Hope is not a strategy for jobs

Who among us doesn't wish for a job to enjoy, even love, that pays well and hopefully allows one to live in a quality community? That's a worldwide dream, an American Dream, the Colorado Springs Dream.

As a person who has worked and lived in Colorado for half a century, with the exception of a few years in Idaho to accept my own dream job, I have been fortunate. I have worked as an economist in private industry, as an entrepreneur and at the Cabinet level in state government. After years of directing economic vitality programs, I'm prepared to assist those who work to create better job opportunities for local residents. But Question 1A is not the path that I choose or recommend to others.

Other than a proposal to allocate $50 million in property taxes with the hope of creating jobs, what do we really know about 1A? The "hope for jobs" proposal originated in a subcommittee of the city's Sustainable Funding Committee. I voted with the minority against that proposal as presented, not because I'm against jobs, but simply due to the haste with which it was proposed, without clarity of the problem to be remedied, without a plan or budget, or even a mention of the $50 million cost to the taxpayers.

Admittedly, $50 million is an estimate for the new property tax allocation. Yet in the "hope for jobs" proposal, there's an appearance of precision and certainty about the underlying figures. The new tax allocation is a .665 mill levy, applied to fluctuating property valuations, and continuing for 16 years, without transparency of the tax formula methodology.

Why .665 mills? How are prevailing property values to 2025 projected? And why 16 years? An explanation may leave voters wondering.

A partial answer may be that an existing tax with a defined termination can be extended with voter consent, which is exactly what 1A proposes. Logic follows that such an extension is technically not a tax increase, but only an act to prevent its natural death. The 20-year, .665 mills tax, enacted in 1989 is due to expire Dec. 31. Hence, .665 mills is simply a number of convenience. The basis of a 16-year tax life to 2025 seems to defy logic.

In committee, a bailout-like urgency weighed on deliberations as members seemed to feel an exigent need to "do something."

I was reminded of a statement attributed to Harry Hopkins, close advisor to FDR during The Great Depression: "Do anything, do everything, but do something."

I plan to vote no on Question 1A. In part, because I seldom buy a product that I don't fully understand (I exclude my iPod Touch, which I accept because it does what I wish).

Likewise, I won't support a proposal, no matter how noble its sounds, for which an answer, donation or vote must be immediate or virtually unquestioned. This is especially true when time is available to plan, budget and present the merits of a jobs-oriented proposal.

Regardless, I remain strong in my support for increasing job opportunities for local residents. To that end, if requested, I commit to assist in drafting a specific plan and budget to put our unemployed residents back to work. If the 1A "hoping for jobs now" proposal is based on sound logic, consider how compelling an argument can be made when transformed in a "planning for jobs now" proposal. That jobs plan could then be presented to voters for consideration at the next opportunity, in just six months, on Nov. 3.

The fact that I didn't endorse the 1A proposal does not reflect a lack of support for the work of the Sustainable Funding Committee, its chair, and staff. I regard each member highly for their integrity and commitment, as appointees of City Council, in attempting to better our community.

However, in our haste to "do something" for a locally directed economic stimulus package, let's not repeat the federal rush-to-bailout mistake.

For a $50 million, 16-year commitment, six months is adequate time to:

A. study, define and outline the problem, B. develop a specific plan, C. draft a budget, and D. vote.

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Arnold, a Colorado Springs resident, is a consultant in economics and commerce and former director of the Idaho Department of Commerce.