notmymayor

I do not really know what our local elected officials do each week, but I can assure you that addressing the City’s crisis of unemployment is not among their self-assigned tasks. In September, the number of St. Louisans actively seeking work but unable to find it was above 17,000 for the fourth month in a row. These numbers are nearly double the appalling figures that have dogged Francis Slay during the entire duration of his time in office as mayor, yet we hear nary a peep from our Aldermen about their plans to get St. Louis back to work.

Let me state it simply: approving a TIF in the furtherance and support of an insolvent developer’s quest to extort millions from the State of Missouri is as counterproductive an act as I could imagine. If Paul McKee receives $86.3 million in state tax credits, then the State will make additional cuts to vital social services. Need I say it to the City’s nominal Democrats–when the State and City cut necessary programs, they create a negative feedback loop that erodes our collective ability to provide for society’s needs.

The above image features a graph depicting the number of unemployed St. Louis City residents from January 2009 to September 2009. The low point for unemployment this year was back in April, with 13,494 job seekers unable to find work. That month, St. Louis City voters elected Francis Slay to a third term with fewer votes than they gave to John McCain. Many say that correlation does not equal causation, but I think that the graph speaks for itself. Francis Slay, you are not my mayor, because you are a failure. Stop raising money for your campaign and start doing some work for a change.