Monday, November 25, 2013

Not so thankful for an unresponsive state legislature

I have a lot to be thankful for. I can name a dozen or so right off the top of my head, but an unresponsive state legislature when it comes to property tax reform, ain't one of 'em. For anyone new to the blog, you may not be aware of my ongoing crusade to have the antiquated way we fund public education in Pennsylvania addressed, but for the rest of you, here is my latest rant, with an homage to Thanksgiving thrown in.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Politically Correct should be considered a crime

Every year when the holidays start to roll around I think about the way people tense up. When did this start? I can't put my finger on it, but I know it wasn't an issue when I was growing up. Now people are afraid to say or do anything that might for a moment, possibly, maybe offend someone else. Now I don't want to offend anyone, but at some point don't we have to take a hard look at the people claiming to be offended? I trace the origins in my latest column. Political correctness actually started in a comic strip, according to the Accuracy in Academia website. How appropriate is that? Or should I say ironic? Because it’s really not a joke. Political correctness has nearly eliminated free speech, or at least it has the potential.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Will more turnout when property tax reform is on the line?

The 24 percent turnout across Montgomery County on Election Day last week was abysmal at best. Several people asked me before last week’s election who they should vote for to make sure our property taxes don’t continue their ascent through our technically rented roofs. The short answer was; school board members. But I don’t really blame our school boards for the fact that our local districts own our homes and not us. Sure, they could do a better job of holding the line on expenses, but who couldn’t? When you’re given mandates and not the funds to carry them out, you’re not left with much of a choice. When you have a district full of special needs students, or you have to hire more English as Second Language teachers than other districts, you are given little choice other than to increase your spending, which, as we’re all well aware of by now, is subsidized by our tax dollars. So the answer for whom to vote in order to make sure our property taxes don’t continue their ascent through our technically rented roofs is a little easier, and they weren’t running in last week’s election. We’ll have our chance next year. For the rest of the story, click here

Monday, November 4, 2013

What day is it? Election Day

OK, so technically it's the day before, but I'm talking about Election Day in my latest rant, so I'm asking for a little poetic license here. How many of you will actually go to the polls on Election Day? How many of you will not complain about the way things are in this world if you don't go to the polls? It's really not that hard, folks. I do it twice a year. It's actually good for your psyche, so get up, get out, and...VOTE!