I would have to agree with this gentleman, let’s STOP having government do things for us (like keeping our streets safe for travel and cleaning up after natural disasters). I would expect to get a refund for all the taxes I pay for these services then. I mean why should I pay for all these ‘services’ and get nothing in return for it? Makes sense? Right? Just look at the money we would save if we didn’t have to pay for snow removal, fire department and educating our youth! Heck, let’s get rid of the military to! That would save us trillions in taxes each year.
I don’t get people who think when government provides us a service for something we can’t do individually they think it is a ‘handout’. We pay taxes for a reason. Clean the damn streets when they are covered with snow and ice, or stop taxing me for it! Make up your mind already.
Whether you want to believe it or not, we are already a socialist democracy, this isn’t something Bernie Sanders is making up, we are already there!
What’s you’s talking about? We’s got a Bunker Ramp with “Someday” possibilities. That is the best “hand out” in a while. When that’s came into reality, I hasn’t been that happy since the time Wild Bill used diabetes as an affirmative defense.
( – and Woodstock adds: “‘Wild Bill?'”…..”I think he was a Norwegian Jew from Chicago. ” (“Oh geez, I should have never said that….”….”and what’s an affirmative defense?”….”Maybe the Bears should try it.”))
when that guy moves to sioux falls, then he can start preaching to the citizens about personal responsibility. in the mean time, he’s a mooch benefiting from the people who actually do live here and pay sioux falls taxes.
Scott – I think the guy was trying to make a point about not sanding the streets every time we get a drop of precipitation. It’s funny every year on the first day in the year we have ice/snow people forget how to drive and shocked when they run into shit. I don’t think he was trying to say don’t do anything for us but, his point was maybe we are a little too reliant on government to do things and folks just outside of SF do not have all these amenities and seem to do just fine.
CH, if that is what he was saying, I would agree, but I did not take it that way. I do agree you have a personal responsibility to NOT be a dumbass. But whether the streets are bone dry or covered in ice, people don’t drive well, and I agree with him on that. When I drove that morning I was shocked the streets had not gotten any kind of treatment. There was a 1/4 inch of ice on the road. You also have to realize the hypocrisy of the city asking for more money for winter weather the night before, then NOT doing anything about it. We all don’t drive a matte black SUV like the mayor, and we shouldn’t. This is a well funded city that should provide us Honda drivers safe roadways. This is NOT a government handout, it’s the function of government and street departments. If this would have been a situation like the ice storm, I would have understood, but this was a typical early winter event, and there was no reason why the streets should not have been salted and sanded. I was astonished, because if this would have been a REAL weather event, the city would have been shut down. Let’s face it, the city deals with a Half-Billion dollar budget, and the largest city in the state. The intersections in this town should have been safe, if not please give me a tax refund.
I must admit city services are acceptable. What I abhor is budget waste servicing bonds and fixing new entertainment development. CMR is a con. Fronting money to developers is criminal. At least 20% of the city budget should be delegated to the county. They are better at spending and budget. Their services aren’t $100 tickets to the Denty. They operate the jail and service more road miles.
Scott – I agree on the spending money wastefully on stuff and yes I would like a refund. I think in this case the ice melted by 10ish or so. It would have been a waste of money to sand because by the time we got it anywhere it would have been melted. I just wish people would first, slow down, get off their phone, leave earlier, and pay a little more attention. I too am a Honda driver and if its that icy, doesnt matter what you are driving its slick and you cannot stop on a dime. This happens EVERY year after the first winter “event” and everyone is surprised that we get snow or bad weather. I personally do a test run on my block by slamming on the brakes when no one is around to see what my car does at 10 MPH. If I skid I know I need to really watch how I drive and take my time and be on the look out for others. Once I do that and I find how bad it is, I pull over, call my wife and kids and tell them to watch out, be careful, take your time, etc. I just wish more of us in town would do 100% of their part and concentrate on just driving.
Government is NOT a “business” selling you services. Government is a mutual support organization whreby citizens aid one another.
The “government as a business” model is – FYI – a “conservative capitalist” spin perspective.
I bet the streets would have been ‘treated and sanded’ if The Snow General, Galen Huber, was still in charge.
Dustin Hansen’s inexperience was certainly showing that day!!
Lewis, what kind of tires on your Honda?
You left out the salt that eats are cars and contributes to road rash. There are products that work better than salt and don’t cause all the damage….But, we want to stay in the old way’s of doing things because we sure don’t want to progress!!