Urban Renewal Redux

danofthecommunity I was having some interesting back and forth on a thread from just last Friday afternoon and went to post a response to something just posted a few hours ago and it's locked down for new thoughts/comments already.

So hopefully I'm not risking getting sent to Coolerville but sometimes a guy just has to get something off his keyboard even if it's about a thread more than 72 hours old...

Duane, I hope I didn't imply I thought I was going to "fix" or even review Urban Renewal myself, that's the job of the committee that the thread was about and the Legislature as a whole. I did think it's worth looking at and also agree that the whole issue of URD's are more complex than simple.

Joker's Ode to Urban Renewal: FREE MONEY
Joe was a big dreamer.
He wanted to make his business grow.
But he had a little problem; no cash to make it go.

That’s when the devil appeared and said don’t worry son. There’s no reason to sing the blues. All you need is a little free money!

Now Joe’s mama had always said, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch or anything else of that sort.”

And when Joe stared down the devil and told him just that. The devil let out an awful howl. That’s not true, your momma never told you about urban renewal.

Chorus: We’re talking about free money. Free money YAY YAY. Free money. I want me some of that free money.

How does that work, Joe did inquire, and that’s when the devil started to perspire. The districts, Satan explained, generate millions and you can collect it without doing a thing. Joe put his hands in pockets and found nothing but lint – not a dime to show.

He was broke and living in woe. He thought for a while and decided to give a go. Joe asked the devil what he needed to do. The devil said, “Once you sign here, there’s no going back. I own your eternal soul.”

Chorus: We’re talking about free money. Free money yay yay. Free money. Give Joe some of that free money. YAY YAY.

Joe missed that last part about his soul and signed it all away. The devil smiled big cause Joe was on a one way track and there was no going back. The devil kept his word and Joe was wealthy beyond his dreams. He built his business without blinking twice.

Chorus: We’re talking about free money. Free money yay yay. Free money. I got myself free money.Free money YAY YA Free money.

Then one sad day Joe died and went up to the Pearly gates. The angel in charge was about to let him in when the devil appeared and said that’s a sin cause he belongs to me. Joe looked surprised and wondered how could it be.

The Devil said I don’t know what world you were living in, but you really didn’t think that money was free? It came from those people in your town who paid their taxes. Your life of luxury was on their backs, and now I am going to take it back. Your Momma was right about those free lunches, but now you get to spend eternity talking about free money, YAY YA.