Buffalo Billion Blowup

The Buffalo Billion is in blow up mode. That is what I am gathering out of all the Buffalo News coverage of US Attorney General Preet Brahara's investigation of the program that is supposed to be bringing companies to Western NY and creating jobs.

332 or so. That's the total count so far. Tons of money being spent on advertising, tax breaks (basically passing the taxes onto the working class), and “other expenses.” Like what? 3 martini lunches? Limo rides from the airport? What exactly are our taxes being spent on?

And the 332 jobs does not include part time jobs or “geographic transfers” - people transferred from one part of the state to WNY. I suspect that this also applies to the companies that moved from the places where they were working to the tax on our backs zones.

What do people want the government to do?

Simple: Show us the money.

Show us exactly where this money is going and why.

Instead of wasting it on large corporations and jokes like “43 North” which is about as big of a bomb right now, we could be doing something real with the money.

Like what? Look at the various groups that are working on urban farming. Yes. Urban farming. Look at the food deserts that we have in the city of Buffalo and in other areas of Western NY. There are communities where the only food is at a gas station. Essentially garbage food – obesity producing, diabetes creating crap.

We could demand that our taxes be used to help develop and expand groups like the Massachusetts Avenue Project which grows fresh fruits and vegetables and sells them to people at prices much lower than the corporate stores. It's good and fresh.

Then there was the story I saw today (July 27, 2016) on WIVB about two males that are doing horizontal farming in the basement of their University Heights house. They use much less electricity and water than a mega farm and they sell it in the food deserts. And people seem to like it. (Story not posted online yet.  As soon as I see it I will link it.)

Am I anti-farmer? Let me be clear on this: Absolutely not. I would like to see nothing more than farmers markets set up all over WNY where farmers can sell their products directly to the consumer at prices that are better for the farmer (they get more of the money) and the consumer (they get better prices).

Wait – isn't that what capitalism claims to do? Yet I have talked to several farmers that are struggling to get by on the prices that corporate America wants to pay them.

Then again, driving around in the country I stopped by a roadside stand and picked up a dozen eggs, a purple cauliflower, 5 zucchini, and 5 yellow squash for $5. Try that at your local store. I picked up a half bushel of apples for $7.50. Organically grown. No chemical pesticides or fertilizer. Too expensive. Compost – yes. Were the apple picture perfect specimens? No. Did they taste better than the store apples? Yes. Dry them out in my food dryer and I had apples for a couple of weeks in the winter. And the farmer said that he made more money from me than from the store.

So let's stop wasting our taxes on trying to sucker corporate America, Canada, or whomever to relocate to WNY. Let's put the money into helping people get what they need to live.

I saw an excellent article of cooperatives in Yes! Magazine. I believe they have a whole issue devoted to cooperatives. We need to be putting our money into them because the money we pay stays here instead of going off to Wall Street or wherever.

Cuomo and co are going to get into hot water because they are wasting our tax dollars on what is shown not to work.

Let's put our taxes into what we know works – the workers.