Thank You Alan Halberstadt

In this month's issue of BizX Alan has taken the opportunity to defend the city's purchasing policy and has referred to my blog. It really didn't matter what he said about my comments as long as he spelled my name right, which he did. Unfortunately, I am not running for public office so the publicity is of little value.
However, I must point out that my position was (and you can verify this in my previous blog): "The City's tendering rules obviously are flawed if a local contractor with a lower bid, who obviously built an excellent building, would have lost this contract."
The key is the word "if".
I have no argument with Alan's detailed explanation of why local preference could be a problem and could even be illegal. My issue only was as I stated and I relied on the Windsor Star report of the audit as did most people. We didn't read the audit and trusted the media for an accurate account.
However, now that he has tried to justify the policy, I must point out that local businesses in Windsor often have much higher costs, due to higher taxes, than some competitors whose businesses are in less expensive tax jurisdictions. This does seem unfair in that they are paying the taxes that pay the contractors who win the business with lower quotes.
There should be some way to compensate for this but I don't know what it is and if I did I would probably have to run for a seat on Council to fix it (and its way past my time to do that).
So Alan, you try to work that one out so it is fair for all concerned. I think you are a very good member of Council and know if anyone can come up with a solution it will probably be you.
by Richard Rosenthal

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Greed and Obscene Demands

I, for one, am tired of hearing Syd Ryan and the other government union leaders complaining that they did not cause the current economic situation so they should not be expected to help pay for it. The taxpayers did not cause it. The auto workers did not cause it either. Certainly the seniors with fixed or diminished incomes didn't cause it either. But Mr. Ryan and his pals want them to not only bear the brunt of their own hardships but be weighed down by the obscene demands of his members.
So who should pay for it? There is no alternative when income is less than expenses but to cut expenses and the largest expense in government is the workforce. The auto workers and most people in the private sector had to to accept cutbacks to survive. Seniors have had to adjust their living because pensions eroded or disappeared. Mr. Ryan and his band of merry reality deniers are just going to have to accept the fact that there is no money to pay them. Does he really think that the rest of the world should continue to award pay increases and hefty benefits out of their diminished resources?
There was a time when civil servants were paid less than the private sector but had secure jobs in exchange. Now the public sector, for the most part, enjoy higher pay, better benefits and significantly more security than the private sector.
Perhaps it is time for unions in the public sector to be banned from striking or perhaps even eliminated. College teachers turning down a 5.9% pay increase in this economy and day care workers insisting that the private sector can't handle their work are ridiculous and they are earning scorn rather than praise from the general public.
by Richard Rosenthal

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City's Audit Report

by Richard Rosenthal

It is certainly gratifying to know that nothing illegal was done in the building of a major City building and that the final product is excellent and meets the need for which it was built. The auditor's recommendations to make sure future projects are handled properly seems to omit one glaring issue. In the Windsor Star's report there is a paragraph that really needs addressing:
"The weird aspect of this report, to my mind, is that had council executed this project in a manner that would have satisfied the auditors, a local contractor would have lost and taxpayers might have had to pay millions more for the building."
The City's tendering rules obviously are flawed if a local contractor with a lower bid, who obviously built an excellent building, would have lost this contract.
That issue should immediately be addressed by City Council.

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Zero Tolerance for Violent Crimes

by Richard Rosenthal
The recent beating of a young man in downtown Windsor by three other young men is the latest example that we must do something to curb this unnecessary violence in our community. It seems that there is just far too much of this and it is getting worse.
Our court system hands out wrist slaps for many crimes and overly protects "young" offenders which does not provide any real deterrence or punishment. Perhaps its time to implement the type of penalties now in place for drunk driving. My suggestion is that there be no bail for a minimum of 7 days for anyone committing a violent crime (regardless of their age) and that the public insist on harsher penalties. I am well aware that there are those in our society who believe that jail terms do not act as deterrents but at least it keeps these hooligans off the streets and might just work. I also think it is time that we started publishing the names of youth offenders who are convicted of violent crimes as this may put some pressure on their parents to better control them.

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Are We Crazy or What?

A trucker might be considered smoking in the workplace but, for many, it is also their personal living space when they are on the road.

What possible harm is this man causing to society that would be different than smoking in his own home?

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Your Support is Needed More Than Ever

The current economic situation is causing great stress to many of our neighbours. United Way and its many agencies are facing significant challenges in meeting the increasing needs of our community. Many other organizations are also fighting to serve their own special and needed causes.
The Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland distributed $125,000 this year to help ease this burden.
They raised this money, with your help, through events such as Wines of The World that will take place on October 23rd this year. Please consider attending this event so you can be a part of this excellent work.
Information is available at Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland

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North American Perimeter Border

The thickening of the US border with passport requirements and toughened inspection procedures has had a significant impact on cross border social, and more importantly, business transactions. Windsor has been particularly hard hit in our tourist and manufacturing businesses with the casino and local restaurants experiencing significant declines in business and employment. Cross border hindrances to commercial shipments have made us less competitive in the "just in time" manufacturing environment as well costing us factories and jobs.
The casino, alone, has seen a job reduction of 1400 from its high of 5000 jobs pre 9/11.
THERE IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO ABOUT THIS!!!
It is time to pressure our government to accept a North American Perimeter system that eliminates the border between Canada and the US the same as in Europe. We have had a peaceful unarmed border with the US for decades and yet, in Europe, where countries were at was with each other for generations, they have managed to eliminate the border by harmonizing entry requirements to all their countries. Apparently, our Nationalistic pride has prevented our government from seriously solving this issue.
Just think of the savings in time, money and fuel burned while waiting in line at the border.
Just think of the number of more times people would be willing to cross the border if it was much easier.
The Canadian Border Services staff could better devote their time to more productive work and share the perimeter responsibility with their US counterparts. That would allow the US Border people more time to concentrate on illegal immigrants and real terrorism threats (there really have never been any from Canada).
It is time for us all to start to demand that our government properly address this situation and open the borders. It is not just the US that is keeping it thick.