or any other artificial division imposed on us by the ruling Oligarchy. We need to resolve this through mutual respect and civil discussion, not by violence and schoolyard bullying.



Shooting of Breonna Taylor

Not Fucking Around Coalition


Police: 3 Black militia members injured in negligent gun discharge may result in charges

Where Do We Stack Up on Taxes? A Comparison of Tax Rates Between Countries, States and Cities

"I don't have a dollar to my name. Hey brother can you spare a dime?". That was a common refrain during the Great Depression. With the rate of tax increases across the country, it may become a common refrain once again. Just how much off are Americans when it comes to taxes than their international counterpart? How does America stack up when it come to taxes? To hear it from Corporate America and the super wealthy, the US is the most heavily taxed country on the planet. Why, they can hardly earn a decent profit on their investments! But how true is that? According to the Tax Policy Institute, which is part of the world famous Brookings Institute, Americans are taxed on average 26% of the Gross Domestic Product. This compares to an average of 33% among the world's developed countries---the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (aka the OECD).

By comparison, Denmark is the highest taxed country in the world with a tax rate of 48%, followed by France which has a tax rate of 45% and Belgium, which has a tax rate of 44%. Germany has a tax rate of around 36%, and Norway, which is the lowest taxed nation among the Scandinavian countries, has a tax rate of about 38%. Israel has around a 33% tax rate while Japan's is right at 31%. The US, as we said, is 26%, and just below Switzerland and just ahead of South Korea with 25%. Of all of the 35 OCED countries, the least taxed country is Mexico. It's tax rate is around 16%.

Where does this tax come from? After all, someone has to pay for government services. Nothing is free. According to the same article, 48% of America's tax revenue comes from income and profits. 24% comes from Social Security while 17% comes from taxes on goods and services. The least taxed sector is property, which accounts for just 10% of the tax source. Meanwhile, Australia gets about 55% of its taxes from income and profits with about 25% from goods and services. Roughly 9% comes from property tax . However, there is no tax on social safety net type programs. New Zealand is pretty much the same way.

If we look at Denmark, which is the heaviest taxed of all the 35 OCED countries, we find that about 55% comes from income and profit. About 33% is from goods and services and least than 1% comes from social safety net programs. Turkey taxes income and profit at about 25% but about 48% on goods and services. Property tax is about 5% while it taxes social programs at 30% The average among OCED countries is 34% on income and profits, 32% on goods and services, 26% on social safety net programs and 6% on property tax.

So, what does this mean for the US when compared to the other developed nations? It means that we're in the top 25% when it comes to tax on income and profits while we tax less on goods and services, collecting just 17% compared to the OCED average of 32%. In terms of property tax, the US taxes an extra 4% over the OCED average (the majority of this and taxes on goods and services are collected at the state and local levels). In terms of Social Security or social safety net programs, the US collects slightly less tax---24%---compared to the OCED average of 26%. An interesting aside, several countries on the list collect over 40% in taxes on social safety net programs!

Therefore, in answer to our original question, America is actually among the least most taxed countries among the OCED nations, coming in 30th out of 35. However, we are tax heavy on incomes and profits and slightly higher on property taxes, which affects middle class Americans the most (property ownership is typically the largest investment among the middle class). Meanwhile, goods and services, which pertains primarily to businesses get off pretty light compared to other countries by almost half.

This brings us to the second half of our look at taxes, namely how do the states compare with each other? This is perhaps particularly important as Tax Day---April 15th---quickly approaches. As of 2015, most Americans paid almost 1/3 of their income in taxes. In 2015, the IRS assessed taxes of $1.454 trillion dollars on Americans. Based on 150.6 million returns processed and an average income of $71,258, that means on average Americans paid approximately $9,655 in taxes just to the federal government (which equates to a tax rate of 13.5%).

In addition, most Americans pay state and local taxes, Social Security tax, property tax, sales tax, plus so-called "hidden taxes" such as on water, drainage, electricity, toll, usage, garbage, and gas. Meanwhile, corporations levy their own taxes in the form of access fees, late fees, processing fees, convenience fees and a whole range of other fees and add-ons which often doubles a bill. Often times, corporations will claim that these are merely fees actually charged by local or state governments which they are "obligated" to pass on. Some claim that this or that charge is "voluntary" but added on without our consent. As many of you know, trying to obtain details about these various fees is often so difficult most of us simply give up, which I suspect is their intent.

In terms of personal taxes, which states have the lowest and highest? Let's start with the highest personal tax rates by state first. Coming in tenth is Wisconsin which has a state tax rate of 7.65%. In ninth place is New York at 8.82%. The eighth spot goes is the nation's capital, the District of Columbia. It's tax rate is 8.95%. This ties with Vermont. New Jersey is next with a 8.97% state tax. The fifth highest taxed state is Iowa at 8.89%. Coming in at fourth is Minnesota with 9.85%. Third place belongs to Oregon. Its tax rate is 9.9%. Second place goes Hawaii with 11%. Finally, the most taxed state is California whose tax rate is a staggering 13.3%. No wonder so many people are leaving.

So, now let's find out who has the lowest state taxes. Here there is a bit of a surprise since we have ten way tie! That's right. We have ten states with no state tax. They are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington State, and Wyoming. While Tennessee and New Hampshire have no state income tax, they make up for it taxes on dividends and interest. Many of these states also use a consumption tax in lieu of a income tax. Among the states which do have an income tax, the state with the lowest is Pennsylvania which has a tax rate of 3.07%.

