Boycotting and Sour Grapes
By
David G. Fago
There have been a few calls to boycott city events, and I disagree with this thought. I disagree with boycotting city functions such as Rib N Rock, and other functions. These are great opportunities for us (citizens) to get a table at these functions, and they can be used as a great tool to get our message out. A lot of times, boycotting causes a sense of sour grapes. I don't have any ill feelings toward our elected officials. In fact, I respect their positions, and I would hope that they would in turn learn to respect the people they represent. I just wish our city officials would learn to respect another's opinion even if it differs from their own.
I have some very strong feelings about a few key issues, and I am not alone. I am not a guy with a bunch of nut job ideas out in left field. Here are some things I believe in:
1) I respect most of my elected officials. I may disagree with them on some key issues. My disagreement with them does not mean I disrespect them.
2) The elected officials I have lost faith in are the ones that attack innocent citizens. I lose faith in officials that challenge to fight innocent citizens in the parking lot. I have no repsect for officials that bully people. I have a loss of respect for people who have no respect for the law. And I lose trust in elected officials that have done bad things in their past and then in turn pass judgement on us. A good example of this was Judge Alice Robie Resnick. She is a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and she was pulled over for drunk driving by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. She is a judge on the highest court in this state. For a person to make judgements on the law, she certainly should not be violating the law. I still call for her to resign to this day.
3) I believe tax dollars belong to the people. I believe people should be allowed to vote on all tax issues. I fought hard for 117 which included giving us the right to vote on the income tax credit. Don't forget...the city has not given us that right because 116 failed.
4) I believe government does not deserve to have a blank check from us. One of these days we will be completely tapped out. I believe governments need to live within a budget, and when the budget goes out of control, the people should be allowed to vote.
5) When government spending goes haywire, someone needs to be held accountable. Whether it is a mayor or finance director or auditor or council, someone should be held accountable. In our own personal lives, we know when the big bills will be due, and we prepare for them. Governments should be held responsible in a similar fashion.
6) One city councilman told me one reason we needed 117 to fail was because interest rates went down, and the city's returns on savings has suffered. Is it the people's fault interest rates have gone down? Would I allow that same excuse from some of my mutual fund managers if my mutuals funds were suffering? Hell no. It is their responsibility to make sure our investments are giving us a good return. It is the responsibility of government to make sure the city's investments are getting a good return. If the interest rates are lowering, then find another solution to get a good return on investments.
7) When cities take from Peter to pay Paul, eventually Peter needs to be repaid as well. I don't like excuses like "I was a Freshman Councilman" or "The last council put us into this predicament", or "The last administration was horrible." Those excuses are lame. You claimed to be qualified when you ran for office, now show me that you are qualified. So far...they all have a good resume, but their actions aren't living up to that resume. The people of this city are the most important asset the city has. We work here, live here, play here, and spend here. One councilman asked me if I wanted Parma to turn into East Cleveland by passing 117? Well my answer is if Parma continues to be a "tax unfriendly" city, then it will turn into East Cleveland all on its own. East Cleveland's financial woes did not occur overnight...it was decades of apathetic voters, corrupt elected officials, and piss-poor financial responsibility. It has nothing to do with how much tax dollars were coming into the coffers. People already are choosing other cities so as not to fight with Parma's income tax structure. People are moving because of this tax structure, and by arbitrarily raising taxes every chance we get, we will eventually drive businesses away. These aren't things that will happen tomorrow...but the future shows that it will happen. Not now, but 10 or 15 years from now the city will have issues.
9) When our electred officials blame their predessors, or previous council, or blame a bad batch of kool-aid, we must not let them get away with that excuse. Those excuses will no longer fly with me, nor should they with the rest of us. In fact...I don't want excuses any more, I want action. So don't boycott events...volunteer to work a table at those events. Meet people, talk to people, and get the word out. Volunteer with citizen run groups, and talk to your neighbors. If we continue to have apathy, the city will continue to spend money on hiring friends, and giving out big contracts to corporate sponsors. It still bothers me immensely that First Energy gave $5000 to the Citizens for Fair Taxation. What are they expecting in return? Or worse yet, what were they "promised" in return? That should scare the hell out of all of us. Only 3.5% of the donations to that group were from Parma residents, the other 96.5% were from political organizations, politicians, businesses, and out of town people. The politicians themselves did not even donate under their name for the most part. They were all donations from "The friends of Joe Fabeetz", or the "Elect Joe Fabeetz to Council" committee.
All in all, the people of this city control our own destinies. Get out and vote, and get out and run for office. If you feel you are not qualified, have a look at the elected officials that currently represent you...you are no less qualified then they are. And by the way...being an attorney does not qualify someone for office...I want someone who knows who the real boss is...the people.
See you at the next event!!
More to come...
