letters

to the editor

When government takes, we all lose

To the Editor:

Reading about the county budget, can anybody show us where local government has given and not taken away first? Or are we to the point where, as long as we can get something for nothing, we don’t care that someone else has to pay?

With a budget over $26,000,000, are we getting our money’s worth? I guess that depends on what we think our freedom of self-government is worth. That’s what we are being robbed of. Isn’t that why our communities are dying? As government takes to give, we lose!

For example, they spent over $17,000 to survey the attitude and pay of county employees. Was that their money? No! And if it is not their money, what gives them the right to decide how to spend it? Is that what we are voting for? Of course, that depends on which side you are on, the producing end or the receiving end.

$26 million plus, and it keeps growing. They never have enough! How can that be? Those are our earnings we give away, and what are we getting? Again, I guess that depends. Government always takes for itself first. That’s its power. Our loss! The more we depend on government, the more they have to take.

What about independent business owners, farmers, and ranchers in our county? Do they get hourly wages or salaries? Do they get insurance benefits? Do they get paid sick leave and vacation time? No. They pay their own way. Plus, they provide a food source and goods and services that we all need. Aren’t they entitled to the fruits of their labor? If not, how do we all survive?

My point is this: Where does government ever provide benefits and services without taking? Do we need more government, or do we have too much government? Is there any dignity or virtue in providing for oneself if the alternative is a government that can only take?

Jerry Plett, Lincolnville