I’m wondering if NUVO uses the Steve Hammer hate mail it receives as a measure of readership.

It seems ridiculous in his Jan. 2 column (“Advice for Mayor Ballard”) to lambaste the new mayor, Republican Greg Ballard, on his second day in office, that he might continue the policies of the former mayor, Democrat Bart Peterson. With respect to making the rich richer, and the poor poorer, isn’t Bart Peterson the mayor that moved forward with building a football stadium at taxpayer expense that further enriches the fortunes of Jim Irsay? When the naming rights to the stadium were sold for a record $125 million, didn’t all that go directly to Jim Irsay? Isn’t Bart Peterson the mayor that has contributed millions of taxpayer dollars to help fund new hotel construction downtown?

If Steve thought that is was great for his beloved Democrat mayor, then he should accept a Republican mayor doing the same thing.

The part that I don’t get about Steve’s column is when he suggests that “if every governmental agency was staffed with workers as competent in their duties as IndyGo’s drivers, our city budgets would be balanced, our schools would be the best in the nation and crime levels would be non-existent.” How does having competent city employees translate to improving the morals and values of society? Sure, I too would like to see more competent people in City Hall, but that won’t solve the problems of drug and alcohol abuse, laziness, low self-esteem, single parent households, illegal immigration and general lack of personal responsibility plaguing our society. It will just mean more competent people having to take care of the less competent.

Ron Shipman
Indianapolis