Not everything is economic development and not all economic development is good.
In 2022, the town of Chickasha Oklahoma decided that – in the name of ‘economic development’ – they would erect a 50 foot leg lamp statue mimicking the one found in Warner Brother’s, A Christmas Story.
You know the one. Ralphie’s dad gets the lamp as a prize of some kind and installs the ‘soft glow of electric sex’ in the front window, much to the chagrin of the neighbors and his mom. Quickly, the leg lamp meets an untimely death by reasons unknown (although his mother was watering plants in the room when it happened…) and is carted to the trash bin.
Chickasha has had the Festival of Lights for many years – an amazing display of lights put together by the town for the benefit of the many people who flock to see them as part of their Christmas celebration traditions. Yet, one day, townspeople were told that – in the interest of economic development – the angels traditionally sitting atop the downtown light polls during Christmastide would be removed and lamp shades used instead.
Many residents were upset and wanted to know more about these plans, which included the installation of the giant leg lamp.
Since that time, concerned residents have been trying to crack the mystery of the lamp – especially how it was planned and erected without the blessing of Warner Brothers Studios – the owner of the rights to the movie.
Today, what started as questions regarding why the town would want a statue of the ‘leg lamp’ from the movie A Christmas Story, has become a full on pursuit of the truth over its funding, resulting in reams of Open Records Requests and angry interactions among normally-friendly townspeople, the Economic Development Authority, and other town leaders.
Watch the full live video (YouTube and Rumble) with town resident Laurie Wood-Allen for more information and how to get answers from YOUR town when you are concerned that something might be amiss. Also, don’t forget the show we did with regular Julianne Romanello where we talked about the GRIFT Of Economic Development. It can really help to put this story in context.
But first, watch the short clip below where Laurie tells why she decided to start pursuing the issue of the lamp.
We all carry models in our head that direct the way we perceive and process information. This is nothing new or odd. It’s called Confirmation Bias and it leads to thinking like, “Hey, I’m a ‘nice’ person, therefore other people are ‘nice’ people too”, “my lawmaker is my neighbor, he waves to me on Sunday as he goes to church, he has to be conservative like me”.
People functioning inside their confirmation bias look outside their window, see the thin veneer of public behavior we call society, see it functioning mostly as they expect and worry not about tomorrow. Consequently, when information comes to their attention that describes things beyond their confirmation bias, like the ‘The Great Reset‘, they think it’s nuts – misinformation, slippery slope, utter nonsense. That simply would never happen – and yet Confirmation Bias is one of the reasons so many Jews were murdered before Hitler was stopped – good people believing that mass genocide simply COULDN’T happen.
A thinking person has only to review the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN (Agenda 2030 pushed by Klaus Schwab and his friends) to realize that the whole thing is a pipe dream. No group – not even the UN (snark) – is going to end world hunger, or poverty – or any other of the ‘goals’ suggested by this document – they’re all completely impossible in a human, fallen world. Unless, a group of people who want to believe in these goals so badly, contrive ways to force human beings – through treaties, laws, rules and the like – to exhibit behaviors they deem necessary to bring about their goals.
For example; human beings as a rule are not terribly altruistic – they’ll put money in the plate at church, but many wouldn’t think about working at a food pantry or a homeless shelter. This is why socialism – altruism through the use of the currency of others – must be forced. The thought is, “Well, you won’t pay for your poor neighbor’s healthcare bill on your own, so there is a moral imperative for me to force you to do so” whether that’s a government or a world leader.
Let’s look at another example; #7 on the UN’s 2030 list is ‘affordable clean energy’. Solar panels cost an arm and a leg, they’re mostly manufactured in China with parts that come from all over the world that are cost ineffective to recycle, forcing most of them into the – wait for it – very green, nonpolluting landfill (snark). Consequently, the GOVERNMENT, which has the power to fine you, put you in jail or otherwise coerce you – not private businesses which do not have that power – take taxpayer dollars and subsidizes the use of solar technology while creating rules and laws that force the use of this technology at the detriment of the economy and the liberty of humans to make choices for themselves.
Hopefully, you see my point. I think many of us had our eyes opened to this fact during the plandemic.
So, let’s put aside our confirmation bias on the topic of economic development (much of which the Chamber of Commerce has propagandized into us for decades) and listen to a clip from the really great podcast Michael and I did with Julianne Romanello last Wednesday (when is a podcast with Julianne not great, though, really) 8.14.24. The whole podcast was devoted to a discussion about Economic Development activities – especially in small towns – and how the quest to bring more jobs/people to the town can have a rather opposite effect than desired.
Like so many other things, people are conditioned to believe that the idea of Economic Development is a good thing. Of course people want to be able to make a liveable wage – and beyond – in the place where they live. They also want their children to grow up and find work near the family. People also want places to shop and eat and parks to enjoy and all the things that make life – especially in a small town – awesome. These are VERY sensible desires!
