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Feeling
right at home in Louisville
by Guillermo Camoriano (9/3/01)
Having
read the news that Alderman Johnson has appropriated $100,000 as an
incentive to Lindy’s to open a restaurant in the 6th Ward (which he
represents), I sent him an e-mail (ddjohnson@louky.org
or tel 502-574-3090) saying that he should be ashamed of what he had done,
instead of proudly announcing his deed.
Alderman Johnson called me in response to my e-mail, and the
following is a summary of his comments.
(Alderman Johnson's comments are in italics.)
1- There are only ethnic restaurants in my ward, (Vietnamese,
Korean, Mexican) but no “American” restaurant that appeals to the
masses.
2- Lindy’s would have
located in the East end if it had not been for the money I offered them to
locate in my ward. (I
said, if a restaurant in the 6th ward makes sense financially, in other
words, if there really is a demand for it, then there is no need to give
them a $ 100,000 incentive to locate there, and if it does not make
financial sense to locate there, then why waste our taxpayer’s money?).
3- The money spent to bring
in Lindy's is not your money, since you don't live in my ward.
The people in my ward like what I have done and will reelect me for
it. This is money from my
discretionary fund, so you have no basis for complaining about how I use
this money. Since there are
25,000 people in my ward, the $100,000 amounts to only $4 per person, a
drop in the bucket and thus nothing to get upset about.
4- I explained that this is money taken by force from the taxpayers
(Yes, if you do not pay your taxes, would you care to guess how long
before an armed sheriff deputy shows up at your door to take you to court
or to jail), and it is not morally right to use this money to show
largesse to his choice of corporate welfare.
5- If
you don't like it, you do not have to live here and pay taxes.
You can just go back to whatever country you came from. (I am
from Honduras and speak with a slight Spanish accent.)
Lessons learned:
1- Alderman Johnson is a bigot who, despite a large
number of people of foreign extraction who live in his ward, has no regard
for people who immigrate here from foreign countries and in fact despises
them. Their restaurants are
not good enough for his ward. He
feels no compunction at using their hard-earned money to subsidize a
business that will come in and compete against them.
2- Alderman Johnson believes in plundering the many
for the benefit of (his chosen) few.
If you don’t like plunder, either go back to where you came from
or shut up and quit complaining. I
did not say this to Mr. Johnson, but I do not need to go back to Honduras
to feel like I am in a third world country.
Thanks to the likes of Mr Johnson, I feel right at home here in
Louisville, Kentucky!
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