I guess it is which came first; here in NJ our infrastructure is crumbling as taxes go directly into public employees’ pockets (instead of any kind of improvements). I’ve seen textbooks used in public schools that are rags. Anyone living in NJ can be assured that (in a manner akin to the Quartering Act leading up to the Revolution) they will be forced to provide funding for a public employee, a welfare sow and bastard(s), and an illegal alien. Nothing is left for street repairs and such; it looks like Mogadishu here. Potholes that aren’t fixed when spring arrives, tree branches obstructing “Stop” signs (!), etc.
I don’t know about NJ specifically, but many cities only fund their street maintenance with fuel taxes. And in a lot of states, the cities have to first surrender the fuel axes to the state, so the state can skim off the top and dole it back out as they see fit.
Often, not even registration fees and personal property taxes go towards road maintenance. And the mil levy on your house and land - it almost never goes towards street maintenance.
So many cities and counties do what mine did: propose an additional sales tax to maintain roads. I often wonder what other ‘essential’ services get funding in front of road maintenance.
I like this line:
“Anyone living in NJ can be assured that (in a manner akin to the Quartering Act leading up to the Revolution) they will be forced to provide funding for a public employee, a welfare sow and bastard(s), and an illegal alien.”
Too bad its too long to be a tagline. My stepson has recently entered the workforce. When we see a welfare sow and bastards, I tell him: “You’ve got to work hard....for them!”.
Seattle has a pothole and tree branch problem too. It may partly because trees grow so fast in this climate.
To me, potholes seem like one of the most legitimate tasks of government, but some opinion writers scornfully refer to “pothole politics”. (Another expression of theirs is “republican library hours”, meaning shorter and less convenient. You can see why I don’t want to go back there.) Try being grateful to have a library at all. I am. I think that these are same people bitching about the Microsoft buses.