Cincinnati Anti-Tax Leader Losing Property To Foreclosure: CitiMortgage Squeezes COAST Chairman

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- CityBeat's Kevin Osborne has the story about the foreclosure sale in Cincinnati today that is scheduled to take the property of anti-tax leader Jason Gloyd. Citi Mortgage Inc. went after the property because the mortgage note was in default. Osborne said Gloyd's group, the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, was overly myopic in outlook. COAST's failure is that it could not recognize that government has broad responsibilities in protecting and serving American citizens. COAST, for example, worried about gay pride events while Wall Streeters were picking people clean. In other words, COAST's philosophy to "reduce the instrusion of government into our daily lives," sometimes means people reap the whirlwind. That philosophy might not leave enough room for government to "promote the General Welfare," which is a phrase from the Constitution's preamble. The phrase does not mean welfare as giveaway programs. It has been interpreted to mean the welfare of the nation as a whole: That all people -- not just the rich, powerful, well-connected and influential -- should have some sense of economic security in their lives. City Beat's Osborne sees Gloyd as one of the millions of Americans sucked under by the anti-regulation fervor of COAST and the Bush Administration:

"The same general philosophy was shared by the Bush Administration which – for eight long years – refused to impose any new regulations on business, stating it would unfairly burden the markets and inhibit Wall Street’s pursuit of the almighty dollar. More importantly, it instructed federal agencies not to enforce many existing regulations and failed to provide sufficient oversight to prevent excesses, as was the mission of many of those agencies. The 'see no evil, hear no evil' approach led to the real estate bubble and the financial collapse that occurred in fall 2008. Put in starker terms: COAST fretted last year while Hamilton County commissioners spent 20 cents to issue a proclamation for Gay Pride Day, but said nothing while reckless bankers and amoral investors wrecked the economy and Bush borrowed billions of dollars from China, skyrocketing the deficit."

One can only hope that Jason Gloyd has a footing in the new economy, that his story comes with a happy ending. No one should gloat. They should look over their shoulders to see what is coming from behind. Jason Gloyd is just one of the millions of Americans -- from all political points of view -- who are caught up in the gears of the giant default machine. Many of them were caught by surprise, or relied on bad advice from the business mavens, or followed ideals without anchors in reality, or trusted institutions with interests that eventually would knock people off the tracks.

Hamilton County Jail Sales Tax Hike: The F-Bomb Mushrooms As An Issue

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Jason Gloyd is the spokesman for a Cincinnati citizens group that is campaigning against a $700 million plus tax hike for a new jail and other criminal justice programs. There is word that a high-ranking county law enforcement official called Gloyd a "f---ing idiot" to his face earlier this week after a Cincinnati debate over the proposed sales tax increase, which is on the Nov. 6 ballot. The Republican and Democratic parties, along with many local elected officials, are backing the tax. Opponents include Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine, son of former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, and the local NAACP branch.

No witnesses have come forward yet to say they saw or overheard what happened, but Gloyd has been pushing the story about being blasted by the F-bomb, a story fanned by the Whistleblower, an online newsletter . The Whistleblower often scoops the local blogs and newspapers, which haven't yet reported Gloyd's account of a verbal assault. Here's an e-mail Gloyd sent to the county in complaint:

"I am writing to express my displeasure with how you verbally accosted me, out of the blue, last evening at the Price Hill Civil Club. You used absolutely vile language that has no place in a decent society. I don't understand how people can disagree on an important issue without such venom. I care very deeply about the city and county I've lived in most of my life and strong feel this tax cannot be absorbed by the tax payers. We will lost more jobs and more residents, and then we will need bigger jails since it will just be criminals left. I respect and understand the Sheriff's arguments, but this is a seriously flawed plan that this community cannot afford. I don't know if you were attempting to intimidate me, or you just don't like me, but I expected far more from the highest ranking . . . in the county. I would hope that in the future you would either show me decent courtesy as a human being, or just ignore me all together."