Barratt American CEO Michael D. Pattinson writes a column called The Equalizer, Opinions from the real world (laughter) for the North County Times. His newest is an all time classic and provides a glimpse into his scary soul.
NCT link
He sends this week's column from communist China where he gushes over the unprecedented growth. A typical Pattinson column starts off fairly pedestrian, he breezes over topics that are of interest to him with (like massive development) provides no real information and generally the first couple of paragraphs are a bore to read. It's the second half of his columns that make him great. It doesn't take him long to have a melt down. The second half of this particular Pattinson column is exceptionally surreal and even a little scary. This guy is either ignorant, naive or is in heavy denial. Viewing the world through his special rose colored robber baron glasses, could he truly be an evil bastard and not just the harmless amusing chuckle head we thought he was?
Pattinson can hardly contain his joy at the lack of NIMBY's in China and says, "Litigation ---- there is no litigation. I asked him about NIMBYs and protesters; he told me people who think new homes are a bad idea are not looked upon very favorably."
Protesters "not looked upon favorably" is the freaking understatement of the century. link
Pattinson's glee at this information sent a creepy chill down my spine. Despite some free market activity China is still a communist dictatorship that jails and even murders political dissidents. China has no freedom of religion. China routinely imprisons and sometimes shoots farmers that are forced off land that was farmed for generations. Talk about cracking down on NIMBY's!
Did Pattinson not understand this quote and it's dark meaning or is a government that kills it's citizens appealing to Pattinson?
Famed Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas on a visit to China was horrified to see 1,000 year old historical buildings and marketplaces bulldozed without any political process. Koolhaas also sees potential in Asia but reports concerns, "Singapore has succeeded, over the last 40 years, in removing any trace of authenticity. It is a culture of the contemporary. And many Asian cities are like this now, seeming to exist of nothing but copies - in many instances bad copies - of Western architecture." Wired magazine interview.
The Koolhaas quote is funny when we read that Pattinson is excited when he discovers "California" style homes are popular in China. "California" style homes are also popular in California but some reason Pattinson builds east coast style "Nantucket" homes here, go figure.
If you've been a regular reader of Pattinson's column you won't be surprised that he thinks an Orwellian government like China is like, the best place ever.
Are murdered corpses mangled up in bicycles Feng Shui?
Many people associate this photo of man stopping a line of tanks with the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. However, after this man finally stepped aside government troops forced the media out of Tiananmen Square and layed into the students.
Pattinson is famous for his column comparing a man on a tractor without a grading permit to civil rights hero Rosa Parks. NCT link Of course, in the China that Pattinson admires people like Rosa Parks are beaten and jailed or worse, shot dead.
A Chinese Rosa Parks snuffed out in her prime. They really know how to deal with NIMBY's in China I tell you what.
First 10 people to qualify to buy in the Leucadia Nantucket development get a Free Tibet sticker for their SUV.
Since I often crack Pattinson on this blog so I'm sure he is a big fan of China's policy towards bloggers, China jails blogger.
Read jailed blogger Hao Wu's post Do I Have to Take a Stand? It's possibly the post that landed him in jail which is really scary considering how tepid it is.
Converting to Christianity is also a good way to get in big trouble in China. Big trouble meaning the death penalty. I can see why Pattinson loves the place.
Pattinson writes, "If you think North County has seen a housing boom over the past five years, you should see Beijing, whence I am sending this dispatch. I counted 40 cranes ---- not birds ---- during the short ride from the airport to my hotel. Later, I learned more than 1,000 cranes rise above the city, many of them working around the clock. Other Chinese cities are the same.
Downtown San Diego currently has eight cranes in operation."
Should beautiful downtown San Diego be more like Beijing?
Pattinson often writes about city fees and regulations driving up the cost of homes. Barratt American even has a lawsuit against the city of Encinitas over the increase in fees. He seems ignorant that China's huge growth is gobbling up the world's raw materials and driving cost up.
Barratt American must be proud to call Michael D. Pattinson their CEO.
Drink some of Barratt's commie kool-aid. Taste great, less filling!
