Editor, After reading the headline in the April 16 issue of our beloved Coastal Courier newspaper, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to voice my humble opinion and exercise my First Amendment right to respond.
I’m experiencing a warm, fuzzy feeling all over and feel a tingling sensation running down my legs. Therefore, I am asking our newspaper editor to publish my response to the story by reporter Denise Etheridge regarding local bus service in Liberty County.
Here’s what I have to say. In my opinion, the city of Hinesville exists from year-to-year by levying tyrannically and exorbitantly high taxes upon its citizens, homeowners, shoppers and certain businesses. Also, Hinesville is dependent upon welfare checks — in the form of the taxpayer grants — from both the state and federal governments. This is a common practice because our elected public servants refuse to live within a budget. Our city officials are spending more than is taken in. These public servants are similar to sailors on shore leave. It’s one big, drunken spending party that we the taxpayers fund.
Talk about corruption, none other than Al Capone and company seem to be in charge of the city and county treasury. Homes are assessed higher and higher each year, and our city finds it necessary to employ local, state and federal grant writer addicts. They are addicted to power and money, and we — the working class — are being mugged.
Getting to the “meat of the matter,” Mrs. Etheridge’s article says city representatives will spend $ 1,255,952 on a bus service that will operate in the red for at least the first two years or longer. Then rider fees will be raised on riders to pay salaries, maintenance and other overhead requirements.
This will be a long, big-spending enterprise. We are using federal tax dollars to pay for this service because the city of Hinesville does not have the funds. This scenario seems to be the norm for everything our public servants purchase for themselves. Why, it’s Christmas all year long for some.
Examples of this would be the new corporate government courthouse monument and the county marina that only benefits very few wealthy folks residing within our domain. I’m amazed that the city of Hinesville hasn’t turned into an Old West-type ghost town.
Surveys of cities furnishing bus service show they typically attract and cater to certain types of riders or customers. Larger homeless populations are encouraged to locate themselves where public transportation is provided. Riders will include the homeless, those on public assistance, the unemployed, drug users, those suffering from contagious diseases, alcoholics, criminal elements of our society and those who have determined themselves to be entitled, such as our elected public servants.
Coastal Courier readers saw for themselves who the users of the Park WiFi Palace featured in our Coastal Courier were a year or so ago. Please check and see who is using it now. Oh, and the little park behind the package store at Liberty Plaza, which is another example of a disciplined and thrifty government demonstrating fiscal responsibility to its tax payers.
In closing, I will spare you from any further agony and step down from my orange crate. I will not mention any other numerous examples of financial disasters, turned a blind eye to, and brought about by these same elected public servants. If our citizen soldiers would vote, we would not have these same “tax-and-spend” liberals in office continually.
I’m experiencing a warm, fuzzy feeling all over and feel a tingling sensation running down my legs. Therefore, I am asking our newspaper editor to publish my response to the story by reporter Denise Etheridge regarding local bus service in Liberty County.
Here’s what I have to say. In my opinion, the city of Hinesville exists from year-to-year by levying tyrannically and exorbitantly high taxes upon its citizens, homeowners, shoppers and certain businesses. Also, Hinesville is dependent upon welfare checks — in the form of the taxpayer grants — from both the state and federal governments. This is a common practice because our elected public servants refuse to live within a budget. Our city officials are spending more than is taken in. These public servants are similar to sailors on shore leave. It’s one big, drunken spending party that we the taxpayers fund.
Talk about corruption, none other than Al Capone and company seem to be in charge of the city and county treasury. Homes are assessed higher and higher each year, and our city finds it necessary to employ local, state and federal grant writer addicts. They are addicted to power and money, and we — the working class — are being mugged.
Getting to the “meat of the matter,” Mrs. Etheridge’s article says city representatives will spend $ 1,255,952 on a bus service that will operate in the red for at least the first two years or longer. Then rider fees will be raised on riders to pay salaries, maintenance and other overhead requirements.
This will be a long, big-spending enterprise. We are using federal tax dollars to pay for this service because the city of Hinesville does not have the funds. This scenario seems to be the norm for everything our public servants purchase for themselves. Why, it’s Christmas all year long for some.
Examples of this would be the new corporate government courthouse monument and the county marina that only benefits very few wealthy folks residing within our domain. I’m amazed that the city of Hinesville hasn’t turned into an Old West-type ghost town.
Surveys of cities furnishing bus service show they typically attract and cater to certain types of riders or customers. Larger homeless populations are encouraged to locate themselves where public transportation is provided. Riders will include the homeless, those on public assistance, the unemployed, drug users, those suffering from contagious diseases, alcoholics, criminal elements of our society and those who have determined themselves to be entitled, such as our elected public servants.
Coastal Courier readers saw for themselves who the users of the Park WiFi Palace featured in our Coastal Courier were a year or so ago. Please check and see who is using it now. Oh, and the little park behind the package store at Liberty Plaza, which is another example of a disciplined and thrifty government demonstrating fiscal responsibility to its tax payers.
In closing, I will spare you from any further agony and step down from my orange crate. I will not mention any other numerous examples of financial disasters, turned a blind eye to, and brought about by these same elected public servants. If our citizen soldiers would vote, we would not have these same “tax-and-spend” liberals in office continually.
— John Howard
Hinesville
Hinesville