A Bad Habit that is Hard to Break

For some time our City and State governments have been practicing a bad habit. This habit has gotten pretty expensive to the average taxpayer and (hopefully) will cost some elected officials their jobs.

Oklahoma and locally Tulsa have practiced the nasty business of money mismanagement, or a more general practice, when there is a problem, throw money at it hoping it will solve the issue.

Take our state. Our legislature, with the help of many Republicans I'm ashamed to say, voted to give roughly $60,000,000 (notice the number of zeros) of tax payer (read YOUR and MY money) to a bunch of rich businessmen to relocate the Super Sonics to Oklahoma City. To add insult to injury, the team will be named the Oklahoma City Super Sonics. Check out Michael Bates and Mad Okie's blogs for more information. Why is our state in the practice of favoring one type of business over another? Let all those zeros rattle in your head the next time you drove over a pot hole marked road. BTW, how many roads can 60 odd million fix?

Our City government is guilty of the same crime. Whether it's Corporate Welfare approved in the Vision 20/25 packages a few years ago, or our leaders, unable to control or prioritize their spending, decide to raise utility rates, the result is the same. Hard working Tulsans, already tapped out by the rising cost of gas and groceries, are expected to pick up the tab by paying more taxes. I've even heard our government wants to raise taxes to fund rode maintenance. Noble gesture doing what government should be doing in the first place, but why not look for other solutions FIRST and not last?

Now the powers-that-be are at it again. On May 13th, Tulsa Community Collage is asking for a property tax increase for higher education. I've lost count how many commercials I've seen begging hard working Tulsans to fork over more of their money to fund TCC. Even News Channel 2 has gotten in on the action. A couple weeks ago they ran a story about the petition generated by TCC. Of course, not one part of the story was devoted to the opposition. For more information, check out Michael Bates blog.

I'm really sick and tired of our leaders in both parties seeing me and the rest of the taxpayers as nothing more than a piggy bank. Tulsa, and the rest of Oklahoma, you have a choice. Either settle for the status Que and pay higher taxes or send a clear unmistakable message to our elected leaders. Tell them you're sick and tired of them giving money to pay for their pet projects.

Vote NO May 13th.

Next time your elected official is up for reelection, check their voting record. If they are wasting your money on projects government has no business doing, send them packing.

Remember, it's YOUR money, not THEIRS.

Help our elected leaders break the bad habit of not spending your money correctly. It can be done.

There is Good In Our City

I've been pretty harsh on our elected leaders and for good reason. The amount of back room dealings is a disgrace. Many of our leaders have little regard for those who live outside the "special" (i.e. midtown) area. Even though my tone is harsh, I write because I have a love for this great city and know it has many wonderful qualities.

For starters, our downtown is full of historic buildings. Few towns our size have the number of large churches in such a short radius. These buildings and others in the downtown area are a living history of a bygone era, he oil boom. They also offer a glimpse into the different architecture types used in this city.

Drive towards North Denver and get a look at the Brady Mansion. Mapleridge also has many historic homes that are a sight to behold. Our city also an interesting Route 66 legacy. I am amazed at the strong family values our city has. Truly our city is a faith oriented city with a host of Godly churches.

While I could go on and on, this post is by no means exhaustive. I simply want to express how much I love this great city of ours and am proud to call Tulsa mine and my family's home. Because I know we can do berrer is why I many times will without apology express my opinions.

Tulsa is a city that belongs to EVERYONE, not just a privileged few.

Extreme (City) Makeover

I heard on the news last night KIT, my WW’s name for our mayor since she is so obsessed with our city’s image, said our city is improving and wants neighborhoods beautified and roads repaired.

I wonder what part of Tulsa KIT is looking at? Of course from the multi million dollar mansion KIT and her husband share, the city is beautiful. Maybe KIT ought to venture out to where the other half live. Maybe out to East Tulsa which has some of the worst roads and business have left there like the Children of Israel leaving Egypt. I grew up in East Tulsa and will tell you first hand, it has gone downhill since I was a kid. I don’t even know if it is safe to go out at night anymore. It wasn’t’ that way when I lived there as a child and young adult. When we would visit my father before he moved, I would remark to the wife about how much the area has changed, and not for the better. Why not travel out to North Tulsa whose residents live in an area of the city that has been abandoned by our leaders. Better yet, explain to these fellow Tulsans why she can justify spending millions of dollars on moving City Hall but can’t fully staff and finance the police to bring down our out of control crime rate. Why not venture out to South Tulsa who’s residents have had to fight a bridge battle with little support from our leaders. Or, KIT could go out to West Tulsa and explain the lack of involvement from their side of the river. (Chris Medlock did an excellent job representing that district, even surviving a recall attempt)

I heard she has a task force to investigate our failing roads. Why do I think the task force will recommend a road tax?

Any sane person wants better neighborhoods, but that will happen when the citizens can breath easy knowing police officers are there to protect them from the violent thugs that wish to do them harm. It also helps when said citizens can drive down roads knowing their cars won’t get knocked out of whack due to the lack of street repairs.

By not overtaxing its citizens, concentrating on doing the functions government was meant to do, and working with our citizens instead of against them, Tulsa can truly flourish. Oh, and BTW KIT, since image is everything to you, our city can be an example to the surrounding area as to what happens when things are done RIGHT.

No arena, new City Hall building, or river can replace that.