Michael D. Pattinson was named Carlsbad's Business Person of the Year.
"We Could Disappear At Anytime"
Amnesty International China watch
Human Rights in China HRIC website
That is a great post! Oh.. its hard to stop laughing.
ReplyDeleteFascists tend to like Communism because it all controlling cabinet system enables corruption as part of the process. They just don't like having to join the party and become part of the nomenclature.
In America, you can be a fascist out in the open - its called BIG BUSINESS!
Holy Moly
ReplyDeleteJ P, this is one of your best posts in the land of good posts. I read all of the links and I didn't laugh - I find myself almost crying. I'm not sure what bothered me the most. Was it what Michael Pattinson said in his column or was it some of the positve commects from readers that his column appeared to generate.
ReplyDeleteHe can't be a communist. Did you read what Dr. Lorri Greene said about Glen Sabine on the last post? He makes $150.00 per hour for up to 50 hours of City time and then $140.00 after that. It doesn't serve his interest to give good advice and not have lawsuits. He wouldn't make as much money. That is why he and Pattison have so much in common. They both make too much money to be communists!
ReplyDeleteEverytime you post that photo of Pattinson's big fat head I throw up in my mouth a little bit.
ReplyDeleteWow, even I don't want North County to be like China! But, somewhere in between Mike's propaganda and the no-growth litigation crowd there has to be a balance. Housing does cost too much in America (as a percentage of income), especially in California. That’s why I endorse TOD (http://transitorienteddevelopment.dot.ca.gov/) (http://www.todadvocate.com/smartgrowthjokes.htm). But it’s a hard sell trying to get my citizenry to allow higher density and height limits around our two train stations in exchange for less single family development (http://www.mcmillin.com/findahome/ravinia/ravinia.html). After all, they don’t want our little Village by the Sea to look like Oceanside will when all of its new downtown developments come online.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hijack your blog JP, I may have to start Keep Carlsbad Charming.
JP ... Please ask Mr Pattison why he chose to live here ... where he has to be limited by zoning laws, NIMBY protests, personal and property rights and the ability for anyone to file suit against questionable decisions. Then remind him that he is exercising those rights living on his 2 acre lot in Olivenhain, building houses (usually within the limits of the law), expressing his opinion in local papers and, finally, by suing the City of Encinitas over development fees. Ironic isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHey Mayor Bud,
ReplyDeleteDoes Barratt (Pattinson's company) support your campaigns?
Anyone know who gets support from Pattinson on our Council?
Barratt sued Encinitas over development fees, in 2002, I think. I read about this in the paper. This went all the way to the State Supreme Court, where part of the case was dismissed as being too late, outside the statute of limitations, and part was sent back to lower court for further litigation. Meanwhile Sabine & Morrison are getting fat off of every case they initiate or which is initiated against them. They have little or no incentive to work with opposing parties, just look to deep pocket, vindictive city of Encinitas, particularly through Mayor Guerin, to keep them rolling in the dough, with raises everytime Kerry Miller promotes it. Oh what a tangled web the weave! Originally the lawsuit was in Judge Nugent's courtroom, then went to 4th District Court of Appeal, Division One.
ReplyDeleteChristy Guerin, if you say you are so against lawsuits, why did you formerly sue State Worker's Compensation Board? I smell another hypocrite.
J.P., yes, great post. Only way we can survive the tragedy, is to keep laughing, and get the rascals out of office, come November, meanwhile demanding access to public information.
I myself, am not a NIMBY. My wife is an architect and I have many friends who work in the construction industry. I love new buildings. I like to see communities evolve.
ReplyDeleteI hate, hate, hate the homogenization of southern California. There is nothing sadder to me than an entire hillside of shabbily built cookie cutter homes. (Stucco is a scam, it hides the terrible workmanship on homes built too fast with cheap materials).
Pattinson's column about his new love for China is eerie. His column sounds more like a drunken e-mail sent off in the middle of the night to his cronies than a commentary for the newspaper. Yet, there it is.
