If not the most unpopular person in Allentown, Scott Armstrong is certainly among the top ten. Posting one of his laments is almost always guaranteed to produce a few personal insults. But like it or not, Armstrong was right all along about Allentown's sinking financial ship. He was right to ridicule Mayor Ed Pawlowski's smoke and mirror power point presentations. He was right to criticize a city newspaper, although in recent months, The Morning Call has drawn public attention to Peanutville's growing deficit and the pay-to-play practices of its governing elite. "Allentown’s financial situation has become so alarmingly apparent that even the Morning Call and the city controller have expressed public concern. Although the problem has been in the making for the past eight years the news that the city could face a nine million dollar budget shortfall this year seems to have come as a surprise to those who should have been the public’s watchdogs. How unfortunate.
"For the Cassandras whose vain attempts to warn of the pending disaster brought them only ridicule and scorn from the elite there is little satisfaction in this vindication. Those who put faith in elected leaders and partisanship above the evident truth of facts and figures should now be ashamed and contrite. Will they be? Of course not."
15 comments:
I blame Armstrong.
Allentown Democrat Voter
This will be the same thing for Northampton County in a couple years. The Stoffa incompetent team took a gift of a huge surplus and parlayed it into nothing.
With the help of the Press and propaganda ministers like O'Hare they have hid the inevitible truth.
Within a few years Stoffa will announce the largest Bond issue in County history and one of the largest tax increases.
We must also thank Roy Shuman and the Republican Party leaders for this as well.
i have no issue with scott's analysis of the dire fiscal reality which pawlowski can no longer hid, but it is somewhat ironic for him to blame partisanship; that is a trait which scott also exhibits. i have deleted a previous comment in which i was inaccurate
Thakns GOd for Charles Dertinger!
Scott certainly can be partisan, but I actually find him more tolerant of liberal views than most. Last night, I was contacted by a fairly liberal LC Democrat who asked for Scott's contact information. They had chatted and he was impressed. So am I.
Thank God for Scott Armstrong!
Whether it's Pawlowski's goons or Rahm Emanuel, Chicago style strong-arming and breathtakingly irresponsible spending for votes are the current rage.
Dissent, however reasonable, regarding the march toward fiscal ruin, whether in Allentown or DC, is very unfashionable right now.
I'll take NorCo's poor manners and explosive debate any day. On balance, it has served taxpayers well.
So is there a solution to this whole thing?
Or do we just sit around and say I told you so as the city slips into bankruptcy?
Please I would love to know.
Perhaps we could begin by voting for candidates who could actually manage the city competently.
It was just two years ago that the city threw out of office the one official who had a clue and
voted back into office the very same elected officials who brought about the fiscal ruination of the city.
As they say, it isn't complicated but it is difficult.
Scott Armstrong
I wish Bill Heydt would run again. He could win. Anyone with a brain can see that Pawlowski is
killing Allentown and he doesn't even care. He will serve one more term and then RUN back to Chicago where his type of politics rules.
By the way, how is that Brew Works working out at the golf course? I'm still waiting for the first corporate outing or wedding. If they spent 200K there, I would like to be their contractor. Yet another Pawlowski graft job that drifted out of consciousness. We
now have another night club that noone goes to. Thanks EDDIE.
Those of us who consistently warned about poor decisions were labeled as "naysayers" and "complainers".
We were correct every step of the way. I will blog about each issue on my blog sometime soon to lay out the very clear record.
Anon 6:04,
Yes, there is a solution to the "whole thing". Control spending, which has been exploding, especially for bureaucrats in City Hall. Another example, we showed that a 2% cut in spending would have gotten the City through the dreaded "Debt Spike" Pawlowski used as an excuse to justify his bond refinancing. We even offered a citizen ordinance proposal (allowed by our Home Rule Charter) which was ignored by City Hall. Nope, can't cut 2%. Instead, we refinanced bonds from a LOWER to a HIGHER interest rate, we still have a debt spike, and we added over $60 million in interest costs over 30 years to "save" $600,000 over two years.
Such is government "investment" and wise fiscal management.
This is why we need debates. Not too many taxpayers know about the $60 million brought to us by Damore and eddy. Mikey D likes to brag about the 600K he saved but mentions nothing of the 60 MILLION he cost us.
Eddy and Mikey D are facing a tax increase before the election - wonder how they will wiggle out of this one. Probably will ask council to open the lock box that holds 5 of the 10 million council gave eddy when he was elected!!
Can I get some help, here? The picture associated with this blog thread, does anybody know what it is about?
Every time I drive by it, I want to stop to read the placard, but I don't have time to do so.
I always wondered what the statue is holding in its hands. Is it a dolphin?
Peace, ~~The Banker's friend(Alex)
Bernie,
Jerry Seyfried served on County Council from 1978 through 1989
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