LOCAL CONTROL (is the new E.D.)

"The older dictators fell because they could never supply their subjects with enough bread, enough circuses, enough miracles, and mysteries. Modern dictators have learned how to control the language and therefore control the minds of their subjects." - Huxley (Brave New World Revisited)

"Language controls the way we think, and therefore the way we act, and therefore the world we create."

• Michel Foucault

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OUT: Using the term “ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT” (E.D.) to obfuscate the real motives of politicians to manipulate the taxing & regulatory system in order to line the pockets of their developer allies/handlers.

IN: Using the term “LOCAL CONTROL” to achieve same goals.

Observers of this year’s legislative session have begun noticing a common phrase that keeps popping up whenever certain issues arise for discussion, by lobbyists and lawmakers alike: “LOCAL CONTROL”.

DOGE is all the rage right now, and is fueling Trump's meteoric rise in popularity across America. For the first time in modern history, a Republican president is actually following through on all of his campaign promises, and we don't quite know what to make of it. He told us he would put Elon in charge of exposing & eliminating widespread government waste & fraud, but we have been conditioned to interpret these kind of grandiose commitments as so much Bu//$&!t. Kinda like those McDonald’s billboards that make the Big Mac look delicious.

But, wow were we wrong, & it is glorious to witness!

The mind blowing amount of money - OUR MONEY - that has been funnelled to various & nefarious groups doing all manner of ridiculous nonsense that benefits just a few is enough to make somelike like me, who has obediently written quarterly checks to the feds for for the past 30 years, nauseous.

But in SD, things are just as bad.

Just try playing around with this website - https://datarepublican.com/award_search/

I’ve typed in “South Dakota”, “Sioux Falls”, “South Dakota Sioux”, “Planned Parenthood”, “Transgender”, “Lutheran”, “Carbon Capture” & “Covid” until I overdosed on outrage and had to go through Detox.

Last fall this substack dropped a parody post https://cjlarson.substack.com/p/ed-good-for-the-goose?r=b7ypx

which created a scenario of using the propaganda tool of “ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT” to use Eminent Domain powers to ahh, let's say “repurpose”, the two large chunks of extremely valuable real estate in the middle of Sioux Falls that only serves the top 1% of income earners in the city as playgrounds in the form of golf courses, tennis courts and restaurants. That article was very popular, and I appreciate all who read & share!

While it was written tongue-in-cheek, I must say I did quite enjoy fantasizing about requiring all SD citizens to purchase their mattresses from manufacturers located inside of our great state. Unlike the CO2 pipeline scam, my proposal would actually benefit every SD citizen immensely & this is not up to debate.

But alas, I have no power, so my scheme will likely never come to fruition. Sad!

The more I force my eyes open to observe these political games, the more I am forced to accept the reality that SD is governed by a Political Patronage system.

• Political patronage:
  When a government uses its resources to reward supporters, such as by giving them jobs or contracts

Also called a “Political Spoils System” or “Crony Capitalism”, the motivations of our elected officials at the top will come into clearer focus when you understand the Operating System that controls the RINO faction in our state government. Some people are hesitant to throw the RINO label around, and I agree that we need to be careful. But it is an appropriate shorthand that describes a political philosophy that accurately explains the animal spirits inside those who fight and vote against basic issues that grassroots conservatives are for.

In this 2025 session alone, the RINO cabal has block-voted against every single of the following issues that came before them:

• School choice bills

• Election Integrity

• Government Lease oversight

• Display 10 Commandments in schools

• Display State motto in schools

• Defunding Taxpayer funded Lobbyists

• Prohibit use of Eminent Domain for CO2 pipelines

• ESA’s

• Make cash acceptable at government events

• Allow chaplains in schools

• Residency requirements for voters

• Protection from forced medical injections

• Limit school bathrooms to biological gender

• Give legislature oversight on state lease agreements

• Prevent teachers from discussing gender ideology without parental approval

• Prevent Denny Sanford from stealing infants for cutting edge medical research experimentation

Okay, I made that last one up, but give it a few years!

I could go on, but the point as you can see is that with Republicans like this, who needs Democrats?

I’ve been saying for awhile that this RINO infection is the #1 problem for grassroots patriots in SD, and I really do think it’s getting worse.

They aren’t going away, just because we gained a majority in the House, and our guy holds the gavel.

The RINOs are acting like our control of the House is only temporary, and if we don’t get some big wins for The People, particularly for Property Taxes, it may be temporary.

