Things I learned at last night’s Town Council meeting
- Rich people have reached the limit of how much
taxes they’re willing to pay.
- Unless it’s to increase the town’s open space,
in which case raising taxes is A-OK.
- Rich people will drive 100 miles to save $100 on
their taxes.
- The rest of us prefer to spend time with our
loved ones at the end of a work day rather than sit and listen to rich people bitching
about having to drive 100 miles to defeat a proposal put forward by residents
of a town they don’t live in.
- If rich people’s taxes go up, they might have to
{gasp!} rent out one or two of their houses.
- Or they’ll withhold any other charitable
donations that they ultimately benefit from.
- When rich people tear down their houses to build
larger ones, no economic setbacks of any kind that might detract from the level
of luxury they expect to live in are permitted. Any setbacks the rest of us
might suffer are, on the other hand, of no consideration.
- The rest of us are just supposed to shut up and
be grateful to the rich folks who deign to pay property taxes here despite
having contracted for their own private services from their own private
associations.
- Uncle Tom is alive and well and living in
Charlestown.
- For rich people, it’s not enough just to win;
the vote must be unanimous.
- The rest of us can see the handwriting on the
wall and know when to give up.
- This town desperately needs more businesses so
we’re not so reliant on the multimillion-dollar properties for our tax base.
By Linda Felaco
Things I learned from reading your post....
ReplyDelete- you are not rich
- you waste your time at Town Council meetings
- you are jealous of rich people
- you hate rich people
- and if you had it your way, there would be no rich people
Quit your bitchin'. I'm sorry you are poor. I really am.
ReplyDeleteIf rich people are so inherently evil and are only the 1% you love to hate, why don't you do something about uniting one more than every other poor person like yourself. The majority of voters, mainly poor people, elected these people you despise do much.
If you hate them so much, why not tone it down a bit, get real and do something about it (AKA Constructive). Start a movement, lobby group, PAC, whatever and get the rich, south of rte 1 meanies out of local politics.
You have almost a whole year to start a movement and here, you even have a vehicle to move forward. Do something worthwhile instead of sitting back taking pot shots.
Davespop
First off, I'm not poor. I own my own home (just one, though). And the reason I'm not better off financially is largely through my own choices. I made a decision early in life that the corporate world was not for me and have always worked in the nonprofit sector. But in fact, I do consider myself rich just by virtue of living in this town with all its beauty and natural resources, and so is everyone else who lives here.
ReplyDeleteAs for the person who says town council meetings are a waste of time, it's true that by being underemployed at present, I have more time than most people to spend at them. I think it's important for people to know what goes on at them, because that's where the decisions get made that affect us all. If the meetings are such a waste of time, then don't read about them, either, because that's obviously a waste of time as well.
Wow! I found the result disappointing, especially in relation to the way the property taxes changed with the last assessment. And it is unfortunate that there wasn't more of a presence of people for the proposal at the meeting. However, I come to this site to keep abreast of local news, and for occasional humor. But this posting just seems like sour grapes turned into a rant. Instead of alienating more people I hope the energy of this blog is used to bring people together and try to improve our town. When it comes to being friendlier to businesses and economic growth, there are many people on both sides politically and economically that can find much common ground. Maybe the majority of the people at the meeting were more focused about their own personal interests, but I think some people also had issues with the idea of the proposal. I hope for more informative info on Charlestown brought in an entertaining manner, and less of postings like this.
ReplyDeleteJustin, what you refer to as a "rant" is 12 short bullet points that could be rattled off within the 2-minute limit for comments at a council meeting and is far more measured in tone than any of the rants I was subjected to Monday night. You'll have to forgive me if I don't take kindly to being compared to a dog. Much as I love dogs, I think we can all agree that when someone tells you you're "biting the hand that feeds you," as we were told the other night, it's not meant as a compliment.
ReplyDeleteHate to say it, but I agree with the above. Attending a council meeting with Mr. Gentz at the helm is a fruitless endeavor.
ReplyDelete