Do We Really Need All This Government Spending?

Note: The following is a letter to the editor of the Gainesville Times written by a friend of SWGAPolitics.com, Kellie Weeks of Gainesville, GA.

As politicians continue to spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need, our children’s futures are wasting away. Every time we turn around, someone from the government is telling us they “need” more money because “revenue” is down. Whether it is local, state or federal, they need to raise taxes to “provide” us with services we “need.” After all, they know what we “need” better than we do, right?

Just last summer, the city school system raised taxes to pay off about $1.5 million of a $6 million debt. At the time, they cut very little, and though it was pointed out to the board that the “tuition program” was being subsidized by taxpayers at a tune of $1.5 million a year, the board would not consider ending it.

This year when there was another shortfall, and with the millage rate close to the max, the board suddenly found millions to cut but still would not consider ending or limiting the tuition program. That is something we city taxpayers are not responsible for, since these students have district schools.

A few years ago, City Council determined that we “needed” an aquatics center without having any idea of what it would cost to run. Instead, we were told it would “only cost” us a few hundred dollars more in property taxes and we would have a venue for swim meets. I didn’t realize I “needed” that.

This was when the YMCA had a similar project with private money just up the road. Now we have two aquatic centers lacking revenue in this slow economy, but only one can force us to pay for its loss.

I don’t think the government should be in the entertainment business, but when times are good, no one cares how the money is spent. When times are bad, those bills still need to be paid. Maybe government should always spend like times are bad.

On the state level, the governor pushed his “Go Fish” program at a cost of millions to taxpayers. Now we are cutting teachers because of lack of funds. Has “Go Fish” been cut? No, because it is his pet project.

The feds are so far out of control with our “needs” that it would take thousands of pages to get started. Every one of them starts with the line “It will only cost you …” or “this will save the taxpayers money.”

We all know that’s not possible. The government is spending us into bankruptcy while we lose jobs, homes and businesses, and all along we beg them to stop. They believe we “need” all these programs when all we “need” is for the spending to stop.

Our government ignores the fact that we “need” our money to pay our own bills. Our “revenue” is down, too, but we can’t steal from someone else to make up for it, and we sure don’t spend more to solve our problem.

What is happening to America? We used to be self-sufficient and depend on one another when times were hard. Now some think government is the answer. This is wrong. We must limit government to its actual function and cut waste for our children to have any chance at a prosperous future.