Let's Make Them Continue to Pay for Poison!

Talk about arrogance and a lack of responsiveness to the citizens it's supposed to serve!  You no doubt have heard that Flint residents were (and maybe still are?) billed for the nasty water they were given.  If it wasn't so pathetic, it would be hilarious.  "Here.  Pay for the poison we've been serving you!"

I keep hearing from the politicians and their lackeys in the LameStream media how the economy has bounced back.  Maybe it is.  Maybe because gasoline is so low in price people believe it.  I don't.  First, government has been built on a foundation of lies and deceit for a long time.  Second, other than gas, are any other prices lowering?  Check strawberries?  milk?  eggs?  meat?  Third, a major dept store chain just announced layoffs numbering in the thousands and the other day Sprint did the same.  No doubt some folks, many folks, are doing better.  But my guess is we aren't hearing about those who aren't doing so well--working fewer hours, if back at work at all, and for less pay.  Toss in those who might be treading water as far as pay goes, but are paying more in taxes (and I include the ObamaCare increases in health insurance premiums as taxes).  Does anybody really believe the gov'ts statistics on employment/unemployment, with its manipulation of the figures?

I remember, coming home from Amherst one summer, having a discussion with one of my high school teachers.  It was a civil, although contentious, talk.  It had to do with government, specifically trust in government.  I had written, from Massachusetts, an op-ed that was published in the local newspaper.  It was critical of our role in Vietnam.  My teacher had read it and wanted to talk to me about it.  He insisted that the government, that is, the President, (and I have forgotten if it was with Johnson or Nixon, but it applies to both) knew more than we did and we should trust it/him because it/he knew more.  I guessed that he never ever thought that our government leaders would lie to us, brazenly lie to us--as both Johnson, Nixon, their Cabinet members, and our military leaders did again and again.  I think that is the attraction of Trump.  People, at least a growing number of them, don't trust our government and its leaders.  They sense the deceit, deception, and lying.  They are frustrated, angry, and fed up.  Again, I don't think it's trump, not at all.  History repeating itself?

Some interesting letters and op-eds in the newspaper yesterday, unusual for a Monday.  One, rightly, criticized the state lawmakers and governor, as well as the Detroit News, for calling for the heads of the teachers in Detroit who staged the sick-outs.  Oh, the governor and legislators are so concerned for the education of the kids in Detroit--but they weren't so concerned, before the sick-outs, with mice and rats, with black mold, with floors and ceiling falling apart, with assaults happening daily, etc.  Nope, those things have no negative impact on learning.  Shall we toss in the emergency managers who drove up the schools' deficit to record levels?  Selective concern or outrage once again.

Another letter-writer said he was so proud of Obama and the auto bailouts.  First, the bailouts began under W Bush--and I opposed them then.  Second, once again it shows how easy it is to spend other people's money.  That is, W Bush and Obama had no trouble giving our money to the auto companies and their unions.  Third, the letter writer noted how profitable the auto companies now are.  But I don't recall that they paid off the entire loan/bailout.  In fact, don't they still owe about $16 billion?  Yep, I'm so proud, too.

A third noted that maybe an emergency manager should be appointed to run the state gov't, that is, because Snyder is so fond of them.  He and the state gov't have shown a great deal of ineptness--the roads, the schools, the Flint crisis, Detroit schools, and the list grows.  Maybe this emergency manager could employ "best practices?"