|
by Linda Moore
Have y'all noticed the gas prices creeping up, energy costs creeping up, food costs creeping up, tax rates creeping up? Have your pay rates and job perks been creeping up as well?
Have you seen the Sheriff's new blog page? No? I have a link for you then.
http://www.bradleysheriff.com/content/view/102/84/
Here are a few of the Sheriff's priorities.
Closing the pay gap with area law enforcement agencies.
Reducing the cost of family insurance coverage. Family insurance policies are an out-of-pocket expense of about $700 each month, forcing some families to drop this coverage.
Replacing vehicles with over 200,000 miles on the odometer. This will help to reduce costs for vehicle maintenance.
People he's saying that the pay gap is $5000 per officer. That's an awful lot of all-at-once money. But I'm thinking that pay should be based on demographics and not on what the next door neighbor earns. Of course Hamilton County earns more. They have different demographics. They have more officers injured.
I'd love to reduce the cost of insurance for every family. At my husband's work it is $750 a month for family coverage. We simply can't afford it. Yet we pay health insurance for others. We pay for insurance, you pay for insurance, for every facet of government employee that you can think of. We also pay for workman's compensation insurance for all the government workers. And the sad fact is that insurance is only going to go higher and higher. I'm trying real hard not to whine but I'm getting tired of paying for insurance for everyone else and yet have none for myself.
I'm not so sure about all those new cars either. Will a new car not cost a lot more than maintenance? Yes? No? Maybe? I say drive them if they are running without making strange noises. I don't know. This is out of my area of expertise. But what about the workhouse? The sheriff is also wanting to build a workhouse. How much is a workhouse? I'm all about prisoner labor, (you do realize that it is mandatory that we pay them a minimum of ten dollars a day). But I would like it to be more profitable than road work. You don't think that the road department is going to give money back to the tax payers do you? "We had so much help from the BCSD that we're giving back this 200K". No, I don't think so.
Then there are the schools. The teachers need a raise. The teachers need insurance. The kids need books. The kids need computers. We need more schools built. But how much of the money reaches the kids and teachers? I had a rough school month. Commissioner Ed Elkins corrected me on some numbers. I thought the state was paying $7,469 per child here. It isn't. That is the state average and we pay $6,072 per child. But then Mr. Elkins told me that this includes no building money. That is a separate amount of money. So we're spending a lot more than I thought. I very much appreciate Mr. Elkins contacting me and explaining the school money. I can't say that I wasn't depressed to find that we were spending from more than one money area. I'd like to factor in the building to see where we really are.
Then city councilman Richard Banks threw down an idea to streamline thinking for the schools with the county commission. This passed the city council vote and it has now been kicked to the county commission educational committee. I'm thinking it might really be a good idea. I think it's past time that the city council, the county commission and both boards of educations work together to arrive at some real solutions. There is a great disparity between the county and city per student spending. I think there are services that could be combined to save and filter more money into the classroom.
If you think taxes are bad in the county you should live in the city. My son and daughter-in-law are desperate to move out of the city to get away from the taxes. I'm just desperate. I think we pay more taxes now than we did when folks dressed up like Indians and played tea party games in Boston. Do we want everyone to be a government worker? Is it going to wind up that only government workers get to have health care insurance?
Here's a novel idea for y'all to ponder. What if, since we all own the health departments and since health departments offer primary care as in blood pressure, diabetes, physicals, obesity, mammograms, pap smears, you could even go for the flu, we send all government workers, including representatives and the governor, (anyone getting insurance on the tax payer dime), to the health department for primary care. Can you imagine the insurance savings? Can you imagine all the insurance companies that would suddenly get their hearts right? I love this idea.
Here's another novel idea. Every kid needs a computer in school now. America is being blown away in the technology department. Why don't we negotiate a deal with some computer company to come to Bradley and build a company. As an incentive we'll buy the first ten thousand computers for our own children. Maybe Lee has enough talented young people to fill such jobs? Maybe Cleveland State?
Remember folks, roughly fifty percent of our children qualify for free lunches. How much can we really afford to pay in taxes? I'm going to leave you with a quote from a poster from a local website. I have no clue as to who this person is but the words of this person are well worth consideration.
"We will never see another republican president. They have cut their own throats by allowing illegal aliens into our country. How many are here? 20 or 30 million? Do you think they will vote for anyone other than a democrat?
Folks , it's over. America is gone. Say hello to the Socialist Republic of Amerika.
The democrats want anyone to be able to vote without an ID. Its over. It's time to "bunker up ' and "bug out" to the mountains.
That's why I took the handle of the last lonely eagle. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that sees it coming.
The democrats aren't democrats like our grandparents were. They are SOCIALIST and the Republicans are just as bad because they have sold us out too. Its over. I hate to be so bleak but we are 'the frog in the pot". They turn the heat up a little each day so we don't notice. Your grandchildren will live under communism right here on the north American continent and there is not damn thing we can do about it."
http://forums.bradleyweekly.com/index.php/topic,95.new.html#new
.
|
|
