Thursday, February 25, 2010
Politics / Woods Umbrella Boy Issues His Guiding Principles
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 9:40 AM
Mayor Haslam's 10 principles are: 1. First ask the question, should state government actually be doing this? 2. Always ask the question, is this the most efficient and effective way to do it? 3. Manage conservatively and spend less than you take in 4. Hold the reins when times are good 5. Prioritize when times are bad 6. Avoid debt 7. Keep taxes low 8. Ensure Tennessee remains a state WITHOUT an income tax 9. Ensure every initiative of state government is producing a measurable, positive outcome 10. Be a faithful steward of taxpayer dollarsOK, it took a little too long to get to No. 8. (We hope these principles aren't in order of importance.) And Nos. 9 and 10 sound pretty much the same as Nos. 1 and 2, plus there's no need for No. 4. And there's nothing about how, in following his guiding principles, he will manage not to close schools or release murderers from prison. But all in all, this tells you all you need to know about how Haslam would govern Tennessee. And don't you just love those red umbrellas?
Comments (7)
Showing 1-7 of 7
It's very simple how to avoid closing schools. Make schools a priority, and force them to run efficiently and demonstrate competence.
It's also very simple how to avoid releasing murderers. Make safety a priority. When you consider that one-third of all felons currently locked up are illegal aliens, it seems we could save a lot of money by enforcing border laws.
I know what your next question is. Joe, how can we ensure that politicians will set priorities in this way? The answer is not so simple. We currently have lawmakers who spend millions of tax dollars on parties and expensive dinners, a "stimulus" job program that costs $400,000 per job created, and a Medicare program that pays for Viagra.
Waste, fraud, and redundancy are the biggest budget problems we face. The bigger the government, the greater the potential for abuse. All I'm saying is let's ensure our government concentrates on essential services and let's work together to find capitalist, private, and non-profit solutions to all other problems.
like
dislike
The City of Knoxville has the lowest property taxes of the big four, Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis.
I would support Congressman Wamp but he will not disclose financial records on what he paid to the "family" to live at Washington C Street for 12 years. Creepy little group.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXsO6i9-4Mg
Hey Woods - have another doughnut you fat pig. How about you dedicate your sober moments to doing something remotely newsworthy, interesting, valuable...quit trying to be a local version of Matt Taibbi.
OK, in regard to the 1st Principle:
1. Should the state have a Department of Tourism and should it spend millions of dollars advertising? Can't Opryland, Graceland and Dollywood advertise themselves? Yes, Dollywood already does.
2. Does the state really need a Department of Agriculture any more? We don't have that much agriculture going on anymore and isn't that what USDA and the UT Ag Extension Service do? Not to mention the numerous other federal acronym agencies that purport to deal with farmers. And isn't the first principle of the Tennessee Farm Bureau to tax farmers less and trim down government? Lets start with the TDA!
3. What about Economic & Community Development, which is sort of like the Kremlin pre-peristroika and pre-glasnost. Don't the chambers of commerce across the state recruit new jobs? Does the state really need to do that?
These are just a start.
Exactly, Orwell. Do Haslam or any of these candidates favor doing any of that? Who knows? They won't say. But if they were for eliminating all those departments, they still wouldn't even put a dent in the state's budget problem. Which would put the lie to their "no need for new taxes" mantra. And then maybe we could have a real debate on the issues.
