(c) by Mark Dempsey
The recent flood of praise for the late George Herbert Walker Bush (Bush 41) fills mainstream media with reminiscences of everything from his "kinder, gentler" demeanor, to his noble concern for the little people with whom he served in World War II--perhaps the last American war to which the plutocrats sent their children.
Alternative press accounts remind us of Bush's complicity in the Iran/Contra scandal, and his war crimes related to Gulf War I. But, as Matt Tiabbi says: "It’s become fashionable in some circles this week to denounce the newly buried George. H.W. Bush as a war criminal, but that seems gratuitous. After all, from a technical standpoint, what American president isn’t a war criminal? It’s probably a short list."
Still, not much coverage reminds us of his contribution to the shape of Sacramento. That connection began when land speculators proposed developing North Natomas--tens of thousands of acres of twenty-foot-under-water floodplain surrounded by weak levees, directly north of downtown Sacramento. As an indication of how unsuited for development North Natomas was, a federal grant increasing regional sewer capacity would assess a $6 million penalty if that capacity served new development there.
The speculators had an enormous investment in acquiring and optioning North Natomas land, and approached then-vice-president Bush to help them with the prohibitive $6 million penalty. Bush 41 obliged, making the penalty payable in installments, and provided $43 million in federal subsidies to bring those weak levees up to pre-Katrina standards.
Isn't that a terrific deal? Pay $6 in installments, and get $43 back. Where do I sign?
But wait, there's more!
The speculators purchased that agricultural land for about $2,000 an acre. Once the City had annexed it and approved development, they sold it to builders for roughly $200,000 an acre. So thank Poppy Bush for that 10,000% profit for our local plutocrats. Heck, with profits like those, buying a basketball team to create a constituency clamoring for rezones is only a minor expense. And let's not forget: if the speculators exchange out of their newly valuable property into income-producing real estate, they defer paying even income tax on that profit indefinitely.
Now that North Natomas is being built out, hundreds of millions in expenses remain to make those levees safe to post-Katrina standards, and Sacramento remains second in the U.S. to New Orleans in flood risk, but the population will pay those improvement costs. The speculators are down the road to their next enormous profit. Sure, the region has 20 years worth of unbuilt infill, but outlying development continues to beckon with the promise of egregious profits, so more of the same is baked into Sacramento's tomato quiche, and G.H.W. Bush continues to get uncritical praise from local media.
The recent flood of praise for the late George Herbert Walker Bush (Bush 41) fills mainstream media with reminiscences of everything from his "kinder, gentler" demeanor, to his noble concern for the little people with whom he served in World War II--perhaps the last American war to which the plutocrats sent their children.
Alternative press accounts remind us of Bush's complicity in the Iran/Contra scandal, and his war crimes related to Gulf War I. But, as Matt Tiabbi says: "It’s become fashionable in some circles this week to denounce the newly buried George. H.W. Bush as a war criminal, but that seems gratuitous. After all, from a technical standpoint, what American president isn’t a war criminal? It’s probably a short list."
Still, not much coverage reminds us of his contribution to the shape of Sacramento. That connection began when land speculators proposed developing North Natomas--tens of thousands of acres of twenty-foot-under-water floodplain surrounded by weak levees, directly north of downtown Sacramento. As an indication of how unsuited for development North Natomas was, a federal grant increasing regional sewer capacity would assess a $6 million penalty if that capacity served new development there.
The speculators had an enormous investment in acquiring and optioning North Natomas land, and approached then-vice-president Bush to help them with the prohibitive $6 million penalty. Bush 41 obliged, making the penalty payable in installments, and provided $43 million in federal subsidies to bring those weak levees up to pre-Katrina standards.
Isn't that a terrific deal? Pay $6 in installments, and get $43 back. Where do I sign?
But wait, there's more!
The speculators purchased that agricultural land for about $2,000 an acre. Once the City had annexed it and approved development, they sold it to builders for roughly $200,000 an acre. So thank Poppy Bush for that 10,000% profit for our local plutocrats. Heck, with profits like those, buying a basketball team to create a constituency clamoring for rezones is only a minor expense. And let's not forget: if the speculators exchange out of their newly valuable property into income-producing real estate, they defer paying even income tax on that profit indefinitely.
Now that North Natomas is being built out, hundreds of millions in expenses remain to make those levees safe to post-Katrina standards, and Sacramento remains second in the U.S. to New Orleans in flood risk, but the population will pay those improvement costs. The speculators are down the road to their next enormous profit. Sure, the region has 20 years worth of unbuilt infill, but outlying development continues to beckon with the promise of egregious profits, so more of the same is baked into Sacramento's tomato quiche, and G.H.W. Bush continues to get uncritical praise from local media.
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