AAC
SEEMS TO ME...
County officials should be knowledgeable, wise
I
f you’ve visited New York City and had a chance to stop by 30 Rockefeller Plaza, you probably noticed the words “wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times” over one of the main entrances. If you think that sounds familiar, maybe it’s because it is a verse from the King James Version of the Bible, Isaiah 33:6. The main entrance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed as a loggia of three arches: one at the center and two somewhat smaller on the sides. Lee Lawrie designed the sculptural group Wisdom, A Voice from the Clouds for the lintels of the three arches. Lawrie’s carved rendering of Wisdom is above the center arch, flanked by Sound on the left and Light on the right. The Wisdom frieze above the entrance is accompanied by the Biblical inscription “Wisdom and Knowledge shall be the stability of thy times.” It definitely makes for some very interesting art deco art. This verse in Isaiah is evidently an address to King Hezekiah and asserts that his reign would be characterized by the prevalence of wisdom and knowledge. The stability of his reign denotes firmness, steadiness, constancy; and means that in his time, knowledge and the fear of the Lord would be settled on a firm foundation. Hezekiah was the son of King Ahaz and the 13th successor of David as King of Judah at Jerusalem. Hezekiah reigned at a time when the Assyrian empire was consolidating its control of Palestine and Syria. His father Ahaz had placed Judah under Assyrian control. The principal riches of King Hezekiah were his knowledge and wisdom. In his religious reforms, Hezekiah asserted Judah’s inherited Hebrew traditions and practices against imported cults of the Assyrian gods. He tried to achieve both political and religious independence for Judah. The book of 2 Kings provides the history of the virtuous reign of Hezekiah. I personally believe that the Bible verse “Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times” is a great inscription to put over the door of every county official — or more importantly over/in your heart. Knowledge and wisdom are elements of stability — a universal truth. What has ignorance and foolishness ever protected, built, or stabilized? Nothing. They are destroyers and exploiters. It was my goal during my years as an elected county official to gain knowledge daily and learn to use that knowledge wisely. I continue on that journey. But it takes effort. I’m no smarter than the next person, but I work at learning every day. Every county official should. There is so much to learn that you will never learn it all. But every time you learn something you’re a little bit closer. COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2022
I said all of that to say this: Let’s learn a little with a Q & A session. Question — Why are counties not allowed to do business with credit unions? Answer — The short answer is we Eddie A. Jones aren’t allowed to use credit unions County Consultant because of the “bank lobby.” Every few years, credit union supporters and advocates take their plea for fairness to the Capitol with a simple message: Allow local government to have a choice when it comes to their banking needs. Current law does not allow credit unions to accept deposits from local government entities; it only allows for local governments to bank with commercial, for-profit Arkansas banks. Arkansas county officials cannot drive down the street to the local credit union and conduct county business with them because legislation that would allow local government that choice has been stopped time after time. The ability to do county business with a credit union could lead to receiving a better rate of return on tax dollars and the ability to keep county funds within their communities. Further, credit unions are 100 percent member-owned and return all their profits to their members, and in turn, into the community. Banks, on the other hand, are management/board driven, shareholder owned, for-profit institutions that transfer their earnings back to their shareholders, which are more than likely outside of the community or the state — especially in today’s bank climate of large conglomerate buyouts. In the past, opponents of a credit union bill have claimed that credit unions should not be allowed to serve local governments because they “do not pay taxes,” which is not only a grave misrepresentation of the facts, but a rather archaic and self-serving argument. To claim that only for-profit banks should be able to conduct business with local government is a clear attempt to maintain the monopoly banks have had on accepting public funds and limit another accessible and qualified institution’s ability to compete in the market. Credit unions pay tangible personal property taxes, real property taxes and, as employers, all employment taxes, as would any other bank. They are exempt from paying federal income taxes due to their nonprofit structure and mission to serve their communities. Essentially, credit unions pay the same taxes as a Sub S corporation. See
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