The Pander Bear roots through rental property garbage piles as a city council work session ripens.

In False Hopes, False Solutions, Randy "The New Albanist" Smith describes the retrograde action at last evening's city council work session.

C-J coverage is here, and the Tribune's there.

At the end of the second excerpt, Randy posits the shape of a new Gang of Four. Sadly, this seems to be substantive fact, and there has emerged another grouping of regressive-minded council persons, even without King Larry and Bill Schmidt available for duty.

It has been recurringly obvious that if one's sole goal as council representative is to retain some measure of personal influence as ego wash at the expense of the greater good of the commonweal, all progress must be halted, and all economic development must be sacrificed to short-term subsidies that gather votes while gutting the future.

Steve Price's and Dan Coffey's cynical proposal to drain every last economic development funding source available so as to prevent a sewer rate increase is precisely this. By kneecapping development for generations, the Axis of Banal seeks to avert an influx of interloping, achievement-oriented people who cannot be controlled by their traditional shell games, dolteries, voodoo and nutjobberies. Doing so "sticks it" to those in the city who understand the difference between a legitimate policy statement and an intentional whopper of a lie that originates in deep-seated feelings of social inferiority.

The question isn't whether Price and Coffey believe any of this, or why they do. Those issues are settled and beyond dispute. The real issue, one sure to be debated by New Albanians for years to come, is this:

Why have Jeff Gahan and Pat McLaughlin fallen so readily for it?

Back to Randy:

Tuesday evening, the powers that be (elected and appointed) put on a show where they pretended to solve a critical sewer funding problem. Although no decisions were made, much pandering took place. Of course, Steve Price put on the greatest display of ignorance, but that’s to be expected any time the council gathers in front of the press or the public ...

... The whole evening was an exercise in implausibility, buck-passing, blaming of previous administrations, vituperation from CM Price, and good old pandering most applicable to a “presser.” The PR value on Wednesday ought to be bankable.

Here’s my take on the visible consensus [though I have independent evidence that much of the evening's performance was just for show...you'll have to take my word.]

The consensus is to put city finances
Into voluntary servitude
To benefit ratepayers at
The expense of working taxpayers
To benefit businesses at
The expense of working taxpayers
To benefit fringe property owners at
The expense of working taxpayers
To benefit landlords at
The expense of working taxpayers
To benefit profligate users of water at
The expense of working taxpayers.

Thus cutting off opportunity
Flexibility
Equity.

Handcuffing all New Albanians in the future.

JUST THE WAY COFFEY, PRICE, GAHAN, and McLAUGHLIN want it.