Sorry I'm a little late re-posting this one:
To the Editor:
I would congratulate our governors and our legislators on their “business sense,” but I can’t. For to congratulate former Gov. Mitch Daniels on placing property tax caps into the Indiana Constitution, or to say kudos to Gov. Mike Pence on cutting business taxes is to cheer for the demise of our state. I’m appalled by the GOP’s lack of foresight — their mantra of “less taxes will attract business” completely fails to foresee the consequences of less money for municipalities. “Trickle down” is alive and well in Indiana, and our citizens are bearing the brunt. But for how much longer?
I can see it now (Pence to business owner): “Welcome to Indiana. Unfortunately, our last library closed last week. And frankly, I’d recommend educating you children out-of-state, unless you don’t mind class sizes of 50. But don’t worry — most of our workers can still read and do simple math. Keep a hand on your wallet; our police forces are stretched mighty thin. Also, I would plan ahead if you think your house is going to catch on fire; it’s quite a wait for service. Watch out for the garbage piles — the rats are pretty big. And the roads? Don’t drive. But honest to goodness, welcome to Indiana!”
I wrote this one after learning of the short-fall in funding our local library was facing: over $95,000! That's a heck of a lot of books, not to mention employee hours, that will be lost. It's not just the Library--it's local government and schools that are also facing some tough choices, all because our pro-business governor is so blinded by the smiles of his corporate buddies that he can't see the severe damage all his tax cuts will have.
I truly do fear for the state of our state.
To the Editor:
I would congratulate our governors and our legislators on their “business sense,” but I can’t. For to congratulate former Gov. Mitch Daniels on placing property tax caps into the Indiana Constitution, or to say kudos to Gov. Mike Pence on cutting business taxes is to cheer for the demise of our state. I’m appalled by the GOP’s lack of foresight — their mantra of “less taxes will attract business” completely fails to foresee the consequences of less money for municipalities. “Trickle down” is alive and well in Indiana, and our citizens are bearing the brunt. But for how much longer?
I can see it now (Pence to business owner): “Welcome to Indiana. Unfortunately, our last library closed last week. And frankly, I’d recommend educating you children out-of-state, unless you don’t mind class sizes of 50. But don’t worry — most of our workers can still read and do simple math. Keep a hand on your wallet; our police forces are stretched mighty thin. Also, I would plan ahead if you think your house is going to catch on fire; it’s quite a wait for service. Watch out for the garbage piles — the rats are pretty big. And the roads? Don’t drive. But honest to goodness, welcome to Indiana!”
I wrote this one after learning of the short-fall in funding our local library was facing: over $95,000! That's a heck of a lot of books, not to mention employee hours, that will be lost. It's not just the Library--it's local government and schools that are also facing some tough choices, all because our pro-business governor is so blinded by the smiles of his corporate buddies that he can't see the severe damage all his tax cuts will have.
I truly do fear for the state of our state.
