Posted on 10/09/2008 4:22:56 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
I SAID to bring your own ammo, LOL!
I can’t do everything for you! What am I? Mother Government? :)
LOL! Good point!
Big city, big network...sure the private citizen phones into 911 over a phone line (could be cell phone, could be land line), but then within the city the network communications takes over, the info goes into the city’s network, and the work goes on from there, as in dispatches of emergency vehicles, communication between departments, etc.
In the days since 9/11 the intracity communications have really come under the microscope. If you’ll remember back on September 11, one of the major problems was inter departmental communications. The police couldn’t talk to the fire, the fire to the port authorities, etc. So Homeland Security has asked major cities to really ramp up their networks to prevent the confusion and chaos that might be experienced during a terrorist attack. Even in our EOC there’s a need to go beyond normal communication channels, i.e. computers in police cars, radio communications, sat phones, etc.
Police. Fire. Street-cleaning. A swift kick in the butt for malingerers who want a government check. What’s so hard about balancing a local budget? ;)
And that 'free' steel building was paid for by the risk and sweat of a private business. Government didn't create it from thin air.
Uh, that FREE building was DONATED by private business. Our Admin asked for it and they GAVE IT. Isn't that free? What am I missing?
I'm more of a "tar and feathers" type. Can I come too?
NO WAY! To begin with, we do those things better and more cost effectively. And I don’t have a lot of confidence in their judgment.
Of course! If you bring the tar & feathers, I’ll provide the rail. :)
What? These aren't taxes voted in to give folks big raises or benefits. These are sales taxes to fund infrastructure. Sales taxes have traditionally been voted down regularly, and I was one of the anti-any-tax voters. But as a Councilman, we had to raise water rates with a vote of four councilmen. We voted unanimously for it.
And where is it written that a library is 'obligated.'
It is written where we have a "Library Tax" on our property taxes, ergo, we fund a library. The tax doesn't cover it by a long shot. We're losing thousands per year.
We also see in your post the veiled threat to lay off cops and firemen if they don't vote for the taxes.
That's not a threat. That's a guarantee. We just cut a position from our Electric dept. If it's not enough, we're going to cut more. It's not an empty threat. We're swimming in red ink.
I don't mind paying more in taxes for emergencies and such so long as the frou-frou crap and unnecessary and excessive spending has been called into check or eliminated.
The small town was facing some budget problems when it was announced that a previously voted on salary increase for the mayor was going to come due. The aldermen had decided that the mayor's salary was way too low ($50,000ish) and over the next 4 years, it would be increased by $30,000. Meanwhile...city employees got their piddly 2% or 3% raise.
That's the kind of stuff that stinks. KWIM?
Bless you! I salute your service. Thanks! I never said I had it that tough.
Oh, I see.
Up here everything is all TElco, the databases, monitors and so on.
The radio dispatchers run a computer aided dispatch (CAD) system is locally run by the city, but they have a good radio maintence section... it’s seperate from the telco stuff.
THe telco stuff is triple redundant, battey powered etc, etc. Makes it easy to do the maintenace that required.
Looks to me like you and your entire council and mayor need to be voted out office. I see no other solution. You have no concept of wealth creation that I can detect.
Government just kept chugging along like it was 1969, getting bigger and bigger. A total disconnect from the realies faced every day by the tax paying public.
exit82 NAILS it. The Number One, and probably number two and three, problem(s) in this country, stated clearly in your post. I might be inclined to claim that the problem started back in the 1960's, but it doesn't make your post any less true.
Not to mention the fact that govt employees aren’t the only ones putting in long, hard hours. My husband does similar work to what her husband does only his is in the private sector and for an international company. A large company that brings jobs and tax revenue to the city. :D
YES! We're dealing with this right now. While cutting a position from the city payroll, our Admin assistant got a HUGE job offer. She handles so much we'd crash and burn and ultimately have to hire two people to keep up with all she does. She's worth twice what she makes, so we gave her a salaried position with a slight increase in pay just to keep her. Is that fair? The electric dept guy that lost his job doesn't think so. Is it in the best interest of the City?
What do you think?
Apparently you'd give up indoor plumbing as long as we had a working 911 system to keep the deadheads employed. Just remember, in the coming months there will be plenty of government employees making the same case. You think teachers will give a hoot about a 911 system?
I think I would choose to close the library and keep the electrical grid up and running.
My state of California is screwed. Not only is the scale of indebtedness and mandatory entitlements much larger now than a mere 8 years ago, but ALL of the easy fixes, like massive borrowing and bond sales, are depleted. For example, more borrowing will only cause California’s municipal bonds to be rated as junk, as California will still not be able to meet its obligations.
It looks like layoffs are in the works and de-funding lots of the liberal communist legislature’s pet money give-aways.
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
The fact that you did not pay for it does not make it free. Someone had to produce it and those products were not free. They were paid for by someone. My guess is that you were the beneficiary of other peoples generosity whether they knew it or not.
Maybe the company that gave it was willing to part with a portion of their profits in that manner. I also wonder if their employees knew that the efforts of their sweat was begin given to someone else.
Perhaps they would have liked to have received a bonus for their efforts at making the company profitable enough for you to receive your FREE building.
No, you are wrong, it was not FREE someone gave up something for you, in this case voluntarily and not by having it siezed from them.
THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH EVER !!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.