But there’s a dark underbelly to economic development models we need to know about.
In the clip below, Julianne talks about the cynical-yet-truthful way in which economic development actually works and how it can play right into the Global Agenda.
In the clip below, Julianne talks about how small towns LOSE their local shared values and so many of the things that made them great when economic development becomes more about supporting outsiders than those who live in the town. In this model, the town gets nudged into a sustainable model, which, of course, drives the town – and everyone in it – down the Global Agenda road.
At the end of the podcast, Michael shared a story about his hometown of Guymon, Oklahoma. It’s truly a sad warning to other towns who desire ‘economic development’ for the creation of “more jobs”.
Please listen to the entire podcast either on our Rumble or YouTube channels. The discussion was very enlightening and one you might want to share with your City Council person or elected official. We truly do have to stop thinking that progress is always the best course. Sometimes just staying where we are is better for us and our development all the way around because progress can march us closer and closer to a new world order.
Pay attention to what the City Council and Economic Development Associations are doing in your town – as well as the local Chamber of Commerce. Be prepared to push back if you see warning signs that someone or something is set to benefit from the development of the economy more than town’s residents. The best defense is ALWAYS a good offense and that starts with knowledge – the kind you can only get from attending your City Council and EDA meetings!
It’s up to all of us to save the AMERICAN way of life for our children and grandchildren.
Yes, I’m a registered Republican. No, I’m not changing the title of this blog. Unfortunately, we now live in UPSIDE DOWN WORLD. Maddeningly, our Republican Governor – Kevin Stitt – and the Republican SUPERMAJORITY Oklahoma legislature, is going Big Business for $1000 Alec.
Oklahoma, once considered to be the reddest state in the 50, is now Tyrannyville thanks to the economic development mantra of the group that used to be for ‘the people’; the property owners, those who had worked hard for a living and wanted to protect their investment/s – the Republicans. Nope, not any more.
Friday, May 24th, ROPE Report hosted Whitney Mullica and Kelly Wilson of PikeOffOTA (Citizens For Responsible Transportation) to talk about how the Oklahoma Transportation Authority – the pseudogovernmental agency peopled with unelected bureaucrats unaccountable to the public – work with members of the business development community to develop tolled roads that, not only must the citizens of Oklahoma pay to use, but that removes their property from them using the force of the state.
You can find the full video on our Rumble and YouTube channels. I suggest you watch the whole thing – it is very informative when hearing all the information at once – but until you have the time, watch the very short pieces I’ve clipped from the whole, below.
Though many people do eventually cut a deal with the OTA for the ‘sale’ of their house and property to the Authority, many people refuse. It doesn’t matter, however, because the state kicks them off the property anyway only to wait – in some cases – over A YEAR to have the issue settled by the court. This is OUTRAGEOUS and citizens of Oklahoma simply shouldn’t tolerate this kind of nonsense.
Here, Kelly shows that, while eminent domain is used to remove property owners from their property, the ‘surplus’ land ‘left over’ after the turnpike has been created, is then sold to the public. Many times, the purchasers of the land are people who benefitted in some way through the OTA turnpike process in the first place. While this is not illegal, personally benefitting from the process of removing the property of a citizen using the force of the state is ethically and morally wrong. If people can’t police themselves along moral and ethical lines, why is the state not protecting citizens by preventing this kind of behavior?
Could it be that ‘the state’ would rather have the money afforded it by the rich and powerful – especially when it comes time to be re-elected?
Below is the most important video you’ll see if you really want to know the way citizens are being tyrannized by Oklahoma’s governmental bureaucracy because this video connects all the dots. Suffice it to say, ‘the people’ simply don’t matter in the face of business interests that want to enrich themselves.
Here, Kelly provides THE CIRCLE OF GOVERNMENT INTERESTS – the ways in which the rich just keep getting richer off the backs of those whose property is seized by eminent domain to create roads they’ll be forced to pay to use. Rinse and repeat. It’s like shampooing your hair.
Who’s going to protect the citizen now when all the people whose job it is to PROTECT THE RIGHTS AND PROPERTY OF THE CITIZEN are essentially in on the deal to benefit from government contracts and government planning and government’s support of private business and public/private partnerships…..
We’ll never get our liberty back until we figure out a way to get a tire iron in this wagon wheel right here!
So…PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!! Help us educate all Oklahomans about what’s happening right under their feet!
After our interview with Julianne Romanello Wednesday morning, I felt it would be helpful to add a few links to allow people to further explore the premise of Rights-Based vs Value-Based governance.
At the outset of the podcast, we talked about property taxes and how, once the government taxes our property, we don’t own it anymore. This was arguably one of Jefferson’s biggest issue, which he delineated in the Declaration of Independence by the word ‘happiness’ in the phrase, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Why equate property with happiness?
