I've always listened to words, and especially to their meaning. Sometime you can say something negative and people will hear it as a positive. Or you say a positive and people take it as a negative. In the neighborhood I grew up, we call saying a negative, and people responding to a positive as "Irish Diplomacy". Actually, Irish Diplomacy is roughly defined as; the ability to tell someone to go to hell, and make them look forward to the trip.
A couple of times in the past 20 years our community has earned the title of "the most affordable place to live". Our mayor wears this phrase as an honor. But as I think about it, I find that someone with Irish Diplomacy must have come up with that ranking. You see, we're at 9.2% unemployment. Most of the kids who graduate from college with degrees leave the town, and industry is lacking. So I see “most affordable” as meaning, “it’s cheap to live here because real estate values are not worth a crap, and there is no commerce. Everyone is just squeaking by”.
So imagine my joy when I find an article in the paper that says we’re not as bad off as we think we are. Give it a read. As for me, I’m going to take the sticker off my truck that proclaims. “We’re not as bad as Youngstown”.
So how is your town?
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Forbes ranks Glass City 8th in nation for misery
By Tony Cook - Toledo Blade Staff Writer - Link to Story
Toledo is the eighth most miserable city in the nation, according to a new ranking by Forbes.
The Glass City moved up four spots from 12th last year in the business magazine's annual list of "America's Most Miserable Cities." Forbes specifically cited the scandal in the city's Department of Neighborhoods and poor scores for income and property tax rates.
This is the second straight year that Toledo moved up on the list. It was No. 15 two years ago.
The Top 10 is composed primarily of cities in Florida and the Midwest, two regions hit particularly hard by the housing crisis and economic recession. Miami ranked first. Detroit was No. 2. Two other Ohio cities -- Cleveland (No. 12) and Akron (No. 14) -- also made the list.
Forbes considered 10 factors for the 200 largest U.S. metropolitan areas to come up with its 20 most miserable cities: violent crime, unemployment rates, foreclosures, income and property taxes, home prices, and political corruption, as well as less weighty factors such as weather and commute times.
Of Toledo, Forbes wrote, "The city is ensnared in a scandal within its Department of Neighborhoods that involves alleged bid rigging and stolen funds. The FBI and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are investigating the crimes. Toledo scores poorly when it comes to income and property tax rates."
That unwanted attention was magnified Friday when Yahoo.com featured the Forbes list prominently on its home page, along with a photo of the Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse and grain elevators just south of downtown Toledo.
Mayor Mike Bell, who in his state of the city address Monday urged Toledoans to see the good things about their city, was dismissive of the Forbes report. "It's unfortunate that local media continues to devote coverage to the negative list from Forbes," the mayor said in a statement. "I have focused my energy on positively promoting Toledo and will continue to do that. Hopefully, our local media will do the same, and we can only hope Forbes will one day catch on."
Others criticized the list for its subjectivity.
"It's basically a waste of people's time to read articles like that," said Rich Nachazel, president of Destination Toledo, the area's convention and visitor's bureau. He called the criteria subjective and called the use of factors such as weather ridiculous.
The Forbes list comes as an assortment of local businesses seeks to bolster Toledo's standing by initiating a branding effort for the city. Toledo Region Brand, an offshoot of the Northwest Ohio Brand Council, recently introduced a revamped Web site, toledoregion.com, to showcase the community and provide information about living and working here.
Criticisms of the rankings aren't completely without merit. For example, the problems in Toledo's neighborhoods department -- which include allegations of bid-rigging and favoritism -- weren't even considered as a factor, according to Kurt Badenhausen, author of the list.
"It was just to provide some color on what's going on," he said.
The magazine does use data from the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice to measure political corruption, but those statistics include all of northern Ohio.
That means Toledo is lumped in with places such as Cleveland, where a corruption scandal recently led to the conviction of a former county auditor and where a former Cuyahoga County commissioner is on trial.
"If you choose, you can blame Cleveland," Mr. Badenhausen said.
The primary factor behind Toledo's rise in the rankings this year was a change in methodology, he said. Forbes used property tax rather than sales tax data for this year's list.
Lucas County taxpayers spend on average $1,888 annually on their property tax bills, a figure that is among the top 15 percent of nearly all counties nationwide, according to a report last year from the Tax Foundation, a Washington think tank.
Within Toledo's city limits, the owner of a $100,000 home pays an average of about $1,800 in property taxes, said Cynthia Savage, a spokesman for county Auditor Anita Lopez. She didn't have information comparing that to other cities.
Toledo council President Joe McNamara classified the statistics used by Forbes as "sterile" and said the study could not possibly capture the full vibrancy of the Toledo community and its people.
He acknowledged the city has faced some serious challenges, particularly because of the recession, but said local authorities are working hard to provide needed public services, grow a new clean-energy economy, and correct problems within the neighborhoods department.
Toledo boasts some impressive assets, including its zoo, the Toledo Museum of Art and the library system, he said, which are impressive to outside visitors and investors.
"Toledo has a great mix of big-city amenities without big-city clutter and chaos," the councilman said. "This is a very special place that we should have pride in."
Christine Bailey, spokesman for the Toledo Regional Chamber Commerce, also took issue with the list.
"The Chamber is more interested in telling the positive stories about our community [and there are many] than dwelling on subjective lists that do nothing to improve our region," she said.
Mr. Badenhausen said "it's up to every individual how seriously they want to take it."
"What we're trying to highlight are the struggles and problems that most residents have to deal with," he said. "Obviously each of these places have many positive qualities as well."
If you're still breathing, it's not too late!
