Good Luck, Alder Olsen
I’ve been wrastling with this whole Wal-Mart issue for some time now. I live in the eye of Sam Walton’s hurricane, where passions run wild for both low, low prices and nostalgia for small town general stores.
The superstore-caine blew through Delevan, then up Highway 12 to Fort Atkinson, then targeted Stoughton before pushing over to farmland in Pleasant Springs, then back to Fort, then whammy, south down Highway 26 to Janesville (hey, they already have a Wal-Mart; yes, but we need bigger), then back to Fort, before, whew, the wind, blowing north a few miles to Jefferson.
Wal-Mart’s Roll Call:
Delavan – yea
Fort Atkinson – nay
Stoughton – nay
Pleasant Springs – tabled
Fort Atkinson – nay, again
Janesville – yea
Fort Atkinson – NAY, and we mean it
Jefferson – yet to be determined
There you are, three counties all within a driver, 5-iron of each other, with community needs as contrary as my golf score is to Jerry Kelly’s.
So, is local control winning?
My liberal neighbor, Xoff offers a fresh look at the political tactics of Wal-Mart.
We live in an apathetic country. But when a community can get itself riled-up to take-on a corporate behemoth, that, my conservative/capitalist friends, is the essence of federalism.
I was once elected to my town board. If Wal-Mart ever tried to recall me, I’d say, Let’s Roll. And likewise, if my judgment and vote endorsed a Wal-Mart project, and community activists wanted my head on a $3.89 folding snack tray, it would behoove me to accept the responsibility of explaining my actions. Let the $1.29 chips fall where they may.
Politics aside, former Nixon speechwriter Ben Stein captures the heartbeat of Wal-Mart’s success;
...This makes the people who shop there richer. Price matters a lot to most people.
...But not everyone is a store owner. Everyone is a consumer.
...In the real world, Wal-Mart is as much of a boon to the American shopper as the Sears catalogue was long ago.
...By the way, if someone knows of a good American made toaster, please stand up and shout
posted by Slide @ 11:15 AM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
What, Olsen's even turning to conservatives to help improve his image in Jefferson?
Olsen, a Democrat who is constantly reminding us locals that "This hand just shook the hand of the Governor" or Herb Kohl or whoever else will let him into their office, doesn't base his opposition to Wal-Mart on a deep affection for Federalism.
If it would behoove you to explain a pro-Wal-Mart vote, why not ask Olsen to truly explain his anti-Wal-Mart stand? It's not even clear where his opposition stems from, apart from political expediency. I think he wants some short-term votes from the anti-Wal-Mart crowd for the next election, where he'll either run for his existing seat or run for Mayor.
For years, he was the full-time person who was telling us he was working hard to bring big businesses to town. Bringing a big-box store to town would've been a cherry accomplishment that he would have sang from our rooftops only a few years ago. From 1997 to 2001, Olsen was employed (full-time with benefits) by the City of Jefferson to serve as Executive Director of two of its economic development agencies as well as the Chamber of Commerce, and served as the city’s representative on a County economic group.
The essence of small-town "local control" as practiced by the good ol' boys' clubs that Olsen oversaw and supported? They didn't want to bring businesses to town that might pay more than they did. They didn't want to bring businesses to town that competed with existing businesses. Where's the free market in that? Handouts and protectionism?
Any fair-minded observer needs to ask what brings about Olsen's change of heart. He doesn't say that his anti-WM stand comes from reading the books of Al Norman or a desire for high-paying jobs or a desire to preserve our small-town atmosphere. He only describes his stance as "the will of the people". As any political operative knows, this can change with the wind (or the voices in his head, or undocumented phone calls, or imaginary surveys) and no one can accuse you of flip-flopping if you're only doing What The People Want.
Jefferson's downtown may have picturesque antique tops to its buildings, but many of the storefronts are empty. Many have been empty for more than a decade. They stayed empty as Olsen claimed to be trying to promote our downtown and claimed to be trying to attract businesses to it. He failed. The City blew $41K a year on Olsen, where he spent much of his time running the (private, you'd think, and not needing of subsidy) Chamber of Commerce, at the same time he claimed to be running his funeral home business full-time, and meanwhile the City gave tens of thousands more to the City and County economic groups, spent tens of thousands more on business park land that Olsen recommended we buy (and now the City is considering selling) and overall we have nothing to show for it. As a Council member, Olsen is now faced with trying to solve the problems he didn't fix years before. Our tax base is deflated below state averages and costs are rising. A few hundred thousand in taxes from a Wal-Mart isn't going to fix this problem, either.
Olsen has a long history of opposing public examination and public influence over the economic development process in Jefferson and Jefferson County. Where's the "local control" and goodness in that? All this is documented on my community web site at www.goJefferson.com. There are hundreds of documents that show his misdeeds. I could go on and on. Go read my comment on Xoff's piece for more detail. I'd love for Olsen to explain his actions. Mostly, he dodges them, especially with the help of puff-pieces like Xoff's. I imagine he'll find support in yours, too.
The burden of proof is on Olsen to show Wal-Mart is behind the recall. He not only claims they're behind the recall effort, but he said that they told him they would financially support his next campaign if he changed his vote.
Why would mighty Wal-Mart bother to fight a small-town Council member? Why aren' t they pressuring and bribing the other two no-vote Council members in the same way? (I think it's because Olsen is inventing and conflating in order to attract more attention to himself.)
Four Council members are elected every year; the Mayor every other year. If they want a Council in favor of Wal-Mart, all they need to do is wait until the time is right. It's ludicrous to suggest they're even corporately aware of Olsen. The wasted effort alone (due to the proximity of the next election) should be proof that Wal-mart wouldn't bother. As you point out, Jefferson is really North Fort Atkinson or South Watertown or West Waukesha, as viewed at high altitude by the demographic models in Bentonville.
Whew, the anger, the vitriol...all this, coming from someone who writes a couple thousand words based on oodles of hours of legal research extolling the dangers of placing a Christian cross in an old folks home.
I've never met Mr. Olsen, and if I left you with the impression I am anti-Wal-Mart, then you were too busy formulating your next rant and not absorbing the words on the paper.
A few of your objections and observations should be applauded, however, your stumbling musings reminds me of the blind squirrel; even he finds a nut every now and then.
Let go of the heated rhetoric and put your mind in a peaceful place. I know an old folks home where they'll let you sit to absorb the grace and comfort of Christ.
If not there, then go to Vinnie's Rock Bottom and tell him I sent you.
You're right - it wasn't obvious to this reader as to whether you were pro- or anti-Wal-Mart. Perhaps you can point me to other postings that would clarify where you stand.
To my mind, it's not the right question. I don't think it's contradictory, for example, to simultaneously believe they're a juggernaut of cheap and sometimes shoddy and certainly popular goods, and low-end labor practices, as well as believing that communities shouldn't prohibit businesses from coming to town except under extraordinary circumstances.
My mind's already in a peaceful place, thank you. And thank you for at least reading my web; Xoff didn't seem to.
If you read my Countryside page as closely as you'd like me to read yours, you would see that I opposed the use of public funds for a cross and altar, as well as placing it out in the open on the wall of the multipurpose room.
I think they needed to be a bit more considerate of everyone's right to free expression and religious worship.
The greatest affirmation of my position came from a Countryside resident during the public forum. She asked when they were going to get a Catholic cross... because to her eyes, this one was decidedly too Lutheran and not a Catholic crucifix. Her request was ignored.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home