One of the reasons the pilgrims left England for lands undiscovered, was the very difficult ability to hold property in a monarchical system. If property rights had not been previously prescribed and legally noted, the King was often considered the owner of all empty lands because he was King by right of God and God provided him the land. This land could be (and was) given to various title-holding individuals depending upon the monarch at the time, usually consisting of Lords, Bishops, Barons, etc., while all non-title-holders were forced to rent land from the King (or the closest title-holder). In fact, even if you were found hunting on the King’s land, you could be fined or otherwise punished. It mattered not if your children were starving and you were unable to find food, all the game on the King’s property was the King’s, end of discussion.
If the King created another Baron in the place of the previous, a renter could be thrown off the property so it could be bequeathed to a new ‘owner’. Obviously, this kind of instability for the vast majority of the English population did NOT create happiness. Thus, one of the rights among men that the Founders desired to enshrine in the Constitution, was the right to own property for oneself; not merely rent it from the Crown, OR ANOTHER GOVERNMENTAL FORM. This stability then, could create happiness of the kind that provided safety and security as the phrase, “A man’s home is his castle” was meant to convey.
Today, however, Oklahomans – like so many other citizens of so many other states – no longer own their own property, but rent it from the King (state), placing us right back where we were when we started.
Why would I say such a thing? Because, as McClain County Assessor Kendal Sacchieri told us – property taxes MUST be paid, or we’ll be thrown off ‘our’ property so that ‘our’ property can be sold to the highest bidder and the taxes paid to the King (state).
What creates property taxes? Look at the illustration below prepared by Larry Stein, Oklahoma County Assessor. It can be found here, with more explanation for the expenditure of County property tax dollars.
You’re property is not your own because nearly 60% of it goes to government schools – government schools who also receive appropriations from the legislature, monies from parimutuel betting, the lottery AND MORE! As I’ve asked perpetually since 2010 – HOW MUCH MONEY IS ENOUGH FOR SCHOOLS TO HAVE – especially when their results are dismal and rare few pupils educated in public schools can read or do math! Here are a few of the other ways public schools get money from an 1889 Institute paper on School Finance.
Please, someone explain to me why our PROPERTY is being attached for government education that already is funded via the appropriation mechanism?
PLEASE, someone explain to me why our PROPERTY is being attached for MORE government education that is funded via the appropriation mechanism?
County government gets the next piece. To me, this is actually legitimate government expense. The County provides road repair and many other SERVICES from which taxpayers benefit. This, could be paid directly to the County as a tax – much like the taxes paid to the state – instead of attaching our property.
Cities and towns should be funded via their own taxes – like those on delivered merchandize (Amazon, etc.) and sales taxes collected within their boundaries (which they already get!) – your property SHOULD NOT BE TAXED TO RUN CITIES AND TOWNS.
The City/County Library should be funded via voluntary donations. Period. Yes, it is important to have repositories of knowledge, but large corporations are welcome to donate these facilities – as are citizens. Our PROPERTY SHOULD NOT BE TAXED to provide disgusting books to minors – which they do.
The City/County Health Department is another item that should be funded privately. There are many indigent clinics run by non-profits. Healthcare is NOT a function of government, it is a function of private economy whether you like that idea or not. The main function of government in America is THE PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. Healthcare is not an individual right and has never been throughout history until the last several generations. Additionally, we all know that government-sponsored healthcare systems became armies of tyranny during COVID. I don’t want my tax dollars used to support tyranny in any form and I certainly don’t want my property seized to pay taxes to a group of people who want to force me to bow to healthcare mandates we’ve since learned DID NOTHING or killed us.
TIFs are a type of property tax that indebt property owners for economic development. You can read more on that here. There is no way property owners should allow ANY form of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT to attach their property. Back in the ‘old days’ developers shouldered the risk of their developments – but they also owned all the rewards. Today, the PUBLIC is made to shoulder the risk of PRIVATE development, yet our property is taxed without us getting any REWARD at all. In many cases, the TIFF is for an office building or industrial park. Not only do the taxed property owners not reap any reward from this development, but they don’t even get to USE the property they are financing. Most TIFFs are sold to the public as – here, we’ll develop this area to bring in businesses from which you can possibly get a job. WHAT? Not only is there NO REWARD for the taxation of our property, but we might not even be able to become employed by the businesses being brought in through the development? Who in their right mind would give someone on the street the use of their car for the PROMISE that they’ll put gas in it when (if) they bring it back, yet people in cities and towns across Oklahoma actually fall for this scheme and accept the taxation of their property through a TIFF consistently. WAKE UP! STOP IT!
And so, to wrap up my most extensive piece ever on property taxes, please read this twice or three times. Once you understand the argument – because I believe you will – share it with friends AND your legislators. Property taxes are INHERENTLY wrong and must be stopped if Americans (Oklahomans) are to have true freedom.
