Monday – Thursday from 7:00-800 pm, join us for the fusion of politics and civility at 98.3 WOW-FM and on-line at 983wowfm.com.  Call (515) 312-0983 or (866) 908-TALK to participate in the conversation.  If you miss the show, you can hear it as a podcast and please help support local progressive talk radio with an online donation  or by check to PO Box 13421, Des Moines, IA 50310. 

Dear Friends,

I’ve been a regular critic of the convoluted (a.k.a., socialist) economic schemes of both the State of Iowa and the federal government. Now we need to train our sites on Des Moines. The City Council is on the verge of approving millions of dollars in tax incentives for Hampton Inn to locate on the Des Moines River.

How is that fair to the owners of existing hotels in downtown? How is that fair to any local business owner, most of whom never get (or want) a penny of public money? And for the love of Adam Smith, how is that consistent with a free-market economy?

If you answered “it’s not” to any of these questions, please put your fingers where your heart is. (Ok, that sounds weird.) There’s still time to stop this corporate handout, and here’s what you can do:

(1) Go to my website and follow the link to Mike Draper’s commentary on the issue, as published last week in Cityview. Mike is the owner of Raygun and has grown his business without tax subsidies. Mike will equip you with some pretty solid talking points to do battle with the forces of corporate welfare.

(2) Go to my website and send a note to Des Moines City Council members. Let them know this is not how you want your tax money spent and that economic development should focus on local business, not national chains.

The City’s tax give-away to Hampton Inn is among the topics we’ll discuss this week. We’ll also talk with Graham Gillette about his contention that “{h}aving university presidents in charge of campus police makes about as much sense as having pharmaceutical company CEOs in charge of the Food and Drug Administration.” There’ll be plenty of conversation about the caucuses, the presidential candidates and Occupy Wall Street, too.

So, tune in at 98.3 WOW-FM and online. You can download the Fallon Forum as a podcast, too.  And don’t forget to visit The Fallon Forum website at fallonforum.com.  Thanks!

Ed