Get in line Woman!
l3wis 
December 2014
Assbackwards road funding ideas
I was watching State Senator Mike Vehle talk about road funding ideas on 100 Eyes yesterday and just about spit out my coffee. One of the ideas is to PUNISH hybrid and electric car users. Mike suggested that Electric car users should pay an additional $80 registration fee, and Hybrid an additional $40, because they don’t use as much gas or no gas at all. Ludicrous. Most of those vehicles are very light, and do little damage to the roads, my Hybrid weighs under 1,500 lbs. (and the way I drive it, I doubt it touches the road much at all). Basically, what Mike is saying is that we should start charging people who ride bikes on the roads, because hey, they are using the roads and not contributing a gas tax.
You have to realize, we also fund road maintenance through sales taxes to, something us hippy Hybrid drivers and bicyclists also pay.
He also suggested that in the future we use a satellite monitoring system to track mileage. Really?! That is one of the most jackass ideas I have heard so far.
Let’s face it, the solutions are simple, and Mr. Content Strategist Lalley brought one of them up.
“Why not just lift all the exemptions that exist?”
Exactly!
For instance, farmers not having to pay registration on monster tractors and trailers that tear the crap out of the roads. START CHARGING THEM! Farming is a business, just like a contractor, and if they have to register their vehicles, farmers should to.
There are also other fair and equitable ways;
– Raise the gas tax.
– Charge registration based on weight and usage of vehicle. The heavier the vehicle, the more you pay.
– Tax vehicles the same rate as food and utilities. This idea is way past due.
– Have dealerships charge taxes at the time of purchase and give you license plates, why are we using county resources for this? Grocery stores collect taxes for the state, why can’t car dealerships? (This was a suggestion by commissioner Jeff Barth)
Once again the brain trust we call our state legislature wants to punish the poor and wise instead of the people who are actually damaging our roads the most. And we keep re-electing these fools.
Surprise! Surprise!
In an amazing revelation (not really) the Sioux Falls School Board is going to keep the search for the Super – Super, Super secret;
Residents won’t know who will replace outgoing Sioux Falls School District Superintendent Pam Homan until this spring, when officials announce the new hire.
Of course, this is no surprise, this city and state lack transparency on all levels. Heck, the School District can’t even tell us the suggested names for new schools. It is really sad that a public education organization that takes our property taxes to fund them has to be so ultra secretive. It is a BAD example to the students. They are saying it is OKAY to make important decisions for taxpayers behind closed doors.
Shame on the Sioux Falls School Board.
Board member Doug Morrison said he would prefer to respect the privacy of the candidates who are applying for the position.
“I don’t know if there’s any advantage for us to release the names,” Morrison said.
C’mon Doug, this is a VERY PUBLIC job, I think the applicants know that. If they are unwilling to give their name to the public before getting hired, then they shouldn’t be applying in my opinion.
Keeping interviews closed to the very end could potentially increase the pool of applicants, Thoelke said.
“That really jeopardizes a guy’s job when he goes back home,” Thoelke said. “I would hope the public would be more interested in getting quality candidates than being involved in the final three.”
We are interested in QUALITY candidates, and that starts with letting the public also vet the candidates. Besides, if they are looking for a different job, they should be honest with their current employer and let them know they are applying for another job. Like I said above, this is a PUBLIC job, not private sector. The selection process should be PUBLIC!