1. At its core, every government program sold as a public purpose has a way to fleece the public.
For this fiscal year, after 30-years of population loss, the City of Paris (Texas) hit taxpayers with a 3.5% tax increase, the highest allowed by law without a vote. This “small, measly increase” amounted to about a 7-million, 300,000 thousand dollar budget increase, which roughly averages another $700.37 owed by each of the occupied households inside the city limits just to pay for the increase.
Total Housing Units & Occupancy: 11,854 units, 88% Occupied: 10,432.
The increase was on top of rate increases on water and sewer bills, with a percentage of those fees swiped off and added to the annual general budget, which, if transparency was required, would likely put the increase over the 3.5-percent.
2. The promotion of government programs are far better than the products. Listen to government and everything sounds as good as burial insurance:
The most pernicious of all Big Myths is that the economy and society – at least, any economy that is productive, and any society that is good – are of the results of the state or sponsoring entity. But society is not a manufactured process, however, that can be controlled and managed. It is a living entity, comprised of sentient individuals each with his or her own mind and preferences and fears and hopes.
Stupid people actually believe that socialism is greater than the American Constitution’s construct of individual freedom with equal economic opportunity because it is based on ideas greater than their narrow view of what they see only as greed and self-interest.
But history teaches that it is the collective totalitarian control of society by a nation state that leads to the enslavement and human misery of its citizens.
3. Good government can only be achieved by its citizens.
Based on the Paris Chamber’s knowledge of economic incentive programs, gained through years of community and economic development work, we believe that every citizen should be held accountable for the actions of their government. Government is their responsibility.
It’s why we have a vote.
It is in the development and implementation of policies that encourage private business investments in local families and neighborhoods, which encourage business growth and keep the economic gates open to equal economic opportunity and innovation to reward all taxpayers, are how communities and, in turn, economies are likely to achieve success.
4. The Paris leadership should remember that community growth will come from Paris being a resource for its citizens.
Instead of contributing to or building a prosperous economy for all Paris families and promoting the creation of good jobs over the last 25-30 years, Paris has actually acted to lose population, deepened the expenses of small businesses, created income inequalities for working families, encouraged blight and decay in many neighborhoods, increased the tax burden on every citizen, and it has done so by meaning to do good.
This is not good government.
But whose fault is it?
5. It is the job of a responsible citizenry to remember – and demand – that the local leadership remember how government acts under the THE BIG MYTH, which is government viewing the citizen as
- a) its servant: “do this, and don’t do that….”
- b) its resource: “I need more money, its for a [my] common good.” And
- c) “The conscious creation of everything good comes from my blessings and benevolences.”
6. The Texas Legislature meets in a regular session for 140 days every odd numbered year when 181 elected officials delight in making private citizens into common criminals.
Over 8,100 bill were introduced in the 88th Legislative Session; surpassing the 87th Session, which totaled 6,919 bills. Creating laws that control our lives increase every session, creating citizens as criminals and the criminals as isn’t . . . Soon, we’ll all be in government or criminals.
For the past 40-years, an average of over 5,000 bills were introduced in each legislative session: You can find more information on the number of bills filed in recent sessions of the Texas Legislature here.
Now, we have over a year of listening to why they need more money and more laws, why the laws we have now need changing (’cause they got it wrong the first time), and how all the rest of us are so desperately in need of their control because we don’t know – like they do – what’s good for us.
Then during the 89th Legislative Session, in 2025, they’ll listen to the ones who feel they still need more of our money or why we need controlling.
Can you imagine the national corruption in Nutland, D.C., with the 535 elected members of Congress hotly pursued by thousands of lobbyists waving million-dollar bribes to attain some goal outside the best interest of citizens? If not, you’re probably one of the 83-million plus dead and alive voters who keep us in an outside normal.
A (bonus) basic truth: The PARIS TEXAS CHAMBER brings clarity and transparency to the conversation.
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