Voting Against the Status Quo
by Andy Caldwell
It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again expecting different results. That is why voters should reject another four years of the Biden/Harris administration. Consider the inflation we are all suffering from as well as the fact that we are on the verge of World War III as it affects Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. Moreover, our country has been invaded and overrun by more than ten million unvetted “newcomers” invited by this administration that are competing with Americans for scarce resources including housing, education, medical care, employment, and the like.
How bad is it? According to an April 12, 2024 release from FEMA, the agency authorized $300 million in grants for the Shelter and Services program targeted to communities that are providing services to those invitees; in contrast, on Oct. 6 the agency announced they had only distributed $137 million to people impacted by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
Just Say “NO” on All Bond and Tax Measures
Regarding bond and tax measures on your ballot, would you please consider voting “NO” on all of them? Why? Currently, there is no incentive for government to cut staff or expenses. Only by voting no on all the tax and bond measures can you force government to change the way it is delivering services.
Take school bond measures for an example. Are schools in bad shape? Absolutely. But why don’t schools save money as they go along to maintain and refurbish buildings from their regular revenue streams? Why do they always wait to ask voters to borrow money to rebuild structures that are falling apart due to malign neglect? Moreover, do you know that in the last 20 years, while student enrollment has only increased 5% nationally, schools have increased the number of administrators by nearly 100%? All the while test scores have plummeted.
Why reward failure?
Regarding bed tax and sales tax increases, if government wants more money from these sources, then they should be more business friendly in approving new development. That would include reducing the fees charged to new businesses. Are you aware that if you tried to build a 7-11 in one area of the county, the traffic fee charged by the county would be nearly $1 million? A large hotel would be charged several million dollars in fees.
No On Most Propositions Too
Concerning the State propositions, I am voting “YES” on only two, that being Propositions 34 and 36. Proposition 34 will restrict health care entities, namely so-called charities, from spending money on things other than health care. Proposition 36 is a measure that will rectify several previous measures that resulted in unmitigated, undeterred, crime sprees. Proposition 36 will make our communities safer by bringing back felony charges for destructive crimes and can help force criminals to enroll in treatment programs for drug and alcohol problems rather than go to jail or prison.
Some of the worse ballot measures I am voting against include Proposition 5 which will lower the threshold for new taxes to just 55% instead of 66.7%. Passage of this measure could end up costing taxpayers billions in new taxes because too many people don’t understand that bond measures represent borrowed money that must be repaid back with interest. Proposition 5 would virtually guarantee that your property taxes will go up after every election, thereby increasing the cost to own a home or a business, along with rentals. The other proposition that represents a death blow to our economy by way of inflation is Proposition 32 which raises the minimum wage to $18. Finally, please vote no on Proposition 33 as it will serve to enable local governments to enact rent control more easily. Everywhere this has been tried has resulted in fewer and less affordable rentals. That is, among other deleterious impacts, it has been proven without a doubt that few investors will build additional rentals in areas with rent control.
We live in perilous times.
Please vote!
Problem with any Proposition is the money may not go where it was intended and more likely to some liberal cause instead. Money the government receives seems to go where they want it, regardless of intentions. I agree, NO on any proposition involving spending.
Very nice job, Andy, of using actual data to support how bizarre things have become in a once great county and state. The Democrats needlessly shutting down private businesses during COVID remains, and will continue to be, a disaster as the funds supplied by the feds was given to the office holders who spent it increasing public employees. Once public employees are hired, they are difficult to "un-hire" which will only get worse as the federal money partially supporting them runs out. For contrast, see Florida or Texas who did not shut down during COVID.