Sunday, April 12, 2009
Tax Time!
I just finished doing my taxes ... cripes, NY (state and city on top of that!) taxes are expensive! If I didn't know any better, I'd become a Republican right here and now. For the amount of money I'm paying in taxes to NY (relative to my income and compared to my NJ taxes, e.g.), how come I have to wait hours in the DMV, have a stupid parking ticket because the stupid muni-meter receipts flip over when you close your door and NYC doesn't print these in a two-sided manner, drive on roads chock full of tire/alignment destroying potholes, etc.?
As I keep saying, priority #1 for the DNC should be making Democratic areas paragons of good, efficient governance. People should be saying -- I'm gonna move to the Big Democratic City as soon as I find a job there, not I want to get out of this over-priced cess-pit of corruption and patronage where I pay too much in taxes to get bubkis in return.
Nu? The whole case of the Democratic party is that responsible government can do a boatload of good. So, when will the DNC start busting heads (and local political machines) and start making some shining cities on hills to serve as examples of how good, clean and efficient governance can make your life better rather than serving as examples of how Democrats, when they run things, resort to machine politics and end up taxing you excessively?
BTW -- the stimulus package is a perfect place to get this rolling ... with money comes strings attached. The Democrats can subtly shift money to as to reward politicians that initiate anti-machine and pro-efficiency reforms? Perhaps the way to break the machines and local clubs is to fight patronage with patronage? Obama knows what's going on, and he has shown interest in being a transformative politician -- why doesn't he fight dirty as a Chi-town politician must well know how to do and, in the end, really transform the Democratic party and hence allow for a real, solid (transcending our current socio-economic situation) Democratic majority in which people trust good governance because they see it in action (as opposed to the reverse which hurts the Dems. now).
As I keep saying, priority #1 for the DNC should be making Democratic areas paragons of good, efficient governance. People should be saying -- I'm gonna move to the Big Democratic City as soon as I find a job there, not I want to get out of this over-priced cess-pit of corruption and patronage where I pay too much in taxes to get bubkis in return.
Nu? The whole case of the Democratic party is that responsible government can do a boatload of good. So, when will the DNC start busting heads (and local political machines) and start making some shining cities on hills to serve as examples of how good, clean and efficient governance can make your life better rather than serving as examples of how Democrats, when they run things, resort to machine politics and end up taxing you excessively?
BTW -- the stimulus package is a perfect place to get this rolling ... with money comes strings attached. The Democrats can subtly shift money to as to reward politicians that initiate anti-machine and pro-efficiency reforms? Perhaps the way to break the machines and local clubs is to fight patronage with patronage? Obama knows what's going on, and he has shown interest in being a transformative politician -- why doesn't he fight dirty as a Chi-town politician must well know how to do and, in the end, really transform the Democratic party and hence allow for a real, solid (transcending our current socio-economic situation) Democratic majority in which people trust good governance because they see it in action (as opposed to the reverse which hurts the Dems. now).
# posted by alberich @ 7:03 AM 
