She did it again

This morning Ms. Betty Fay has penned another excellent letter asking excellent questions concerning the truth surrounding the Trinity River Vision creative financing.

(Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

"Who’s taking the risk?

Star-Telegram columnist Mitchell Schnurman reports that local leaders have found the solution to massive costs of the Trinity River Vision project: creative financing. Yes, we can reshape the river, build bridges for a new bypass channel and keep buying land for a town lake. There is no need to tax. We won’t pay for 20 years. Our children will.

The funny thing is that in the same July 26 issue was another commentary, "Financial Innovations: We win, you lose," by Ed Wallace. He is a rare writer who has business knowledge, a worldview and a good memory. He reminds us that it is "those reckless financial innovations that have devastated everyone’s personal investments and retirement accounts and caused recessions."

The problem is that the public has no way to find out the underwriting rules or understand the gimmicks that insiders create on paper to make money while the rest of us take the risk.

The Fort Worth City Council, Water Board members and commercial developers are loath to recognize that their pet project is an unnecessary budget buster and to compare the cost of a glamorous and, to many Fort Worth people, undesirable business development to the underfunded needs of homeless, hungry and unhealthy human beings who call out for attention. This comparison is exactly the point on which residents of Fort Worth must focus.

— Betty W. Fay, Fort Worth

We salute Ms. Fay again for asking the questions that need to be asked.

Now, WHO will answer?