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Posted: Apr 07 2008 08:48 am

And all the stupid fucking retirees who live here are going to vote against raising taxes to obtain the funds necessary to fix things. Why don't people understand how government is supposed to work?

You're supposed to have a small unobtrusive federal government, a slightly larger and more obtrusive state government, and then the bulk of the government that effects your life should occur at the local level. If we don't fix our town ourselves, no one else should.

Posted: Apr 07 2008 11:22 am

Very indicitive of the nation's problems as a whole.

That said, I know how you feel. My hometown goes through this same thing all the time.

Joined: Aug 24 2005 Location: Mount Holly, NJ Posts: 1062

I think there's a pretty common understanding among most people that lower taxes are good. Not many stop to think where the money comes from to do things that make some towns nice to live in, all they hear is:

OMG WTF TAXES?!?!? LOWER TAXES FTW!

Posted: Apr 07 2008 05:40 pm

See, I believe federal taxes and state taxes should be low, because the state and the federal government shouldn't be running much; it should be local. And I think this situation is a pretty good indicator of why. If a rather small town government can't figure out how to meet the needs of the people directly around them, then you shouldn't expect a gigantic federal government to meet the needs of an entire nation. Look at the Hurricane Katrina response.

Posted: Apr 07 2008 09:22 pm

People here complain about fucking SCHOOL TAX LEVIES!

Posted: Apr 08 2008 12:57 am

Syd Lexia wrote:

See, I believe federal taxes and state taxes should be low, because the state and the federal government shouldn't be running much; it should be local. And I think this situation is a pretty good indicator of why. If a rather small town government can't figure out how to meet the needs of the people directly around them, then you shouldn't expect a gigantic federal government to meet the needs of an entire nation. Look at the Hurricane Katrina response.

The Hurricane Katrina response was so pathetic because certain someones in power were putting their friends and allies into important positions, not because the government was so large that they couldn't keep up.

Although a local focused government might have curbed that too.

Posted: Apr 08 2008 09:41 am

RobotGumshoe wrote:

Syd Lexia wrote:

See, I believe federal taxes and state taxes should be low, because the state and the federal government shouldn't be running much; it should be local. And I think this situation is a pretty good indicator of why. If a rather small town government can't figure out how to meet the needs of the people directly around them, then you shouldn't expect a gigantic federal government to meet the needs of an entire nation. Look at the Hurricane Katrina response.

The Hurricane Katrina response was so pathetic because certain someones in power were putting their friends and allies into important positions, not because the government was so large that they couldn't keep up.

Although a local focused government might have curbed that too.

As someone who worked Hurricane Katrina response with a certain charitable organization, I must say that the local government of NO was even more useless in that situation than the Feds were. It was our people that were really doing the good work. The only thing we didn't do was actually airlift people. The Guard did that. Other than that, we gave them food, shelter, water and helped them back on their feet. The government on all levels dropped the ball there.

Posted: Apr 08 2008 03:08 pm

Quote:

You're supposed to have a small unobtrusive federal government, a slightly larger and more obtrusive state government, and then the bulk of the government that effects your life should occur at the local level. If we don't fix our town ourselves, no one else should.

Hello, I've been reading your site for a while now, being the 80's pop culture junkie that I am and decided to join the forum, because frankly I have a lot of free time at work. Anyways, I couldn't agree more with your statement. I'm not really well traveled but i have been to several states and the difference in culture, economy and needs is greatly different state to state. The federal government should be there to protect it's citizens for the most part, but i think everything else should pretty much be left to state control. I live in CA, where medical marijuana is legal, but about 6 months ago the feds came in and treated legitimate facilities like criminals and shut them down. I don't personally smoke it, but I think if the state approves, federal law should not supersede state law.

Posted: Apr 08 2008 03:26 pm

So how'd the vote go?

Posted: Apr 08 2008 05:03 pm

My city was in a crisis of being taken over by the state because our mayor was a complete moron. We now have a casino in the middle of town, and our Privledge of working tax in the city went from $10 to $52. I'm not sure if its in every state but taking $52 out of your first check BECAUSE you have a job is a fucking joke.

Posted: Apr 08 2008 05:39 pm

S. McCracken wrote:

So how'd the vote go?

We won the initial vote. Because town government is extremely bureaucratic, they're going to reconsider it at a special town meeting which I believe is either this Thursday or next. If it passes again at the special vote, then it's a done deal. If it DOESN'T pass, then all sorts of wacky shit can happen, including even more special votes.