One in which my representative actually agrees with me!!! hah hah
By way of context:
When Nikki Haley left the helm of this state after Trump made her an offer she could not refuse on her climb to seeking her party's nomination for the presidency of this mess of a nation, I thought that at least the State of SC might finally pave a few of its crumbled (note, they are no longer crumbling, they are way beyond that) roads. Unfortunately Governor McMaster is in the same pockets she was in, and we are left with one more governor willing to sink this state for the profit of a few. It's "bidness" as usual in the state of South Carolina. Heck, I bet his street and those of his puppet masters have new pavement....
Dear Senator Alexander, Representative Clary, and Governor
McMaster (I address all three since you ostensibly represent me),
It is hard for me to believe that you guys are still
dickering over how to get money to pay for our urgent infrastructure needs. That being said, you don’t seem any more
dysfunctional than the rest of what has become an embarrassment of a nation;
and this is not a compliment.
Let me ask you this: when you want a TV, or say, an internet
plan, what do you do? Do you issue a bond
in order to get funds to pay for these things, or do you go out to Wal-Mart and
get one; or in the case of digital connectivity, call an internet provider and
pay a monthly fee to get on that digital highway in order to surf for cute
pictures of cats? Buying infrastructure
should be no different than buying internet time; the people getting the
benefit of using roads should pay for them, and they should do so in the form
of present day taxes since it is a public good they want to be using privately.
I understand one might call this a regressive tax, but I
sure as heck know that is not why people of the republican persuasion don’t
want to pass it. And regressive or not,
everyone should pay for road reconstruction and maintenance regardless: you use
it, you pay for it. And at this juncture
I might add that this is the real conservative way of looking at things.
I know republicans, and apparently Americans, are allergic
to the word “taxes”, but it is high time we change that attitude; the status
quo is no longer working. As a state (and
as a country) we need to start paying, as a group, for what we want to consume,
not consume and then defer the costs of that consumption for future groups to
pay. If we don’t start taking
responsibility for our expenditures, we will cease to be a nation. I understand that it is complicated and that some
debt is a good thing; but debt does not mean never ever paying for anything.
We, as a people, need to live up to our fiscal
responsibilities, not continue to be a debtor nation, which only enriches the
banks (and the people who run them). We
saw how well that turned out in 2008. We
cannot continue passing ALL costs to future generations. In fact, as concerns infrastructure, that
model has failed completely. I travel to
other countries and, as pointed out by our very own president, this one is
truly an embarrassment. Moreover, and as
concerns this letter, it is infuriating for me that I can tell, with closed
eyes, just by the way my car rides on the pavement, when I have entered South
Carolina from either Georgia or North Carolina, themselves not the states with
great roads.
We, the people of South Carolina, should pay for our needs
as we go, not borrow more money we will then have future generations find a way
to default on. This state can’t even live
up to its current future obligations, i.e. The State Pension Plan, why incur
more debt? You need to start simplifying
things, cleaning house, not complicating them and letting the state crumble more
than it already has.
Please, if this applies to you, stop being in the pockets of
the special interests that are insisting that you keep from levying a tax, a
tiny tiny tax on gas, whose prices are some of the lowest in the nation, so that
we can start rebuilding that which we urgently need. Let’s start acting like responsible adults
for once; in the long run that can only benefit the state as a whole.
… And I know I should apologize for being curt, but I am so
steamed at this point…
Sincerely,
Katya Cohen
Ms. Cohen,
Thank you for reaching out to me regarding
South Carolina’s infrastructure issues and how to address them. I am proud to be a sponsor of H. 3516, the
Roads, Bridges and Infrastructure bill.
This bill passed the House of Representatives on March by a vote of
97-18 and I was proud to cast my vote for this important legislation. This bill resides in the Senate, and you have
correctly addressed this issue to Senator Thomas Alexander. I remain hopeful the Senate will pass this
bill. Of course, Governor McMaster has
pledged to veto any gas tax increase, and I hope I have the opportunity to
override his veto.
You are absolutely correct that outside
influences and groups are attempting to influence the vote of our General
Assembly. Fortunately, the House did not
succumb to these tactics, and I have the Senate has the intestinal fortitude to
do the same.
I am honored and privileged to represent you
and House District 3 in Columbia. Again,
thank you for sharing your views with me, and please feel free to reach out to
me at any time.
Regards,
Gary
A few more shots taken in a walk of less that a 1/4 mile on one of the state roads:
No comments:
Post a Comment