Monday, June 29, 2009

County Government Raises

Our current county government legislators clearly do not get it. If they did, they would not be raising taxes, increasing spending, raising their salaries and increasing their expenses! They would, in today's economy, vociferously, vigorously and without question announce that they are refusing a raise and looking to make cuts everywhere! But their egos and their lack of understanding of what the “right thing” is, and their lack of understanding of what the average person is going through, won't allow it. It's simply (monkey) business as usual. I'm an average guy who is constantly doing without one more thing just to get by and pay my bills. If you ran any kind of business the way these people run county government, it would be out of business quickly.

Part of the issue is the lack of checks and balances that have been removed from all of our systems of government. When we were in school, we all learned about balance, a two (or multiple) party system and the benefits thereof. We are experiencing the socialist, one-party rule at the local, county, state and federal levels by only having democrats in power. This must change. It's time to be heard!

Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in your world." I believe in this and want to see my family's and my son's future world, be a good, affordable one that treats people with courtesy and respect. We haven't had this for some time now. Vote for me for 8th District County Legislator and help me bring government back to 'We the People'.

"Fed Up and Unwilling to be Ignored. It's Time to be Heard!"


We Must Reduce the Size of County Government

I believe we can. The biggest and most challenging aspect of this goal is that it must be a bi-partisan effort. I agree with Rob Astorino, our candidate for County Legislator, that we must stop the tax madness in Westchester and New York state. But, the initial stage will require the voice of the people (read Vox Populi @ Westchester Herald (www.WHYTMedia.typepad.com) to push all the legislators to start by cutting the pork we have in government. Do we really need someone being paid to deal with movie companies making movies in Westchester? Maybe we do, but why pick on one position. We need to reevaluate all positions.

After we start trimming do-nothing, patronage and unnecessary positions, we can go after the programs that are redundant, not successful or producing a cost-effective return, outdated, and most importantly, duplicated. As we begin this trimming, we should be able to at least hold our taxes where they are. As we continue to trim, we should slowly begin to see our taxes go down. It took years for the democratically controlled legislature to get us here and it will be difficult, but not impossible to to reverse this trend.

A large portion of my district, District 8, is a low income area and the recipient of many dollars for many people. It will be difficult, but not impossible for us to address this without displacing or hurting our recipients. But government cannot continue a cradle-to-the-grave environment forever. We are now paying the price for that. Plus, there are many options from the private sector that may accomplish the same things that don't cost as much or anything.

Help me by joining my campaign. If you agree with me, great! If you don't agree, feel free to disagree, but offer me a real solution, not talking points, and I'll listen with an open mind. You can also email me at ElectTomBock@gmail.com.