As the top economic official in Massachusetts government, Gregory Bialecki is responsible for giving away hundreds of millions of dollars to revive the state’s troubled economy. There’s just one problem: He can’t find enough good candidates for the money....
That is how I would describe it, and if you can't find anyone to take the money GIVE IT BACK!
But even with stimulus funds, most developers can’t get private loans to begin construction, as the worst slump to hit the commercial real estate market in decades continues without respite. That leaves him with few worthy recipients of the money....
Where did all that taxpayer loot go, America?
You remember, the loot the government borrowed from you to give to banks so they could loan it back to you with interest (except they kept it as profit and bonuses)?
The quandary is but one of many frustrations for Bialecki, a career real estate lawyer serving in government for the first time. Usually public officials who give out money are popular. But in Massachusetts, Bialecki, 49, is battling a political culture hostile to subsidizing private development while also suffering the jealousies of those who didn’t get money from him....
Yeah, the poor fella finding out we don't like being robbed. What a shock.
So far, it’s been difficult to show results.
Especially when there are none.
Bialecki’s office has allocated about $200 million in federal and state money to a half-dozen private developments, but many of those are delayed or proceeding slowly because of sagging demand for new stores, offices, and homes....
It's the new normal, readers.
Despite these frustrations, Bialecki plods ahead....
Yeah, he's a real trooper.
I guess you can pretty much gather the agenda-pushing promotional aspect of this sympathetic front-page puff piece, 'eh?
In the other cases, though the government-funded work has already begun, or soon will, the private builders either have no clear prospects of starting construction soon, or they still have so much pre-construction work to finish that it could be years before their projects are underway....
That is not stimulating anything but a bowel movement!
Bialecki sometimes is so committed to the policy that he seems taken aback when his decisions create controversy.
I used to think that way when I was a much younger man.
Please do not tell me this real estate lawyer is also a naive fool.
For example, the Patrick administration floated plans to use $9 million in stimulus funds to build a footbridge over Route 1 in Foxborough that would connect the Patriot Place complex owned by billionaire Robert Kraft with an undeveloped parcel he owns on the other side of the highway. After enduring days of withering criticism, the administration ultimately opted to withhold the funding, for now at least.
Yeah, because Obama told them to, Glob.
You keep missing that aspect in your background briefing.
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Patrick Pimps Football Footpath For Patriots
Patriots' Kraft Passes Checks to Patrick
Also see: Hitching a Ride With Homeland Security
???????????
Even some Democrats who back his development policies feel Bialecki overreached in this case.
“I know that area, and I’m not so sure an overpass is necessary,’’ said State Senator Karen Spilka, a Framingham Democrat and cochair of the Legislature’s economic development committee. She acknowledged some discomfort with the public appearance of the award....
It is because they, too, have been so caught up in the world of the elites and as members of the club that they have lost complete touch with the people.
Bialecki is not contrite about supporting the Kraft footbridge.
And they STILL JUST DON'T GET IT!!!
“If you described what we were doing - and you didn’t use the word Foxborough, Patriots, or Krafts - I think most people would say it’s a good deal,’’ he said, arguing Kraft’s project could result in more than $800 million in development at the empty parcel.
Then HE CAN DEVELOP IT HIMSELF!
"Robert Kraft, the chairman and CEO of the New England Patriots who is tied for number 468 on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's billionaires"
And he is TAKING ENOUGH DOUGH off of us via the Patriots anyway!
“Something we simply disagree with is this logic that says, ‘If the developer has a net worth of a billion dollars, then they should just do it themselves’,’’ Bialecki said. “The relevant question here really isn’t what someone can afford to do. The question is, ‘If we pay for the public infrastructure, are we more likely to see private sector activity and job creation faster?’ And if the answer is yes, then we think it’s a good investment.’’
I want my money back.
So the question is how deeply government officials can draw elite dick?
Also see:
