Letter To The Editor: Frustration, Future, & Priorities
Editors Note: The views and opinions expressed in this editorial are not necessarily the views or opinions of Oskaloosa News.
As many of you know Oskaloosa is now a welfare town. 1 in 4 people, or 25% as defined by the 10-15 transit study, makes under $13,000 per year (the state average is 12.5%), over 50% of children k-12 are on free or assisted lunch (the state average is 3 to 4 times less than that), and 70% of the people that work in this town don’t live here, as found by the Rodger Brooks study. It’s projected that in the next 10 years 75% of the state will be living in urban areas. When new parents are asked why they moved to Oskaloosa a common response is “Cheap Housing.” Not jobs, not opportunities, not “great business environment”, not “the town looks great” but “Cheap Housing”.
These numbers and responses leave our town facing major problems that must be solved now with a sense of urgency that cannot be a 5-10 year plan, but must be a 2-3 year plan. We must prioritize what is important to the future of Oskaloosa. However, a majority of city leadership thinks otherwise. They lose focus on what the primary goals are, that leave many of us frustrated with no sense of direction or priorities. Take your favorite TV/Radio Host, author, or cable channel and there is one uniform problem that presents itself across the board. When a candidate transforms to an elected official, be it Democrat or Republican, the answer on both sides is more centralized government, more spending, and a defensive position on the supremacy of the state. Translation: higher taxes, less say over what we do in our daily lives, and a governmental belief that they are right and you are wrong. This is a real problem with officials, at all levels, that they are not willing to read and research current or proposed legislation. Even when legislation is clearly spelled out, clearly talked about, and clearly presented, if it puts that elected official in any possible position to have to say “No”, it exposes the myopic view of the official.
Take the current situation with Iran. You’ve seen videos of thousands shouting “Death to America” interviews with Ahmadinejad referring to the Jewish state to “Wipe them off the Map” and yet we are told “No, No, No,” that’s not what they really mean. You have 4 members of council who utterly flat out refuse to understand that Blues Zones is about eating a plant based diet and “Nudging” citizens to change their lifestyle. This is yet another attack on the Iowa farmer based on bad science in which eggs, pork, and beef should be eaten at most 2-3 times a week in only small amounts, and better yet only on holidays. Yet Dan Buettner has written books, given speeches, and clearly states that Blue Zones is an operating system where you are not responsible for your own health. The website promotes substitutes for meat and eggs while providing replacement recipes to be more vegetarian and vegan. Yet 4 members and a Mayor tell you “No, No, No,” that’s not what they mean…
Blue Zones group says it has 1900 people signed up and the biggest reason we should support the cause is that Oskaloosa has an obesity problem. What if I were to swap Blues Zones for Islam and use the same principles Blue Zones uses. Say, for example, we have a Muslim group that had 1900 people converted to Islam. Then they present to city council that Oskaloosa has an “islamophobia” problem and we need to adopt their plan to reduce islamophobia in which your city council passes that motion. Now the plan calls to reduce the amount of Christian churches by 50% and replace them with Mosques. Then in all Christian books stores at the checkout lanes you must have a Koran next to the cash register. Also if you own a store you must have special parking spaces for Muslims. And during all of this your council and the Muslim group tells you it is creating choices for you. If you choose to convert to Islam or any religion how is this any different than choosing to be a part of the Blue Zones lifestyle? What right does your city council have to impose that choice on you? Your council constitutionally has no more right to encourage you to be a Muslim, than it has to “Nudge” you into the Blue Zones lifestyle.
At what point does the ignorance of not understanding legislation begin to become tyranny? Even more troubling is we have council members that can’t even ask the basic question “Is this constitutional?”when presented legislation. That is the fundamental question we should ask every time before passing a new resolution. Does the Council have the authority to act within the parameters of the proposed legislation? I believe as a governmental authority we do not have the right to regulate your dinner plate and exercise plan. Yet this program reaches far beyond that and limits your choices and rights as citizens.
One of my jobs on council is to defend and protect your right to choose and not limit them. But a majority of the council doesn’t feel that way. They believe they have the right and obligation to control your health coupled with a $6.2 million plan to get you to walk, run, and bike. If you choose that lifestyle as an individual or business that is your choice, not your city councils right, and I will defend your choice. How much more governmental oversight do we need? They are in our healthcare, schools & education, internet, local police departments, and have economic controls. Now your local government is coming after your diet and exercise plan. They want to “Nudge” you through policy to change your lifestyle. I am tired of apologizing for being Americans. Why must we adopt the European lifestyle? What is wrong with letting you make choices for your families, letting you make decisions in your schools, in your healthcare, and at your dinner table.
In terms of bike lanes I pointed out we are not New York, Chicago, or Minneapolis. Those cities have real transit problems where bike lanes are needed. You cannot ride on the sidewalk in those cities nor would you want to ride in the street, thus those cities have a need for bike lanes. So what is the problem statement? Oskaloosa doesn’t have mass rush hour traffic and you can be anywhere in town in about 5 minutes. Nor do we have a massive accident or death rate on bicycles. Because of this I believe we need to focus our money and efforts on bigger problems with an emphasis on priorities.
Like you, I want to clean up the town but we started with people parking on their own lawns while a house on C Ave takes 2 years to tear down. Many houses in town are on the verge of being condemned yet, our focus is on bike racks. We propose $6.2 million on Blues Zones while not one dime has been committed to A Ave or Market. We know daycare is a major problem that needs desperate attention. Our sidewalk enforcement is not the same for you as it is for larger organizations. Why aren’t we enforcing all policies the same? This is why this town hasn’t moved forward we need leadership that can focus on the top priorities. We must adopt a comprehensive plan, focus on housing, economic growth, consistent code enforcement, and revitalization of downtown. When the Mayor and the majority of City Council can prioritize issues correctly then we can move forward. Until then I stand with you, as frustrated as you are on why some council members say “yes” to everything while nothing gets done…
Jason Van Zetten
City Council 4th Ward