By
David G. Fago
There have been a few calls to boycott city events, and I disagree with this thought. I disagree with boycotting city functions such as Rib N Rock, and other functions. These are great opportunities for us (citizens) to get a table at these functions, and they can be used as a great tool to get our message out. A lot of times, boycotting causes a sense of sour grapes. I don't have any ill feelings toward our elected officials. In fact, I respect their positions, and I would hope that they would in turn learn to respect the people they represent. I just wish our city officials would learn to respect another's opinion even if it differs from their own.
I have some very strong feelings about a few key issues, and I am not alone. I am not a guy with a bunch of nut job ideas out in left field. Here are some things I believe in:
1) I respect most of my elected officials. I may disagree with them on some key issues. My disagreement with them does not mean I disrespect them.
2) The elected officials I have lost faith in are the ones that attack innocent citizens. I lose faith in officials that challenge to fight innocent citizens in the parking lot. I have no repsect for officials that bully people. I have a loss of respect for people who have no respect for the law. And I lose trust in elected officials that have done bad things in their past and then in turn pass judgement on us. A good example of this was Judge Alice Robie Resnick. She is a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and she was pulled over for drunk driving by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. She is a judge on the highest court in this state. For a person to make judgements on the law, she certainly should not be violating the law. I still call for her to resign to this day.
3) I believe tax dollars belong to the people. I believe people should be allowed to vote on all tax issues. I fought hard for 117 which included giving us the right to vote on the income tax credit. Don't forget...the city has not given us that right because 116 failed.
4) I believe government does not deserve to have a blank check from us. One of these days we will be completely tapped out. I believe governments need to live within a budget, and when the budget goes out of control, the people should be allowed to vote.
5) When government spending goes haywire, someone needs to be held accountable. Whether it is a mayor or finance director or auditor or council, someone should be held accountable. In our own personal lives, we know when the big bills will be due, and we prepare for them. Governments should be held responsible in a similar fashion.
6) One city councilman told me one reason we needed 117 to fail was because interest rates went down, and the city's returns on savings has suffered. Is it the people's fault interest rates have gone down? Would I allow that same excuse from some of my mutual fund managers if my mutuals funds were suffering? Hell no. It is their responsibility to make sure our investments are giving us a good return. It is the responsibility of government to make sure the city's investments are getting a good return. If the interest rates are lowering, then find another solution to get a good return on investments.
7) When cities take from Peter to pay Paul, eventually Peter needs to be repaid as well. I don't like excuses like "I was a Freshman Councilman" or "The last council put us into this predicament", or "The last administration was horrible." Those excuses are lame. You claimed to be qualified when you ran for office, now show me that you are qualified. So far...they all have a good resume, but their actions aren't living up to that resume. The people of this city are the most important asset the city has. We work here, live here, play here, and spend here. One councilman asked me if I wanted Parma to turn into East Cleveland by passing 117? Well my answer is if Parma continues to be a "tax unfriendly" city, then it will turn into East Cleveland all on its own. East Cleveland's financial woes did not occur overnight...it was decades of apathetic voters, corrupt elected officials, and piss-poor financial responsibility. It has nothing to do with how much tax dollars were coming into the coffers. People already are choosing other cities so as not to fight with Parma's income tax structure. People are moving because of this tax structure, and by arbitrarily raising taxes every chance we get, we will eventually drive businesses away. These aren't things that will happen tomorrow...but the future shows that it will happen. Not now, but 10 or 15 years from now the city will have issues.
9) When our electred officials blame their predessors, or previous council, or blame a bad batch of kool-aid, we must not let them get away with that excuse. Those excuses will no longer fly with me, nor should they with the rest of us. In fact...I don't want excuses any more, I want action. So don't boycott events...volunteer to work a table at those events. Meet people, talk to people, and get the word out. Volunteer with citizen run groups, and talk to your neighbors. If we continue to have apathy, the city will continue to spend money on hiring friends, and giving out big contracts to corporate sponsors. It still bothers me immensely that First Energy gave $5000 to the Citizens for Fair Taxation. What are they expecting in return? Or worse yet, what were they "promised" in return? That should scare the hell out of all of us. Only 3.5% of the donations to that group were from Parma residents, the other 96.5% were from political organizations, politicians, businesses, and out of town people. The politicians themselves did not even donate under their name for the most part. They were all donations from "The friends of Joe Fabeetz", or the "Elect Joe Fabeetz to Council" committee.
All in all, the people of this city control our own destinies. Get out and vote, and get out and run for office. If you feel you are not qualified, have a look at the elected officials that currently represent you...you are no less qualified then they are. And by the way...being an attorney does not qualify someone for office...I want someone who knows who the real boss is...the people.
See you at the next event!!
More to come...
posted by David Fago at 12:18 PM
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