Make Your Vote Count
I always believed I was doing my civic duty by going to the polls on Election Day and voting for the people I felt were the best candidates. I then went about my business and never looked back.
I have voted every election since I have been eligible to vote. I believed that the people that were elected into office were there to represent my best interest and I need not be concerned. HOW NAÏVE!
I have never before been a political activist. It has only been since my rude awakening concerning “lobbyist and government” that I realized my interests were not necessarily being served. I had no idea, until these last few years, the mess that has been created in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on the local, county and state levels. “We the people” also share some of the blame for putting total trust and confidence in our elected politicians. I think we all realized how that trust was violated with the middle of the night “pay hikes”. “We the people” must now be the “watchdog” and challenge decisions being made that directly impact our quality of life.
One of the most important areas where our State has failed us is “education”. Everyone “talks the talk” about children being our future and how important education is to our nation. Yet, every year our State’s contribution to the education of our young people seems to be less and less. The State does not contribute their fair share towards the cost of education, has done nothing to relieve the unfunded and underfunded mandates on school districts (NCLB and IDEA) and have allowed school districts unlimited spending that falls on the backs of the residential property owner. Lobbyist groups, such as teachers unions, seem able to get whatever they need to support teachers salaries, benefits and pensions but the State’s contribution to education has not kept up with the ever rising costs.
There are so many things in our system that need to be “fixed”. My primary focus is presently on education. I still believe in the elimination of school property tax. I still believe in a more fair and equitable system of funding education by way of broadened sales and use tax. I do believe that the State should collect and disburse the funds associated with education and take control away from the local level.
Our Representatives and Senators have failed to come up with, or agree on, any plan that would provide meaningful tax reform and look seriously at the way in which education is funded. The Commonwealth needs to step up to the plate and get serious about education instead of paying just lip service. They need to contribute the funds that are necessary to insure a good education for all children. On a local level, our school districts need to become more fiscally responsible. They cannot continue to create unbalanced budgets and spend money that they anticipate collecting through property tax increases every year. The Commonwealth homeowner has been “tapped out”.
Our elected officials need to get out of the back pockets of the special interest groups…all of them…and start representing the common folks that they are supposed to represent. With this being an election year, I believe, all residents in the Commonwealth need to seriously look at the candidates in their district. Investigate what they have voted for or voted against concerning property tax reform and other important issues. If they haven’t done the job then let’s get people in office who can. Check out PA Clean Sweep at www.pacleansweep.com and join the movement to clean house in Harrisburg!
Our Governor of Philadelphia needs to be replaced by a Governor of Pennsylvania!
nopropertytaxes@yahoo.com for e-mail lists of all Representatives and Senators.
I have voted every election since I have been eligible to vote. I believed that the people that were elected into office were there to represent my best interest and I need not be concerned. HOW NAÏVE!
I have never before been a political activist. It has only been since my rude awakening concerning “lobbyist and government” that I realized my interests were not necessarily being served. I had no idea, until these last few years, the mess that has been created in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on the local, county and state levels. “We the people” also share some of the blame for putting total trust and confidence in our elected politicians. I think we all realized how that trust was violated with the middle of the night “pay hikes”. “We the people” must now be the “watchdog” and challenge decisions being made that directly impact our quality of life.
One of the most important areas where our State has failed us is “education”. Everyone “talks the talk” about children being our future and how important education is to our nation. Yet, every year our State’s contribution to the education of our young people seems to be less and less. The State does not contribute their fair share towards the cost of education, has done nothing to relieve the unfunded and underfunded mandates on school districts (NCLB and IDEA) and have allowed school districts unlimited spending that falls on the backs of the residential property owner. Lobbyist groups, such as teachers unions, seem able to get whatever they need to support teachers salaries, benefits and pensions but the State’s contribution to education has not kept up with the ever rising costs.
There are so many things in our system that need to be “fixed”. My primary focus is presently on education. I still believe in the elimination of school property tax. I still believe in a more fair and equitable system of funding education by way of broadened sales and use tax. I do believe that the State should collect and disburse the funds associated with education and take control away from the local level.
Our Representatives and Senators have failed to come up with, or agree on, any plan that would provide meaningful tax reform and look seriously at the way in which education is funded. The Commonwealth needs to step up to the plate and get serious about education instead of paying just lip service. They need to contribute the funds that are necessary to insure a good education for all children. On a local level, our school districts need to become more fiscally responsible. They cannot continue to create unbalanced budgets and spend money that they anticipate collecting through property tax increases every year. The Commonwealth homeowner has been “tapped out”.
Our elected officials need to get out of the back pockets of the special interest groups…all of them…and start representing the common folks that they are supposed to represent. With this being an election year, I believe, all residents in the Commonwealth need to seriously look at the candidates in their district. Investigate what they have voted for or voted against concerning property tax reform and other important issues. If they haven’t done the job then let’s get people in office who can. Check out PA Clean Sweep at www.pacleansweep.com and join the movement to clean house in Harrisburg!
Our Governor of Philadelphia needs to be replaced by a Governor of Pennsylvania!
nopropertytaxes@yahoo.com for e-mail lists of all Representatives and Senators.
posted by Helen | 1:03 PM
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