Guest editorial in today’s T.R. by banker Sam Sicard, titled “Future looks bright for Fort Smith” (another marshmallow served up by the Times Record)

Editorial murky, devoid of specifics and in a number of areas fail the smell test. (August 20, 2014)

Two examples should make the point: He cites the proposed Marshal Museum behemoth as a “game changer”. How so?

1. Initially the MM was billed as a private enterprise project—what happened? Over $3 million of middleclass Arkansas taxpayers’ money has been dumped into this project. Those monies do not include the huge taxpayer costs entailed in the minting, distribution and sale of the MM commemorative coins.
More taxpayer abuse?
The big questions are: who are the owners of the MM, what are the contingency plans for the MM should it reach fruition and/or then fails to fly? Are the plans to dump it on Sebastian County/Fort Smith for the takeover in the event of failure, or the state, or the feds? Citizens deserve answers.

2. Young Mr. Sicard alludes to the softball complex at Chaffee Crossing. Available information states that one Republican office holder, i.e. State Senator Jake Files, and one Democrat office holder, Sebastian County Democrat Committee Chairman Lee Webb have been given the right to develop and manage the aforementioned softball complex. A strange marriage. Why? The softball complex operation will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly from ticket sales, entry fees, concessions, parking, ad infinitum, replete with no taxpayer accountability. From all appearances, this is a political payoff & citizen abuse for Files’ obtaining state funds for the Marshal’s Museum? Why aren’t the taxpayers financially benefiting from this enterprise?

Certainly as a banker, Sicard understands that public/private partnerships are defined as Fascism—a nexus between corporations & government where the government is the CEO. He alludes to the softball complex as an example of private/public partnerships. Weak indeed, Mr. Sicard.

With all the attention focused on entertainment in Fort Smith, i.e. more government spending and insider trading and little to no citizen oversight, where are the efforts to bring in new jobs instead of the goals of the Chambers of Commerce to bring in more cheap labor illegals to overrun every aspect of our community to satisfy big business, e.g. OK Foods, Simmons, Tysons, et al?

Finally, how many thousands of illegal children & adults will be dumped into Fort Chaffee? With taxpayer funded Catholic Charities and Baptist Enterprises reaping millions of dollars printed out of thin air?

Only the tip.

Joe McCutchen
arkansasfreedom.net