Taxes ... again!

We received our Manatee County Property Tax Bill yesterday. I was appalled when I compared it to previous years, not because it was too high, but because it was so low. This year's bill is 60% less than it was in 2006. That sounds good for an individual home owner but not for the commonweal and, therefore, not good for the individual either. How can we expect to educate our children, provide for public safety (police, fire, emergency services), provide public parks and libraries, pave our roads, etc., if the financial resources available to the county continues to diminish at such an alarming rate. So many politicians were elected because of their promise to cut taxes, all in the name of "saving the country." Obviously, I'm no economist, but common sense tells me that the current "cut taxes" mood is destroying the county. When are our elected officials going to stand up as true patriots and do what is best for all?

Political Anger

For several months we’ve heard about the anger held by members of the Tea Party. Well, I’m angry, too!

I’m angry that the Manatee County (FL) voters did not approve a one-year emergency property tax to rescue our schools from further cut backs. The tax would have amounted, on the average, to $40. Considering all the frivolous things people spend money on, not to mention the millions of dollars to for political campaigns, that failure is obscene. We penalize our children and we risk business development. Businesses develop best in areas known for excellent schools.

I’m angry that Republicans are boasting their “shellacking” of Democrats in the recent election. For one thing, they only have a majority in the House. The Senate still is in the hands of the Democrats. Not all newly elected state governors are Republican. Also, only about 42% of registered voters nationwide participated in the election. With such a pitiful turn out, how does anyone know what Americans really think?

I’m angry that Sen. Mitch McConnell (leader of the minority party) would address a conservative audience saying, “Who wants to hang around people like Paul Krugman. Wouldn’t you rather hang around guys like Rush Limbaugh?" Remember, Krugman is a Pulitzer Prize winning economist and Limbaugh is a purveyor of hate. Is that the kind of leadership any political party wants?

I’m angry at the lack of patriotism vis a vis the President. Lies about him have been circulating since the beginning. Most recently we’ve heard about his current foreign trip costing $200 million a day for security, even though that is patently false. It’s even been intimated that the President is on a vacation. It’s been argued that he has more important work at home. Excuse me, but isn’t the most important thing a President does for the nation lie in the area of foreign relations? Has anyone ever questioned the cost of security for previous Presidents when they traveled overseas?

I’m angry that Mr. McConnell has identified the most important agenda item for the Republicans as defeating the President in 2012. Yes, in a democracy, every election is about replacing the opposing party, but there’s a time and a place for everything. Right now it’s working for the good of the country. That should be their agenda. 2010 will come soon enough.

My problem: how to focus my anger in a positive and not destructive way. Maybe people like me should start a new movement. Any takers?

The Election

The President said he was humbled by the mid-term elections. His opponents accuse him of not listening to "the American people." But maybe he did listen to them. He hasn't done everything he promised he would do in his campaign (Rome wasn't built in two years, after all), but has he advocated anything that was not part of his campaign? Was not health insurance for all Americans the center piece of that campaign? He even said that health care was the key to solving the deficit. Surely people heard all that. They must have wanted it or they wouldn't not have voted for him in such a decisive way. Now "they" say they don't want it and that the President needs to listen to them. Could it be that the American electorate doesn't know what it wants? Or if it knows what it wants, it doesn't know how to get there, or is unwilling to pay the cost?

Instead of saying he was humbled, the President might more honestly have said, "I'm confused."