Considering the meaning of words and symbols this morning.
I came across a photograph by Kenneth Lu this morning: the statue of the Hindu god Shiva at the campus of European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. According to the caption, Shiva is “engaging in the Nataraja dance.” I’d seen similar images of Shiva doing this same dance, over the years, but this was the first time I noticed that he had his right foot placed squarely upon a reclining human figure.
I read somewhere, long ago, that the Hindu god Shiva has a ‘dual’ personality — that he embodies both the power to destroy and the power to create. Up until the moment I read that description, I had, in my concept of the world, defined “destruction” as the opposite of “creation.” Suddenly, I understood that the two processes are inextricably linked.
In the act of change, something is always destroyed, and something is created.
And since the only constant is change, that would seemingly make Shiva a very important god. But I wonder, who is the little man under Shiva’s foot?
I’ve also been wondering, this week, about the word “values”. That particular word appears in the Archuleta County Community Plan… for example, in this sentence:
Property values are enhanced by a level of regulation and public investment that protects the attractiveness, and supports the development potential, of private property.
We find two tools mentioned here, to be used by local government to “enhance” property values… namely, “regulation” and “public investment”. The proper use of these tools, says the Community Plan, will lead to attractive private property and increased “development potential”.
As with so many tools — a sledge hammer comes to mind — regulation and public investment can be used constructively. They can also be used to destroy what exists. Perhaps those two processes are one and the same?
When I look up the dictionary meanings of the word, “values”, I find many possible choices. It can refer to quantity… the value of a variable in an algebraic expression… the value of a piece of real estate, in dollars… the value of a certain company’s stock on the stock market…
It can also refer to “the abstract concepts of what is right, worthwhile, or desirable; principles or standards.”
To judge by global media reports, much of the world has been struggling with political polarization, especially since the Great Recession. The struggles involve values. Dollar values. The value of a human life. The abstract concept of what is right, worthwhile, desirable.
This polarization has been accompanied by a growing disparity between the rich and the poor, and by a gradual disappearance of the middle class. The trending wealth disparity has been especially prominent in the US, according to a February 2020 report by the Pew Research Center. From that report:
The wealth gap between America’s richest and poorer families more than doubled from 1989 to 2016, according to a recent analysis by the Center…
In 1989, the richest 5% of families had 114 times as much wealth as families in the second lowest fifth (one tier above the lowest), at the median — $2.3 million compared with $20,300. By 2016, the top 5% held 248 times as much wealth at the median…
The richest families are also the only ones whose wealth increased in the years after the start of the Great Recession…
The report also notes that “The median wealth of the poorest 20% is either zero or negative in most years we examined.” As I understand that statement, the Americans in the bottom 20% of families have, on average, no wealth whatsoever. They own no property and have no savings, or else their debt burden is higher than the value of their possessions.
I wonder what the official Archuleta County Community Plan is trying to tell us about our community… when it says:
Property values are enhanced by a level of regulation and public investment that protects the attractiveness, and supports the development potential, of private property. There is also a point at which over-regulation and excessive public costs can diminish property values. There is an optimal level of regulation and public investment that maximizes property values. This should be the goal of the citizens of Archuleta County.
It’s a simple thing to assume that “maximizing property values” means that our elected leaders want to do all they can to increase the price of each piece of property within the county, as measured in dollars on the real estate market. This interpretation would make a certain kind of sense, when we remember that the County government is funded largely by property taxes… and when homes and commercial properties and vacant land consistently increase in price, that bodes well for future government revenues.
It’s a simple thing to assume the County government is, first and foremost, looking out for the value of its own bank accounts.
Unlike the County government, however, the Town government does not collect significant property taxes. The Town derives nearly all its annual revenues from sales taxes and lodgers taxes.
I mentioned, previously, that the Town Council has given preliminary endorsement to the idea of purchasing, with Town tax revenues, a half-acre parcel at the corner of Apache and South 5th Street.
The staff report presented to the Council says the following:
The property at 574 S. 5th St (at the NE corner of Apache St. and S. 5th St.) is currently listed and could be a possible property for workforce housing units (80%-120% AMI). In the past, Town Council has discussed the option of procuring property to offer for a public-private partnership to build workforce housing….
The positive aspects of the parcel are that it is walkable to many parts of Town, including services. Roads and utilities are already to the site, which reduces costs.
This property totals approximately 0.51 acres and already has taps paid and utilities installed. It was initially permitted for eight condos and partial development took place. There is a foundation, although without further analysis by an engineer/architect, it is undetermined at this time to what degree the foundation is usable. Originally planned for higher-end condos, the plan set could be redesigned to develop into work force housing.
So I’m wondering about “value”… and about “values.”