Pat Harrison's Slumlord Uprising of 2008, 5/6: "More on the 'American Dream' of rental property exploitation."

Eight years later, and it's déjà vu all over again as Pat Harrison prepares to defend our downtrodden slumlords against the Gestapo.

The following was originally published here on August 28, 2007.

1/6
2/6
3/6
4/6
6/6

---

More on the “American Dream” of rental property exploitation.

It’s a mellow morning accented by espresso, kippers and a multi-disc listening of the “Complete Stax/Volt Singles, 1959-1968,” and I’m hesitant to dive back into the rancor sure to be engendered by the topic of tax relief for rental property owners.

However, to judge by curent readership, I'm on a roll, so what the hell.

Yesterday in a private e-mail, a longtime NAC reader expressed annoyance with the apparent emergence of yet another campaign to improve the desperate plight of starving rental property owners, whose dented and soiled tin cups are expected to become a recurring feature of local editorial pages:

This is a joke!


Indiana landlords to make plea for tax relief (Courier-Journal).

I think this needs a spot on your blog, and there should be a group called, “Citizens against the Slumlords.” Everyone needs to call Indianapolis and request that their representatives vote NO on tax breaks to slumlords until they bring their properties up to code. These are businesses and should be taxed as such! These are problems and eyesores that I’m very passionate about …

After reading this note, I composed an e-mail to Pat Harrison:

Greetings,

I'm the senior editor of the NA Confidential blog, and we share your concern with certain problems associated with rental property in New Albany and Floyd County, although our emphasis as long suffering residents -- i.e., single family homeowners – in New Albany's long neglected historic core centers on the absence of applicable code enforcement and the proliferation of "slumlords."

Having viewed your recent advocacy on behalf of rental property ownership, and likewise perusing statistics suggesting that a high rate of rentals runs hand in hand with overall societal decay, we'd like to ask you a couple of questions.

Now many rental units do you currently own?

Do you hold mortgages on these?

Do you support the enforcement of applicable codes for all citizens?

Thanks for helping us understand your side of this question. Rest assured that we will continue to publicly advocate meaningful codes and rental property inspections as a means of alleviating the problems that have been experienced with irresponsible rental property management, irrespective of the tax burden -- which is but one side of the coin.

Twenty-four hours later, we’ve not received a response, but the situation is being monitored.

Alms, anyone?

Grooms musters meaningless rearguard legislative feint, says he tried really hard to undo the bridge tolling damage he supported all along.

It's all about appearances, now and always.

Senator Grooms was a ceaseless, persistent and utterly tireless supporter of the Ohio River Bridges Project, ignoring all questions and testimony about the deleterious effects of tolling on Southern Indiana residents and businesses, right up until the detestable boondoggle was signed, sealed and artfully applied to his constituents via Kerry Stemler's preferred political method (which occurred to him when he underwent a colonoscopy with failed anesthetic), and then -- only then -- did Silent Ron, who in 2015 just as enthusiastically vamped as one of the GOP's homespun Heroes of RFRA, finally conclude that some toll "relief" posturing was necessary.

In 2012:

Groggily, belatedly ... but finally, Senator Grooms begins to fathom the toll of bridge tolling.

... “After careful review of the recently released economic impact study on the Ohio River Bridges Project, I am still primarily concerned with the burden to Indiana taxpayers and worry that the proposed tolls will put undue financial strain on the people the project is designed to help,” said Indiana Sen. Ron Grooms, R-Jeffersonville, in a statement released last week. “It is important to look at every option available to lessen the financial burden southeast Indiana residents will face, either with some type of individual tax credit or one for employers who are willing to pay employee tolls.”

And then in 2014:

Today's truthful moment: "Bridge tolls will devastate Indiana businesses, owner says."

... And then there's Ron Grooms, who said and did nothing until nothing could be done or said, and only at a dog-won't-hunt point far beyond tactical usefulness finally opened his eyes to the issues and heroically spoke out to mostly empty rooms. Posterity won't be kind. Meanwhile, the rest of us search for survival strategies.

Now, in 2016, Grooms does his homework by cribbing a Wikipedia article.

How stupid does he think we are?

Oops. Let's be more accurate.

How stupid are we?

