Thursday, June 07, 2007
Bloggers, Step Up
I stumbled across this forum the other day (via a google search for what exactly the sales tax is in the city right now, go figure) and I think me it needs some blogger input. I keep planning to write something but I get all choked up and start heaving and freaking out and all and so I just haven't managed to say a word to the mostly incredibly clueless and some not all that damn pleasant people who are slanging our fair city. So, uh, I want y'all to do it for me. 'Kay? To your keyboards, ready, set - go!
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4 comments:
I don't know... the first post seems 100% dead on except for his class issues.
A) Property taxes here are not high, if this person thinks so, they are most likely high.
B) Consumerism is not the answer to everything.
C) This is, IMHO, written by someone of the upper-middle, to upper class, and as someone who is not a member of either socio-economic class I am really not interested in getting a lecture on how I could be a better citizen (ie make more money, be more "productive")
D) it is a Federal rule about not laminating your social security card, it even says so right on the back
E) it never gets "really cold" here
F) There are plenty of good restaurants here, and "Carrabas" ain't one of them
ok...there's my little rant, please forgive, I will go back to the shadows and lurk now
I read through the 13 pages of mostly idiocy, and added my two cents. I thought your post ended up being really great, Fliss. It explained the resentment "the locals" have without participating in bashing.
As I said, apart from his class issues (and I'll include his evident anti-southern biases too), he's dead on:
The crime sucks - especially the drug issues. This is, certainly, partially a product of unemployment and undereducation (although employed and educated people feed into the drug problem as well.)
The quality of education is, sadly, lacking, although, to be just, this may just be the local implementation of a really bad state and/or federal programme. Nothing that couldn't be solved by some serious private-sector competition and vouchers.
Taxes here bite - even if they look nice compared to other places. But I say that because tax is theft - and the way the state is cutting back services, but not taxes... well, that's just more theft than is called for.
The NC Driver License thing... argh. And there are taxes out the wazoo there, too.
Eateries... it takes exploring and risk taking but there are good places to eat everywhere. This is one of his class issues, as far as I'm concerned.
I'd add: don't you think it's ironic that our "health food" places - vegan eateries and organic grocers - are the ones that offer a wide variety of hepatitis?
I don't think, btw, he's advocating "consumerism" but rather private enterprise. Locals starting small businesses pulled us out of the slump Appalachia stayed in after the depression. It'll still work if we don't tax or regulate small businesses out of existence (but we're well on our way with the Zoning Rules).
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