This past Tuesday was election day. For most of the summer the local newspaper has been awash with letters from disgruntled voters, complaining about the problems both in Albany (our state capital) and here in the Rochester area. It costs more to live in New York than even parts of California. (We're running neck and neck.) For all our tax dollars spent we still have roads and bridges that are falling apart, school children graduating with reading skills at the elementary level (if they even achieve that), and jobs evaporating like a puddle on a hot day in July.
The problem? Too many of our elected officials would rather listen to the voices of special interests than listen to the problems of their constituents. They seem to spend their years in office scheming how to STAY in office and raising war chests of loot to keep themselves in office, so they can continue to line their pockets from the lobbying of special interest groups.
The answer? Vote them all out and start fresh. That's the only way to clean house with new people to change the way our government is run.
And what does the voting population do? They vote these politicians (who are mostly white and male) in again and again and again. And then months from now those same voters will be complaining that nothing ever changes, that our tax money is wasted, and we're taxed to death, and still they won't see that they are part of the problem.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
But before you do: What's Bugging YOU Today?
Ooohh ... Lorraine, we think alike!! NJ (at least Bergen County where I live) has property taxes that are equal to or HIGHER than those of NY & CA w/the self-same problems. We also have 6 more school districts in our state than we have districts!! (Go figure that one out.) We DID, however, start the process of doing something about it. We got a new governor, tossed out more elected officials than expected (possibly because so many were either under indictment or already in jail for corruption!), and MAYBE started a much-needed trend: get rid of self-serving incumbents. Now, all we have to do is actually CRAFT ethics laws and then APPLY them to our elected 'leaders.' It's gonna be a real trip, stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteOn a MUCH better note -- congrats on your book tour!! You go, girl!!!
Great post.
ReplyDeleteI forgot..thanks for stopping by my blog.
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