Even though Pattinson's columns are full of "truthiness" and sometimes straight up lies, there are very honest in their own. We are getting the real Mick Pattinson. This is how he views the world. He is frustrated with anyone, citizen or city council, that is a speedbump on his road to making money.
I'm still trying to figure out if Pattinson is ignorant about how China deals with protesters or if he really does support China's extreme methods.
I think the North County Times lost a lot of credibility this week.
Pattinson himself is not a communist of course, but he is like a kid in a candy store looking at all those new skyscrapers. We should be worried that he mocks San Diego for only having 8 cranes in operation when Beijing has 1,000. Beijing has the worst air pollution of any city in the world. They passed Mexcio City!
Is Beijing Barratt American's ultimate vision for San Diego?
Personally I go out of my way not to buy anything with Made In China stamped on it. I don't want to support .30 cents an hour slave labor and a communist country with nuclear weapons.
I have never shopped at Wal*Mart. Not once.
Do I own things made in China? Yes and that makes me a hypocrite but I'm trying my best.
JP Great work. Keep me off your bad side.
ReplyDeleteThis guy sounds like a real jerk. If all you bloggers really want to effect him cancel your subscriptions to the Noth County Times and tell them why. They will have to fire him if he costs them subscriptions.
I am proud to be a NIMBY. Keep these idiots out of your quiet neighborhood. This man has finally shown us his true colors.
ReplyDeleteBeijing home builder Kum Dai told me he is selling homes for $250,000 to $1 million, and many of his buyers pay cash ---- no mortgage.
ReplyDeleteGEE MICK THAT DOESN'T SOUND SHADY AT ALL.
Mayor Bud maybe next year you can pick a nice small business person for your award instead.
ReplyDeleteYes J.P., a terrific post. Pattinson is like a wide-eyed, first-time tourist, totally unaware of the cultural context of the country he is in. He is dazzled by dollars. He seems ignorant of the fact that the vast majority of the 1,000,000,000+ Chinese cannot afford the houses he thinks are so wonderfully. It's only the corrupt elite who can. I can't remember reading a whackier commentary. The poor man is completely uninformed. Does he read a newspaper?
ReplyDeleteCampaign contributions from Barratt? Of course not, my support is 100% grass roots. And it was the C-Bad Chamber of Commerce that selected him as business person of the year, not me. I would have selected the owner of that surfboard making machine doo-hicky.
ReplyDeleteEncinitas Taxpayers – A call to action
ReplyDeleteAs you may know from recent articles in The San Diego Union and North County Times, our city council is exploring ways to fund several projects including the Hall property, a new pubic works facility, new fire stations, downtown streetscape, etc.
The methods of funding include three potential sources;
1) Belt tightening at the city including a review of staffing needs and work hours.
2) The sale of city owned property.
3) A Bond sale in the amount of $17,000,000.00
The city is looking for your input at the council meeting on Wednesday May 10th at 6PM and I would encourage all of us to attend. At least consider calling or emailing the council people with your input prior to the meeting.
With regard to the option of a bond, please keep in mind that it is essentially a loan with an interest rate. At today’s rates, a $17,000,000.00 bond would have a payback of close to $35,000,000.00 in the form of increased taxes for each of us.
I intend to oppose the bond option because I hesitate to burden those that cannot afford higher taxes and the next generation of taxpayers. If the city insists on this approach, I would like to see them lay out a case for the need and the specific uses of the funds for a public vote. Those that agree with bond financing should demand specifics as to what the money will be used for with cost estimates attached. It really is common sense.
Thank you.
Bill Rodewald
President, Encinitas Taxpayers Association
1,000 cranes over San Diego would suck. I bet his next column is about raising the height limits for downtown San Diego. Let's become like New York, yeah riiiiight.
ReplyDeleteJC wrote on May 02, 2006 5:47 PM:"It looks as though in China the test of moral ideas is moral results, and by the way, has anyone asked any of our friends over at the Sierra Club, or any other bureucrat how they expect to save us all, if we can't afford to pay the rent?"
ReplyDeleteIs this sarcasam?