One of the latest attempts at an E.D. (Economic Development) scam failed a few weeks ago as a Rep from Pierre tried and failed to get a bill passed that would have allowed SD cities to raise their own sales taxes. It’s been speculated that Mayor TenHaken was behind this bill, as he has been at the forefront of the very ambitious “Riverline” project - https://www.riverlinedistrict.com/new-page-1

This scheme would allow for the construction of a very much NOT needed convention center downtown. At least, it’s not needed by the general public. But it is apparently VERY MUCH needed by a fairly small elite group of bankers, lawyers and developers.

But what about the rest of us?

What about the 200,000 people in Sioux Falls having to pay even more taxes on every single thing we buy, including groceries, just so the mayor and his merry band of CommerceCrats can have a steady stream of income for the next 10 years? And so the mayor can add even more shiny baubles to his legacy.

And what about all of us business owners who serve as unpaid and reluctant tax collectors for the state? We’re the ones that have to look our customers in the face and ask for the payment that is actually more than what the price tag shows. They really love that, believe me.

This whole episode got me wondering: How much money & tax credits have been lavished on downtown infrastructure? Seems like a lot of millions. We’re always hearing about some grand plan or another to revitalize some area of downtownWhat about the rest of the city? Like, don’t we matter? My retail store is on the south side of the Empire Mall, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one sculpture in my neck of the woods. Why can’t we have sculptures!? In fact, there’s an empty Royal Fork buffet that’s been deteriorating for the past five years that could sure use some love from the mayor and his E.D. friends.

Look, I like downtown, and I think it should be kept nice. However, I will not sit by and let the city council and mayor, with the help of the Chamber of Commerce, SF Development Foundation & a slew of other NGO’s raise our taxes to help pay for projects that other companies will be making a fortune on. If it’s worth doing, then go get a loan like I did when I built my two stores. I didn’t look for or receive any special handouts or tax credits from local government to make my dreams come true. I just did it.

That’s how it’s supposed to be done. Capitalism, not Crony Capitalism.

The good news is that regular folks are waking up & starting to pay more attention to what some in our government are up to, especially in areas that involve massive amounts of money.

Like the $Billion dollar prison scheme. Do we really need it? Many in the Grassroots are alarmed at the speed and secrecy of this project. And now we have evidence from SD watchdog Breeanna Sagdal - Rhoden playing dirty

…of our new (unelected) SD governor Larry Rhoden playing extreme political games of holding already-voted-on bills hostage as leverage against our elected legislators, along with strong arming them in private meetings, in order to ram this prison boondoogle through. Look Governor Larry, WE WERE ALREADY SUSPICIOUS OF THIS WHOLE PRISON IDEA, but now WE KNOW IT’S A SCAM! And when you get the SF Mayor TenHaken out doing propaganda work, we know that there is some massive amounts of money to be made.

Like the CO2 pipelines. Are they actually beneficial to our state, or our environment? Well, we already know the answer to that, don’t we? We now have a president who openly refers to this whole carbon capture joke as the “Green New Scam”. It’s over.

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Personally, I've been inspired by this latest attempt to raise our sales tax to pull the trigger on a project I've been mulling over for the past several years. For small businesses, there really is no group or club that exists to help promote the philosophy of Buy LOCAL, or to lobby for our interests in the legislature, or to do anything really, to help the 1000's of locally owned small businesses in SD. Certainly not the Chamber of Commerce lol. They represent BIG BUSINESS. You might as well change their name to “THE CHAMBER OF WE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSES”. Like most politicians, they see other people in the avatar of dollar bills. A small business person like myself would have just one $ sign where my face should be. Someone like, oh, Denny Sanford would have a bunch of $1,000,000 bills where his face should be.

To the muckety mucks at the Chamber, our value in the affairs of the business and political community is directly commensurate with our ability to enrich and enhance the career of the decision makers who sit in power.

This is not a controversial statement.

But collectively, small businesses in SD have enormous positive impacts on our economy, in our communities and for our overall way of life. It’s time we pooled our numbers together to make known what is true: We matter, in a lot of ways. We should have influence on our mayors, city councils, county commission, legislature and governor.

Most retailers, for example, face a gargantuan competitor that didn't exist 15 years ago - the internet. For some, this evolution has wiped out 30-50% of their shoppers, even as the local population grows. Most restaurants are failing because they can’t keep up with skyrocketing payroll costs, coupled with a lethargic workforce.

Like the Grassroots in SD politics, small businesses need a strong voice to represent us in the machinations of our governments.

Please comment below if you or someone you know would be interested in joining a club like this.