Lawmaker: Bills seeking tax relief for Hoosiers using Ohio River toll bridges dead for 2016, by Marcus Green (WDRB)

... Federal data indicates that Southern Indiana residents who travel to jobs and school in Louisville will bear most of the toll burden. About three times as many Clark County residents commute to Louisville for work than do people who head in the opposite direction, according to Census estimates released last year.

Theater of the absurd as slumlords embrace civil rights movement in march on Indy.

Thanks to Greg Roberts, who provides a nice lead-in to today’s marquee story with this message, as posted in the comments section of yesterday’s thread (Are you in favor of the rule of law? Hypocritical, contemptuous city council “has-beens” think you’re a “wannabe”):

Please call Senator Luke Kenley at (317) 232-9400 or (800) 382-9467 (State Tax and Financing Policy Commission Chairman looking at cutting tax rates for slumlords) and tell him that you do not agree that slumlords should be given a tax break. These are businesses!!!

Please see the following article:

Landlords call for parity on taxes; Floyd real estate agent among those at meeting (Courier-Journal)

Hmm.

It seems to me that begging for tax abatements in and of itself constitutes an implicit admission that rental properties are, in fact, business enterprises and not charitable undertakings.

Note, however, that Senator Kenley artfully avoided connecting the word “economic” with rental property ownership, preferring instead to deploy the word “social” in the context of “rehabbing” – as though renting your property were an act of altruism, and with filthy lucre never entering into a strictly angelic tableau.

Many rental property owners serve an "important social function in terms of rehabbing certain areas in lots of communities," Kenley said. "We're discouraging them now" instead of offering them incentives, he said.

Right, Luke. Quadplexes as touchy, feely methods of bonding with other human beings? Can I own one, too?

Perhaps we need to negotiate a bit of quid pro quo, in the sense of extending tax abatements to rental property owners, who in turn can be recognized as full-board business owners, with all the rights and responsibilities (read: code enforcement and an inspections program) implied therein.

What a marvy compromise that would be ... and already, I here Pat Harrison practicing the flicking of her Bic in preparation for a self-immolating bonfire at the court house.

By the way, Ms. Harrison never has answered the questions we asked of her on August 28: More on the “American Dream” of rental property exploitation.

Her “businesses” must really be keeping her busy these days.

More on the “American Dream” of rental property exploitation.

It’s a mellow morning accented by espresso, kippers and a multi-disc listening of the “Complete Stax/Volt Singles, 1959-1968,” and I’m hesitant to dive back into the rancor sure to be engendered by the topic of tax relief for rental property owners.

However, to judge by curent readership, I'm on a roll, so what the hell.

Yesterday in a private e-mail, a longtime NAC reader expressed annoyance with the apparent emergence of yet another campaign to improve the desperate plight of starving rental property owners, whose dented and soiled tin cups are expected to become a recurring feature of local editorial pages:

This is a joke!

Indiana landlords to make plea for tax relief (Courier-Journal).

I think this needs a spot on your blog, and there should be a group called, “Citizens against the Slumlords.” Everyone needs to call Indianapolis and request that their representatives vote NO on tax breaks to slumlords until they bring their properties up to code. These are businesses and should be taxed as such! These are problems and eyesores that I’m very passionate about …

After reading this note, I composed an e-mail to Pat Harrison:

Greetings,

I'm the senior editor of the NA Confidential blog, and we share your concern with certain problems associated with rental property in New Albany and Floyd County, although our emphasis as long suffering residents -- i.e., single family homeowners – in New Albany's long neglected historic core centers on the absence of applicable code enforcement and the proliferation of "slumlords."

Having viewed your recent advocacy on behalf of rental property ownership, and likewise perusing statistics suggesting that a high rate of rentals runs hand in hand with overall societal decay, we'd like to ask you a couple of questions.

Now many rental units do you currently own?

Do you hold mortgages on these?

Do you support the enforcement of applicable codes for all citizens?

Thanks for helping us understand your side of this question. Rest assured that we will continue to publicly advocate meaningful codes and rental property inspections as a means of alleviating the problems that have been experienced with irresponsible rental property management, irrespective of the tax burden -- which is but one side of the coin.

Twenty-four hours later, we’ve not received a response, but the situation is being monitored.

Alms, anyone?