Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:23:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: stephanie talbott
Subject: Polarized Politics
The generalizations about “lefties and righties” is tiresome and polarizing. From any position on the political continuum, I’ve not met anyone who does not support improved local infrastructure. The conflict remains “how to pay for it”.
I’ve worked in private and public sectors, and I work in a private sector that manages public funds. I have to say I have lost much faith in financial efficiencies of our tax dollars, and hence, the best “bang for the buck” we eventually see. Therefore, arguments about raising taxes fall on deaf ears in my fatigued mind, YET, I agree with the growing needs of our county infrastructure.
It would be wonderful to have an economist on the chatlist (an Al Cooke clone whose beat is economics) help us understand such complexities. Raising taxes rarely addresses issues adequately… there seems always to be laws of unintended consequences. For example, raising taxes reduces the spending power of
the citizens which can depress the local economy, as we see with rising fuel costs. People simply have less to spend…. Businesses suffer and possibly shut down.
Likewise, not fueling the infrastructure may result in people leaving the area, moving elsewhere (perhaps to the glee of many), but those consequences harm those who stay; businesses loose patronage, property values go down, ya-dee-da… you know the rant. If we could get past the labeling/ name-calling/ over-generalizations and simplifications, it would be really wonderful to learn more substance, facts and economic theory, for which we would all need to really discuss these complex issues with intelligence.
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