lev·y / [lev-ee] 1. an imposing or collecting, as of a tax, by authority or force.
All you folks who plan on pullin’ the lever for the next levy – whether “it’s for the kids”, or for any other reason - follow me for a moment into hypothetical land.
Everybody should have a right to a good burger, right? Well, I’m from the government and I’m here to help, so I propose a government-controlled “public burger shop”. We’ll tax people based on income and property – so all you unemployed, disabled, retired, and impoverished folks suckling on the taxpayers’ nipple, don’t worry about a thing. It won’t cost you a dime. You stand only to gain. We’re going to take some money from the treasury to give you free burgers! Hooray for free public burgers!
I know what all you greedy folks who pay taxes are thinkin’. Don’t you even say that you can’t afford free burgers for everybody. You only think about yourselves! Don’t you care about the hungry? You can afford quarter-pounders and sweet potato fries for your kids at your lavish private burger shops, but what about poor children? Without food there is no future! Don’t you want a future for poor people?
Besides, many of you will have family members employed by the new government burger bureaucracy. You’ll have kids and grandkids getting their lunches from the new “public burger shops”. With the unemployment problems we already have, you don’t want your family members to lose their jobs or take cuts in pay, do you? All burger-makers will be forced to pay into a big union that will lobby all levels of government to ensure that they’ll get paid much more with many more benefits than private burger shops. We’ve got a program called “No Burger-Eater Left Behind” and it gives the burger-makers more money. It’s awesome! And besides, the “public burger shop” will sponsor sports programs that will keep your kids entertained many long hours. In fifty years, people won’t know how they ate before the government’s patties.
The downside? Ignore the tiny bureaucratic burgers – if only we had better paid burger-makers you’d get better quality burgers! Also, ignore the fact that a government burger is twice the cost of private burgers. Also, don’t pay attention to the fact that our union and the federal Department of Burgers promote sodomy, contraception, and abortion without parental consent for all burger-eaters, and with the separation of church and state, we can’t allow prayer and Bible in the “public burger shops.” Lastly, ignore the little fact that a levy is “force.” Just keep repeatin’, “It’s for the kids! It’s for the kids! It’s for the kids!”
Patrick Johnston
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Say “NO” to West Muskingum School Levy this Election Day 2012
I can’t speak for anyone else but as far as I’m concerned between the school district, county, state and the federal governments, I’m taxed enough already. And now, since my family has lost over a third of its income there’s nothing anyone can say that’ll convince me these agencies know how to spend my money better or need it more than I do.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the West Muskingum School officials and teachers are nice enough, but unfortunately for us they have become, “Pay me first” type people, who like to feed at the public feeding trough and saddle others with higher taxes so they can increase their salaries and benefits. These folks want prosper by exploiting our wealth and property and then in turn vote themselves our money. The way I see it, the hefty tax increase, associated with the school’s levy might not be much more than pocket change to most of the well paid teachers and school officials but to the majority of the folks who make a lot less, we call it a very large amount of money. Families must be able to pay for their homes, vehicles and other bills and can only cut back so far on utilities, medical care, and food consumption before life becomes miserable and dangerous! And, no one can't help but notice that food, gasoline, and energy prices are already sky-rocketing with no end in sight. I say we already give the school district enough tax dollars and I believe their ruthless attempts to hijack our money and put their financial well being above our families' is morally wrong.
We have a choice: We can allow them to raise our taxes or push back and insist they operate with the millions of dollars they already receive. A vote against the levy won’t be a vote against the school district; it will be a vote to keep your money. I say appeasing our greedy school officials with more money is like feeding a hungry bear in the futile hope it will eat you last.
Steve Mitchell
Printed in the Zanesville Times Recorder Aug. 28, 2012
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the West Muskingum School officials and teachers are nice enough, but unfortunately for us they have become, “Pay me first” type people, who like to feed at the public feeding trough and saddle others with higher taxes so they can increase their salaries and benefits. These folks want prosper by exploiting our wealth and property and then in turn vote themselves our money. The way I see it, the hefty tax increase, associated with the school’s levy might not be much more than pocket change to most of the well paid teachers and school officials but to the majority of the folks who make a lot less, we call it a very large amount of money. Families must be able to pay for their homes, vehicles and other bills and can only cut back so far on utilities, medical care, and food consumption before life becomes miserable and dangerous! And, no one can't help but notice that food, gasoline, and energy prices are already sky-rocketing with no end in sight. I say we already give the school district enough tax dollars and I believe their ruthless attempts to hijack our money and put their financial well being above our families' is morally wrong.
We have a choice: We can allow them to raise our taxes or push back and insist they operate with the millions of dollars they already receive. A vote against the levy won’t be a vote against the school district; it will be a vote to keep your money. I say appeasing our greedy school officials with more money is like feeding a hungry bear in the futile hope it will eat you last.
Steve Mitchell
Printed in the Zanesville Times Recorder Aug. 28, 2012
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