Claudette Konola
 
My housemate joked that I was working harder now than I was when I got paid for my work. I think he’s looking at the hours that I’m spending either brushing up on issues, or writing in my blog, or meeting with campaign volunteers, or meeting with voters. Some days I’m up by 3:30 a.m. and not calling it a day until after 9:00 p.m.

But it isn’t just me. And I chose this path.

This morning in the Sentinel there was a story about schools facing more budget cuts because of the continuing recession. Part of the solution was to encourage some teachers to take early retirement. Teachers who are left are going to have to work a lot harder.  Because of oil patch workers moving out of the area, enrollment could be down. But losing experienced teachers will place new burdens on those who are left. They won’t see compensation increases keeping pace with the new duties.

The Delta economic development organization asked their executive director to leave. Now the organization’s secretary is single handedly running the day-to-day operations. She’s working harder, without any commensurate pay increases.

That’s the price we pay for living in a boom and bust economy. During boom times we are flush and giddy with new found wealth. During bust times we all have to tighten our belts and work harder just to stay even. We can do better. We need to create a more diverse economy with sustainable growth and jobs.

Homework:

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/6_million_could_be_cut_from_sc/
 
 
Okay, so I’m going to sound like a “tax and spend liberal” again. What is wrong with our education system that creates so much wrong thinking about things like taxes? How do you have a government without revenue? Grover Norquist , a leader in the conservative movement, is famous for his comment that he wants to shrink government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

So what happens when we shrink government to that point? Street lights go out in Colorado Springs. Grand Junction can’t fix pot holes. Delta can’t fix pot holes. We lay off 60 people in Grand Junction. We lay off the executive director of the organization charged with bringing business to Delta.

Is that what we really want? To turn into a third-world nation where we can’t afford teachers, or cops, or economic development, or roads? It seems that is what the local Republican Party wants. They are out in force protesting taxes on luxury items like candy and soft drinks. How do they propose that we pay for street lights, roads, schools, and economic development without collecting sales taxes? It is time that we grow up and tackle our growing problems with a concerted joint effort to actually make government work. Yes, be fiscally responsible, but taxes aren’t evil.  We need taxes to run government. As much as Republicans don’t like government, it is the only thing that keeps nations civilized.

As I’ve said before, all we get for low taxes is a third world country.

Homework:

http://www.deltacountyindependent.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13454:economic-development-director-out-as-board-refocuses&catid=77:top-stories&Itemid=373ß story about economic development in Delta

http://www.deltacountyindependent.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13389:28m-grant-could-stall-deltas-truck-route&catid=34:delta&Itemid=347ß story about moving trucks off Main Street in Delta

http://www.deltacountyindependent.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13456:city-sales-tax-revenues-drop-nearly-9-percent&catid=77:top-stories&Itemid=373ß story about sales tax revenue dropping in Delta

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/sales_tax_shortfall_has_city_s/ßstory about sales tax revenue dropping in Grand Junction

http://www.deltacountyindependent.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13353:federal-officials-hand-out-big-checks&catid=34:delta&Itemid=347ß story about how federal programs are helping small businesses in Delta

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14303473ß story about street lights being turned out in Colorado Springs