ABRAMSON IGNORED WARNING SIGNS SINCE 2005

As most of you know I ran as an independent in 2006 for Metro Mayor of Louisville. At the time I felt it necessary to force issues to be relevant and many of us did not think we would get that at the time. I left the Democrat Party for one year to run independent knowing full well there would be backlash. You cannot challenge the local favorite Democrat son and not expect backlash with lies, deceptions, and innuendo about myself, my character, or my values. Seems I was right on that as well but that is another day and of course my problem not yours.

I will live.

At that time I mentioned a Mayor's conference report from 2005 that showed we were heading in a downward spiral economically. The question is: If I saw it as an outsider why didn't Abramson and the machine in place charged with overseeing our finances?

I certainly never claimed to be an accountant nor do I have a staff at my disposal to inform me as he does.


I am occasionally asked why I refer to the budget as a "supposed" crisis.

For more on that read here: Louisville News and Politics: ABRAMSON: SPIN IT WELL!

Or read here: Louisville News and Politics: LOUISVILLE BUDGET SURPLUSES:WHERE DID IT GO?

Either way there have been many economic indicators showing a trend toward the negative for some time now. At least 3 years in my opinion. The example below deals with hunger and homelessness. There is a direct link between a dour economy and a rise in hunger and homelessness that cannot be spun. With this in mind the below report is very telling from the Mayor's conference in 2005 of which Abramson was an attendee.


Also note the causes referred to that include Louisville:


Unemployment and low wage employment, medical costs, transportation costs, utility costs (noteworthy since I spend so much time on utilities such as MSD and currently the Louisville Water Co), lack of affordable housing, and drug abuse (and now we are thinking of cutting back on police?).


As you can see these problems have not been addressed, since the economic indicators say all have risen in the last 3 years, yet we continue to push projects down the throats of taxpayers such as Centre City, an unnecessary expense at this time, while ignoring the hard choices necessary in our budget to help with the supposed crisis.


Note the areas Louisville is mentioned in and then ask one question.


Could we have prepared better for the current future we face with at least 3 years of firsthand knowledge to lead the way?


I believe so and so do many others.


How about you?


From my report on August 15, 2006

Today as I researched the 2005 Mayor conference results I found this a sad state of affairs. Mayor Abramson attended this conference and the results for Louisville were bleak then and expected to get worse in 2006. I ask all of you can we not do better? The state of our local economy and working families continues to erode on a National level for the working class. Louisville is doing nothing to combat that with Abramson at the helm.

Big US cities report steep rise in hunger and homelessness.

Hunger and homelessness continued to rise in America’s big cities during 2005. Requests for emergency food assistance increased by 12 per cent, while demand for emergency shelter went up by six per cent.


However, the US cities report that evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had not been a significant strain on their resources, but they are concerned about a lack of federal commitment to the evacuees. Furthermore, according to big city mayors, the outlook for 2006 is bleaker still, with 90 per cent believing hunger and homelessness will increase further.


On average, 18 per cent of the requests for emergency food assistance are estimated to have gone unmet during the last year. For families alone, 18 per cent of the requests for assistance are estimated to have gone unmet. In 43 per cent of the cities, emergency food assistance facilities may have to turn away people in need due to lack of resources. Fifty-four per cent of the people requesting emergency food assistance were members of families - children and their parents.


Forty per cent of the adults requesting food assistance were employed.


Twenty-one cities cited unemployment and other employment-related problems: Boston, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Louisville, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, Portland, Providence, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Santa Monica, Seattle and Trenton.

Nine cities identified medical or health costs: Boston, Cedar Rapids, Cleveland, Detroit, Louisville, Nashville, Phoenix, Portland and Salt Lake City.

Four cities cited transportation costs: Cedar Rapids, Detroit, Louisville and Salt Lake City. Los Angeles, Portland and San Antonio cited childcare costs; Nashville, San Antonio and Trenton identified lack of education; and Cedar Rapids, Denver and Louisville cited utility costs.

Lack of affordable housing was identified as a major cause of homelessness in 19 cities: Boston, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Louisville, Nashville, Phoenix, Portland, Providence, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Seattle, and Trenton.


Low-paying jobs were cited by 17 cities as a main cause of homelessness: Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Louisville, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Providence, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and Seattle.


Mental illness and the lack of needed services were identified by 16 cities as a primary cause of homelessness: Boston, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Charleston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Louisville, Los Angeles, Nashville, Phoenix, Portland, St. Paul, San Antonio, Santa Monica, and Trenton.


Substance abuse and the lack of needed services were identified by 15 cities as a main cause of homelessness: Boston, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Louisville, Los Angeles, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, St. Paul, San Antonio, Santa Monica, and Trenton.


Outlook:


Officials in 90 per cent of the responding cities expect requests for emergency food assistance to increase during 2006. Eighty-six per cent expect that requests for emergency food assistance by families with children will increase during 2006. Officials in 93 per cent of the cities expect that requests for emergency shelter will increase next year. Ninety-five per cent expect that requests by homeless families will increase.


Survey participants:


The mayors of the cities included in the 2005 survey are members of the Conference of Mayors Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness.


They are:

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino
Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle
Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley
Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson
Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz
Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell
Philadelphia Mayor John Street
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon
Portland Mayor Tom Potter
Providence Mayor David Cicilline
St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson
San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
Santa Monica Mayor Pam O'Connor
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels
Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer


This is yet another indicator that Louisville needs change from someone willing to address the issues and not the corporate politics that devalue working families even further.