Best post ever J>P>
Hey, what is Bill Rodewald doing posting to this item??? It's not about taxes, it's about that Pattinson guy. He must have lost his way.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's right...he is running for City Council and as just another politician type, he'll post himself anywhere someone will listen.
Bill, please give us a break. No campaigning till the fall.
And what's wrong with Bill running for political office? Is it against the law or something? In the good ol' USA everyone has the freedom to to it. This is not Red China. I guess Bill did post in the right section of the blog.
ReplyDeleteConcerned for Encinitas....
ReplyDeleteFirst off Aceti, Rodewald didn't post it I did. I felt it was important that every blogger saw his message so you and your cronies on the city council would not get away with again misusing our tax dollars. As far as I know Rodewald is not running for anything. But he is concerned with carpetbaggers (nonresident or new resident who meddles in politics)like yourself getting involved in our city's affairs. Oops I forgot you are President of Downtown Encinitas Merchant's Association. I don't know why these people would support you. Didn't Mayor Guerin work for Vista and Encinitas merchant's association? Is Dalager a member of DEMA? Is there a connection between their positions and yours?
Now that this blog is exploring the benefit of libraries and human rights in China maybe it could expand to cover Cardiff?
ReplyDeleteI'm a Cardiffian and I regularly comment on this blog. J.P. is very generous and offered me an original post. So far I haven't taken him up, but when the time comes, I will. I encourage everyone in Cardiff to post their opinions. Silence is not helpful. And don't forget that the Encinitas Taxpayers Association is headquartered in Cardiff, and both Bob Bonde and Bill Rodewald live in Cardiff.
ReplyDeleteSo I killed 50 million people, don't hold a grudge.
ReplyDeleteOh no...now Rodewald's campaign manager is posting things to this blog!!!
ReplyDeleteThat Rodewald dude is my new hero.
ReplyDeleteHe's smart! He can do math!
WOW WOW WOW!!!
He's figured out all by himself that if someone (or a city)takes out a 30 year mortgage for like a house or something,( or a bond if one is a city) at an interest rate of about 5.9% or so, then by the time it's paid back 30 years later the borrower has paid about double the amount borrowed (just like most of the homeowner mortgages in Encinitas!)I've heard he's a commercial realtor/developer... but still...
Is he COOL or WHAT!!!!!
I live in Cardiff and also post on this site. I hope we don't start fighting among ourselves just because the site says Keep Leucadia Funky. I give J.P a lot of credit for his time and energy in keeping this site, and us, up to date. It doesn't really matter to me which of the five sub-communities in Encinitas a person that posts lives in. We are all in this together and the only way to keep the the "powers that be" from totally taking over the City is to stick together.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm just not getting why we all can have mortgages on our homes, but the City can't to provide us with services and amenities. So long as the City's revenue stream can make the payments, what's the problem and isn't this exactly what they are supposed to do for us residents???
ReplyDeleteBecause the city really isn't being honest about whether they can make the payments without a tax increase. If you asked a bank or a mortgage company for another loan, they would make sure you were able to make the payments. The city is not asking us if we want to raise our taxes to make the payments if they sold Gereral Obligation Bonds, which require a vote under Prop. 13. They are planning to sell Lease Revenue Bonds through the San Dieguito Water District to bypass a vote. My guess is that the city can't afford the payments and will simply raise water rates to cover the shortfall. Slick, no?
ReplyDeleteHere is an example of the city's disinformation. They say they borrowed $22.6 million for the Hall property project. This is correct, but it doesn't include interest. By the time the debt is paid off after 30 years, the true cost is closer to $45 million. It works the same way with your mortgage. If you borrow $1 million to buy a house and budget to repay that amount, you will be woefully short of cash for repayment. The bank would foreclose. The city says it has $33 million of bond debt. What are the interest charges and the true cost to repay? Probably close to double that, but some of the debt is older, so it's hard to know. And now the city wants to borrow another $17 million. At what interest rate? Lease Revenue Bond carry a higher rate. Figure the true repayment cost will be around $35 million. Water will get really expensive in the SDWD.
Rodewald didn't run for council. Wish he did.
ReplyDelete