Dryden has just won its case with the State Courts.http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2014/06/30/nys-top-court-says-towns-can-ban-fracking/
Towns have the right to home rule and to Ban Fracking. So much for the argument posed by many of the Republican members of the Town Board against a Fracking Ban. Groton and all other Towns in NYS have the right to zone fracking out of the town.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
The Price of Living in a Civilized Society
When I was growing up, most Republicans believed that government had a role to play in society. They were later known best as Rockefeller Republicans. They believed in and enacted a progressive tax rate, that taxed the wealthy more, and provided services for the whole community. This policy combined with businesses that paid employees well sustained a strong middle class.
So what happened? Why does it seem that we can no longer afford civilization? Today's Tea party and Tea party lite Republicans claim we can't and want to cut everything. It began with Reagan's Trickle down theory. He claimed that when you made the wealthy wealthier it created jobs and made the middle class wealthier. It didn't work! The middle class are virtually non existent, but the top 2% have a greater percentage of wealth than since the great depression.
Trickle down has new names, but the goal is always to make the wealthy wealthier at all costs. This new breed of Republicans seem to see only one legitimate use for government funds--to send troops to war. They don't even seem to believe that government has the responsibility to care for those troops when they come home. A large part of the problem with the VA hospitals is that their funds have been cut for decades. This problem was not caused by Obama. Reagan began serious cutbacks to the VA hospitals way back in the 80's. This new breed of Republican even begrudges our society public schools and libraries.
A Republican Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, said that: taxes are the price we pay for living in a civilized society. Our society is slowly cutting spending and programs in order to lessen the tax burden on the wealthy. In the meantime, the middle class is being squeezed out of existence. With lower salaries, they are being laden with an increasing percentage of the tax burden.
We can not turn our country over to the mercy of private corporations. Private industry has its faults and corruption and we have no vote in it. Government has its faults as well, but we have a vote in it. Government also has a role for the good in a civilized society. We as voters have a role in monitoring it. When we give up on government's role, we give up on civilization. This used to be a belief that was widely held by both Democrats and Republicans. I invite Republicans to return to their roots; to stop looking for the easy tag line of cut taxes; and to take a responsible role in maintaining our civilization.
So what happened? Why does it seem that we can no longer afford civilization? Today's Tea party and Tea party lite Republicans claim we can't and want to cut everything. It began with Reagan's Trickle down theory. He claimed that when you made the wealthy wealthier it created jobs and made the middle class wealthier. It didn't work! The middle class are virtually non existent, but the top 2% have a greater percentage of wealth than since the great depression.
Trickle down has new names, but the goal is always to make the wealthy wealthier at all costs. This new breed of Republicans seem to see only one legitimate use for government funds--to send troops to war. They don't even seem to believe that government has the responsibility to care for those troops when they come home. A large part of the problem with the VA hospitals is that their funds have been cut for decades. This problem was not caused by Obama. Reagan began serious cutbacks to the VA hospitals way back in the 80's. This new breed of Republican even begrudges our society public schools and libraries.
A Republican Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, said that: taxes are the price we pay for living in a civilized society. Our society is slowly cutting spending and programs in order to lessen the tax burden on the wealthy. In the meantime, the middle class is being squeezed out of existence. With lower salaries, they are being laden with an increasing percentage of the tax burden.
We can not turn our country over to the mercy of private corporations. Private industry has its faults and corruption and we have no vote in it. Government has its faults as well, but we have a vote in it. Government also has a role for the good in a civilized society. We as voters have a role in monitoring it. When we give up on government's role, we give up on civilization. This used to be a belief that was widely held by both Democrats and Republicans. I invite Republicans to return to their roots; to stop looking for the easy tag line of cut taxes; and to take a responsible role in maintaining our civilization.
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