Elections

Senator Elizabeth Dole and US Representative Sue Myrick both appear to be distancing themselves from President Bush and his hum-hum final year agenda for the nation.

Ms. Myrick decided to “…stay home and watch the president’s address on television…” on Monday evening, while Mrs. Dole had a previous engagement to speak in front of a constituent group in NC.

On Thursday morning, both skipped out on Vice President Dick Cheney’s address to a select crowd at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Myrick begging off due the the impending birth of a grandchild, and VP Cheney acknowledging her “priorities”.  Kinda gives new meaning to, “I think I have to wash my hair”.

Still trying to curry favor with the administration, boy-politician, Patrick McHenry of the 10th district in NC, commented to the Observer, “the president missed the opportunity to push to make the middle-class tax cuts permanent. It was a good speech — but not bold enough”.

Mr. McHenry surely must realize that the tax cuts were not for the so-called middle class but the top 10% of incomes.

Creating permanence of these cuts, which are not set to expire until the fiscal year of 2010, would further drive a stake into the heart of the true middle class. The rich will not invest in new plants in Cherryville, Hickory, or Shelby. They will continue to buy their cars, remodel their kitchens, and go out to dinner — but not build factories, invest in their stateside employees, or contribute money to the United Way.

Let’s see, at every property revaluation, let’s lower the tax rate by 3 or 4 cents, and tap into the reserve funds to balance the county budget.

Then, we can justify fee-for-service where only those who use the service have to pay the fee.

It is simple, democratic, and fair for all who would be using the service, right?

Well in this case the newly instituted parking fees for “close in” parking near the courthouse in Gastonia have a few detractors who don’t like the idea of walking or being inconvenienced by a few extra feet.

In the case of attorneys who frequent the courthouse, we are sure that they have already figured a way to incorporate their “inconvenience” into their fee structures. So, who really loses and who really wins in this instance?

Did the county consider the parking “spread” in their plans when the new courthouse was built? They considered future use of the courthouse — by building an additional floor for future use. But where to put all the cars that people drive to get to the shiny edifice? Well, let’s plan for a parking deck — and figure out how to pay for it sometime later.

As our attention turns from municipal elections to county-related issues this might be one question to ask candidates and incumbents for any office. As with all OPM (other people’s money) questions, what are your plans to manage future costs and maintenance?

We feel that the $80-100,000 per year fee generation is a bit overly optimistic on county staffers budget estimates, and who is to say that this particular designation for offsets will hold past any election rhetoric?

As for us poor people who occasionally need to go to the court house, the one-block walk or the cross-over from the Main Avenue free parking side of town is not that big of a deal, even for the in-and-out errands.

Gaston voters embrace school bonds