Policeman, Firefighters, & Teachers Oh My!
Every proposal to cut taxes that I have seen in my adult life has been met with the same opposition: OMG NO WE’LL NEED TO LAY OFF TEACHERS, POLICE, AND FIREFIGHTERS AND OUR KIDS WILL GROW UP STUPID, CRIME WILL RUN RAMPANT IN THE STREETS, AND ALL OUR HOMES WILL BURN DOWN. Allow me to draw a brief analogy.
Have you ever taken a pay cut, perhaps been laid off from your job? What do you do when your income drops? Do you stop buying food? Do you stop paying your car insurance? In extreme cases maybe some of you have had to! But in general you cut the least important things first right? You go out drinking a few less times and skip the shopping trip to the mall this weekend. This, as much as I hate the phrase, is all common sense.
Why can’t the government do the same thing? Instead we hear the tired, old PFT chant (Police, Firefighters, & Teachers) which absolutely reeks of fear mongering, because it clearly can’t be true that the state’s only option in a financial squeeze is to lay off PFTs. And if you need to play on fear to convince me, chances are your argument is without merit.
We’ve all had to pinch pennies. It’s a fact of life. And if we can all do it, then godamnit I want to know why the state can’t just go out drinking a few less times and skip a few weekend shopping trips? I say they can, and will, if they are forced to.
I’m voting yes on Question 3. You should too.
