Whitewater’s a small town, but it has more than one culture within its nine square miles. (There’s a separate issue, suitable for another time, about whether it’s legitimate to have more than one culture or method from Whitewater’scity government. It’s not; unlike diverse private life, a representative government cannot legitimately allow its officials and employees…
Culture
Culture
Three Kinds of Public Officials
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are more than three kinds of officials, but consider these three broad types: 1. The Mediocre. In almost all cases, people are more than intelligent enough to complete the tasks before them – it’s usually ignorance or laziness that inhibits successful work. These are the so-called public servants who mostly seem to be serving…
Culture, Sports
Becoming Sumo
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Culture
What Would It Take for Someone to Believe Nothing’s Changed in Whitewater in a Generation?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Look around, and you’ll see both physical and social change in our small city. What, then, might lead someone to insist that nothing in Whitewater seems to have changed in a generation? Well, perhaps if someone spent a really long time living underground in a bomb shelter. Even then, though, one would expect that…
City, Corporate Welfare, Culture, Economy, Local Government
Is this the city that you had in mind?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Consider this working definition of crony capitalism: Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of state interventionism. Crony capitalism…