http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/lewisboroledger/opinion/letters/133519-letter-time-to-work.html
Now that the elections are over, let's get to work. Here's a simple to-do list for all levels.
Federal: Get out of Afghanistan ASAP and
stop bombing people all over the world with drones. We are not safer for
this, and the immense dollars draining away must be directed to
constructive programs and human needs. Oh yeah, and add 2% to the top
marginal tax rate.
State: The most useful thing they could do
for us would be to initiate a migration from property-based taxation to
income tax for our local funding. Property taxes are tearing up our
communities as retirees cannot bear the same level of taxation as they
could when they were working. Besides this, Albany could put some
serious effort on energy/green jobs. Germany is 6.1% solar now as a
result of raising the price paid for kilowatts generated by individual
solar installations. In the U.S. solar is less than 0.1% of electric
generation. New York could make those same changes and reduce our
exposure to fossil fuel risks.
Town: We should pave the roads. We cut
paving from the budget for years now, and the roads are deteriorating.
It will take an average of maybe $100 added to your tax bill to restore
it, and there should be a return on that investment in car wear and
tear, safety, and possibly mortgage taxes as crumbling roads are not a
big seller.
Simple initiatives; ask your government officials where they stand.
Dan Welsh
Town Board Member
Nov. 11