If we look just at property tax, the top three highest spots belong to three counties in New Jersey (Union County with 8.13%, Essex County at 8.27% and 8.79% in Passaic County). The bottom three in terms of least highest property tax all belong to Louisiana. In Vernon Parish it's 0.25%. For Assumption and Grant Parishes the tax rate on property is 0.26%. However, all isn't gumbo and crawdads in Louisiana. Louisiana has the nation's highest sales tax at 9.98%, followed by Tennessee with 9.46%. Arkansas comes in third place with a 9.30% sales tax. As for the lowest, that technically belongs to Alaska which has a 1.78% sales tax. I say "technically" because Oregon, Delaware, New Hampshire and Montana have no sales tax.

In terms of which cities have the highest local taxes, Louisville Kentucky is ranked 21st in terms of worst cites to live when it comes to taxes with an average tax bill of $11,517 despite an average income of only $49,439 coming in just ahead of Atlanta and just behind Los Angeles. I expect Louisville with move up on the list even higher very shortly. The mayor is proposing a 300% tax increase on insurance to make up for a "surprise" pension shortage which the city has known about for just over two years. As an aside, the mayor, who just ran for reelection, publicly stated on several occasions that the city actually had a surplus. What wasn't disclosed was the wasted millions of dollars on numerous pet projects such as bike lanes, paying gang members and criminals to monitor other gang members and criminals (which was hidden from the public), floating private non-profit organizations which are not self-supporting, and buying property or putting up bonds on behalf of corporations. This doesn't include top heavy agencies or executive "make jobs".

If that isn't bad enough, the residents of Louisville will be facing a new gas tax, an increase in gas and electricity rates, sewer rate, water rate, and property rate increases for 2019, which is one reason many people and businesses are moving out of Jefferson County. Meanwhile, public outrage is palpable. A number of groups have come together to fight these tax and rates increases. However, it's expect that despite public outrage, the local Metro Council will likely rubber stamps the increases while the Kentucky State Legislature does likewise.

In tenth spot of the worse taxed cities is Boston Massachusetts where the average tax bill is $14,623, not to mention being one of the worse taxed states in the country. Ninth place belongs to Oakland California. The average tax bill for residents there is $14,916. In the eighth spot is New York City, where the average resident can expect to pay $14,987. Unlucky number seven belongs to Portland Oregon with a average total tax of $16,034, followed by Seattle with $16,891 in taxes shelled out. The fifth place loser is Virginia Beach Virginia, a big military supported city. Residents there can expect to pay on average $17,763. fourth place belongs to San Diego California, another big military city. It has an average tax bill of $18,143.

In the third spot of worse taxed cities, we have Washington DC. Residents there have a average tax bill of $20,686! That's almost inconceivable for the average American. Coming in second is San Francisco, which is represented by Senator Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in Congress. Bay City residents pay, on average $27,810 in taxes. Lastly, the worse city to live in when it comes to taxes is San Jose California which is represented in the US Senate by Ellen "Zoe" Lofgren (D-CA). San Jose is on the southern edge of the Bay Area outside San Francisco. Its residents pay an average of $27,973 in taxes! That's simply outrageous. However, we should bear in mind that while the cost of living...and taxes...are much higher, so is the overall income level.

The best spots to live in to avoid these municipal leeches include Houston, Dallas, El Paso, and San Antonio Texas, Tampa Florida, Milwaukee Wisconsin, and Tucson Arizona. However, the top three in reverse order is New Orleans Louisiana. It's residents have an average tax bill of $6,928. In the number two position is Memphis Tennessee. While residents pay approximately $5,882, Memphis is known to have a high crime problem. Next on the list is Detroit Michigan. Detroit has long been known for having its share of problems, especially with crime and corruption as well as a population flight creating a "hollowed out" or "donut" city, it's residents pay on average $5,505 in taxes. Perhaps if they paid a bit more, they could hire more cops Now, for the best place to live in terms of lowest taxes, is Miami Florida. You wouldn't think a city as large as Miami would have the lowest average total tax---approximately $5,050---but apparently it does.

So, there you have it, how America stacks up to other countries in terms of taxes, along with the best and worse states and cities to live in when it comes to taxes. Overall, America does well when compared to other industrialized nations, yet it puts too much emphasis on individuals to meet its tax obligations. In terms of states, there are a surprisingly large number of states with no or a very low tax rate. The majority of these state use consumption tax to collect revenue, which is really the most practical way to collect taxes. Others make up for having no state sales taxes by going after interest and dividend payments; essentially taxing those with the most money the most.

As for cities, it goes to show that there are a lot of places to live where the average tax rate is reasonably affordable. However, in several cases, we find instances of low tax rates and high crime rates, high unemployment, poor social services and crumbling infrastructures. In the case of a few, such as Louisville Kentucky, we see incompetence (and many would add corruption) in government to the point of committing economic suicide while a small elite profits. Sounds familiar doesn't it?

The city has tried numerous public funded ventures, only to see them fail. Nowadays it's putting all its eggs into revitalizing the "Bourbon Trail" downtown which had last prospered there over 100 years ago. Instead, the city should focus on basics. While will likely happen at its current rate is creating a Southern version of "Detroit". Other cities manage to survive thanks to a large corporate base which underwrite its services. If they go, so goes the city. Detroit is a classic example. Cities like this often fail to listen to their residents. It's politicians become arrogant and out of touch. When that happens, it's just a matter of time. Taxes are also the price we pay for convenience. Some would say it's the price we pay for civilization. However, taxes should be thought of as a limited resource, especially for ordinary people. If it's managed properly, we all prosper. If not, cities, like civilizations, crumble and fade away.



How Do US Taxes Compare Internationally?

States With the Highest and Lowest Taxes

The Average American's Tax Bill In the 50 Biggest Cities