[ back ]
Tea Party bags discontentment
(by Dave Lange - February 17, 2010)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Tea Party bags discontentment
Dear County Line: The Chardon Board of Education has driven me to join the Tea Party, which is opposed to the government continually raising taxes, which are getting out of hand.
I'm 35 years old, and I'm sick and tired of paying more and more taxes to support retirees' easy living. They're collecting Social Security, which I'm paying into but will never get a dime in return. Senior citizens get Medicare, which is government health care, but when I wanted a national health plan to lower my astronomical costs for insurance, they whined that it would be socialism. I think they're the ones who are socialists.
Now, the school board wants a so-called earned-income tax, because Social Security and pensions supposedly aren't income and would be exempt. Obviously, the old socialists will vote for it, because they won't have to pay, and I'll get screwed again.
-- Carrie Cash, Chardon
Dear Carrie: As one who works for a living, I feel your pain. Although I understand the rationale for exempting retired people on fixed incomes from burdensome property taxes, I'm not so sympathetic to those who live in $500,000 houses here, spend their winters in Florida and rake in $100,000 a year from their retirement investments.
Dear County Line: Solon City Council has convinced me to join the Tea Party, which is opposed to excessive government regulation, which is getting out of hand.
Every time I try to get somewhere on Solon roads, which are maintained with my tax dollars, unnecessary traffic lights, stop signs and other barriers slow me down and waste my gas. When the city recently put a 20 mph speed limit on Bainbridge Road, it was the straw that broke the camel's back.
-- Axel Rader, Solon
Dear Axel: I don't think Solon is unique among local government tendencies to infringe on citizens' rights to drive the way they please, and that may be why the Tea Party is catching on with people like you. Also, the Tea Party is against higher taxes, and lots of taxes are spent for police enforcement of those intrusive traffic impediments.
Dear County Line: The Bainbridge Police Department is causing me to join the Tea Party, which wants to protect our constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
Just about every week, I read in the police blotter about some poor slob getting stopped on the Route 422 freeway for some ridiculous offense, such as having a taillight out. Then the cops search the car illegally and bust the guy for grass or some other harmless stuff.
-- Mary Jane Toklas, Bainbridge
Dear Mary Jane: Many American revolutionaries like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp, which is the same plant as marijuana, on their farms. There are numerous historical quotes from our early presidents about experiencing the joy of smoking hemp. But I don't believe marijuana tea is what the Tea Party has in mind.
Dear County Line: I cannot believe that area governments, from Geauga County and Bainbridge to Gates Mills, are imposing zoning restrictions on wind turbines, which America needs to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It's enough to make me want to join the Tea Party, which wants to limit government interference with our rights.
-- Libby Rawl, Gates Mills
Dear Libby: You probably should bear in mind that, when most people complain about too much government, they're just blowing in the wind.
[ back ]
