LETTERS

Time for government to sacrifice, too

Posted 5/12/16

To the Editor:

As an R.I. and U.S. taxpaying lower to middle class citizen just scraping by, I find it really hard to wrap my head around this one also.

If it costs $5 million for a state logo …

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LETTERS

Time for government to sacrifice, too

Posted

To the Editor:

As an R.I. and U.S. taxpaying lower to middle class citizen just scraping by, I find it really hard to wrap my head around this one also.

If it costs $5 million for a state logo and campaign, I can’t even fathom the cost of changing the face of a $20 bill. Please don’t get me wrong, Harriet Tubman deserves the utmost respect for things she has done, but this really has nothing to do with her.

This has to do with everyday people having to make sacrifices every day just to survive and make ends meet … I think that our government needs to start being a role model and start doing the same.

This country is, and has been, in a deficit for as long as I can remember; yet you’re going to spend money on designing and fabricating a new plate to print new $20 bills. I can’t even imagine the cost, but really, why can’t the federal government and the state sacrifice things just like everyday people are forced to do to make ends meet and get ahead? This unnecessary spending is a continuing cycle that is bringing everyone down and needs to stop now!

Colleen Johnson

Warwick

Comments

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  • davebarry109

    We are 19 trillion in debt nationally. RI is hundreds of millions in debt with no end in sight. The citizens could insist on balanced budget but there are too many pigs at the trough.

    Thursday, May 12, 2016 Report this

  • JohnStark

    I do not ask the following question rhetorically, but rather to seek a genuine answer from posters:

    What state government services do Rhode Islander taxpayers receive as a function of paying a confiscatory state income tax, state sales tax, and state estate tax that citizens of New Hampshire do NOT receive as a function of paying none of these? In responding, kindly mention how these services enrich the lives of the average Rhode Islander who pays these taxes.

    Friday, May 13, 2016 Report this

  • wtsart

    John , as it stands right now , we're paying state taxes to keep employed alot of folks that are somehow connected to a pol/lawyer . This starts at the very top office and spreads to the lowest one . Now that's not to say that all of these folks working in/for the Govt. are somehow any different than anyone else working at a private sector occupation at all . I worked for the state for some time and let me assure you that there are folks working there that go above and beyond at their jobs everyday and then some . But the rotten ones do stick out and as to getting rid of them , good luck ! So there you have it John , in my opinion we taxpayers here in Lil Rhody are paying alot of money to keep certain people employed . BUT ! This the smallest of our states problems, for the same pol/lawyers that gave these folks jobs also bought their votes AND their silence if not out right complicity in all the "deals" the rest of us are paying so dearly for . I've not a clue as to how you can even slow this nepotism down for the minute you enact legislation to stop it the pol/lawyers look for ways to circumvent it to their advantage . But to make matters even worse in this regard , when I left the states employ to start my own biz it seemed the powers that be had started on a course of eliminating thru attrition lower paying positions (as in -actual workers ) to facilitate hiring more management types that usually do nothing of any visible value . The formula seemed to be to let two or three field positions be eliminated to create one office position using the same amount of money . We could hit a point where they'll be no one to actually dig that ditch or fill that pothole or answer that phone for all the money we're spending in taxes ! Case in point , the DMV, Unemployment , DOT , etc. etc. I'm very sure it's the same every where John , just with more accountability as to ones job performance versus political connections .

    Saturday, May 14, 2016 Report this

  • ElainePrior

    I agree with some points in the previous three comments. But all these comments assume that people who run things or people elected to oversee things are really smart. Yes there is political cronyism. Yes, some politicians are willing to give away the store in order to get votes. But I've known several people in "power" and I've participated in the political process and I've been involved with various civic organizations. What I've seen mostly is an ignorance on the part of the voters. How many of us truly understand how our government functions, including how the many boards and agencies interact and under what laws they are given their powers? And more seriously, how many of our politicians understand this bureaucracy? I'm not very familiar with New Hampshire. But I can compare country life to more urban living. Here in Warwick we have good garbage pick up and snow removal, decent schools, a public pool and skating center, lots of ball fields and parks, recreational programs for children and for adults, good library, good fire protection and good police response the very few times I called. And we are living close to excellent medical facilities. . Just think about this: what would happen to you if you had a heart attack while camping in New Hampshire?? Volunteer ambulance comes and takes you how very far to a really great trauma unit?? We complain if our kids' ride to school takes longer than a half hour. Yet, in Montana the kids wait in sub zero weather before dawn for a ride that can last over an hour. And on the Navaho reservation, kids walk so far to their bus stops that you see kids waiting by the side of the road and NO houses in sight. So, the grass is often no greener on the other side of the fence. We need to understand how government works ourselves so that we can ask our candidates the correct questions. Campaigns should be so much more than a popularity contest. Is it any wonder that our schools , our agencies and boards, are so often run by those who are more talented at portraying themselves as wonderful, funny, sympathetic, and able to get the job done than they are at actually doing the job? We have to start taking some responsibility ourselves. Being angry does not necessarily mean we are informed. Our anger is often used against us by those persuasive pols who promise us they can fix our problems. Our world is very complicated. Our solutions will likewise be complicated. But it starts with electing the HONEST people, not the smoothest talker.

    Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Report this

  • JohnStark

    Elaine,

    While I appreciate the sentiment, "...good garbage pick up and snow removal, decent schools, a public pool and skating center, lots of ball fields and parks, recreational programs for children and for adults, good library, good fire protection and good police..." are all a function of local property taxes, NOT state taxes. My question specifically concerns state taxes (income, sales, capital gains,and estate). Rhode Islanders pay a mind-numbing array of taxes, but it's still important to distinguish between the state and local variety. And so I query again: What STATE services are you receiving, in exchange for a myriad of taxes, that citizens of NH are not receiving? Better state highways? No. Better, more affordable university system? No. More responsive state police? No. I have asked this question countless times and have yet to get a cogent response. Then again, IS there a cogent response? Or are Rhode Islanders so accustomed to being fleeced that they simply lose track of what the hell they're paying for?

    Thursday, May 19, 2016 Report this