----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 5:53
PM
Subject: Re: [Winona] County Budget
Cuts
I'm not quite sure why I'm wading into this one,
because ain't no way on God's green earth I'm going to change anyone's mind
one iota when it comes to fiscal policy, but here is what this ol' country boy
thinks.
In good times...remember the 90's when I didn't
own nearly enough tech stocks?...state and federal coffers were overflowing
with revenue, and we were told it was wrong to collect more taxes than needed
to fund the immediate cycle. At the state level, some money was put away
for a rainy day...but most was given back to the people...it was "their
money." State and federal tax cuts...and state rebates...were
needed...NOW!
Now we are in the "nasty naughts" (how is that
for a nick for this first decade of the millenium?) and we are seeing tout
a fait autre chose, as the french would say...a different kettle of fish
entirely. The economy is in the tank...we have lost three milllion jobs
since the turn of the century...demand for social services is at record
levels...poverty in Winona county is twice the state average...twice!
Oh, and we are at war.
It's looking a little dicey out there right
now...even in Winona. There was an extended discussion of the definition
of taxes going on here a bit ago...in addition to being the price of
civilization, as was so eloquently opined by Holmes, I see taxes as an
investment in community. Was it Ms. English who observed that when
it comes down to brass tacks, she's willing to admit she'll pay for an
intervention program if it means her house isn't broken into? Sign me up
for that bandwagon, too.
Right now we need to invest in our community, in
my humble opinion. Some say it is irresponsible to try and tax our way
out of this mess...that government needs to learn to live within its
means. As far as I'm concerned that is a load of rubbish. Given
reduced tax collections, especially in Saint Paul, government does not
have the resources needed to provide needed services. We blew that money
on tax cuts and rebates. If we had even saved just some of that
money...and tobacco dollars are gone, too, you know...we would have faced a
four billion dollar deficit this biennium instead of a fourteen billion dollar
shortfall. We could have almost maybe rode that out.
But that is not the issue
here. Some would use fiscal and tax policies to so emasculate
government that it becomes the smaller force in society that they
politically desire. They don't even need to adopt an active
libertarian position to accomplish their goal...they simply present themselves
as committed to 'balancing the family budget.' How
responsible.
Now, I don't like paying taxes any more than the
next person...but I apparently don't like paying them a lot less than some
folks. I don't have a lot...but I realize that when there are folks who
have even less than me who need services, we have to pay the taxes to provide
those services. If we deserve a free ride in good times, don't we have
to do our share in tough times? What am I missing here?
Families who used to pay a fifty dollar copay
a month for their developmentally disabled child to access services at
the DAC are now being asked for a four hundred dollar copay. Guess
what...some clients didn't come back after that one. The Womens' Resouce
Center is down to two full time employees, I think...it might be only
one. If the county zeroes out their funding what happens? The
Historical Society, which I love, certainly isnt an essential service if we're
talking about life and death, but who doubts that the county's investment of
tens of thousands of dollars in their work doesn't return hundreds of
thousands, if not millions, of dollars to the county economy?
We have certain basic needs as a community in
order to succeed and live the good life. Education, health care and
other fundamental human services are among them. Where is the benefit of
refusing to pay for drug treatment but then paying to lock up a drug
offender? It makes no sense to me. Wake up people...we have a
crisis on our hands. What did they say Minnesota would be if we lost the
Vikings...a cold Omaha? Without our basic quality of life and tradition
of looking out for our neighbors knowing that but for the grace of God there
go we, we become a cold Mississippi. And that strikes me as more
than one cold day in hell.
Bob Sebo
Winona
