RE: Topless issue in Moscow, few words more

[Debbie Gray <dgray@uidaho.edu>]

Dale,

Yes, I understand senior citizens living on a fixed income. I wasn't
judging them, rather I was worried that when I went to vote for the school
levy the older generation would vote it down. That's their right BUT it
bothers me that many aren't willing to 'invest' in the education of future
generations. Regardless of Wenders' argument about frivolously throwing
money at education vs. not (and, pre-retirement, when was the last time
he, as a university professor, rejected a raise from our oh so precious
tax dollars?), I don't like the attitude that many have about 'it was good
enough for me to get an education in a one-room schoolhouse, so I'm not
voting for anything fancy that I'll have to pay for'. Since most were
educated in public schools (and please, I am not entering the public
brainwashing vs. private brainwashing debate), who do they think paid for
THEIR education??? Who is paying for their Medicare? Social Security?
(ok, bad question there). Come on, let's get beyond the ME thinking and
look at the big picture!

And I don't need a lecture about a fixed income. Most average people LIVE
on a fixed income, senior citizens don't have a patent on it. My salary
from the UofI is FIXED. And at this rate, it's going to see 'negative
growth' to put it in Enron-esque terms. My husband's county salary is
FIXED. But, to me school taxes, pool taxes, property taxes, 911 taxes,
etc. are
investments for my kids, your kids, you, me, my neighbor, etc. I don't
want my children attending school in a marginal
schoolbuilding with questionable safety, gigantic class sizes, no
extracurricular activities and teachers struggling to get by on FIXED
incomes of their own. Who here doesn't have a fixed income?

Debbie Gray

On Tue, 13 Aug 2002, Dale Courtney wrote:

> Debbie Gray wrote:
>
> > 2) Also, I'd be interested to see what the voter registration
> > in Moscow/Latah County is by age of citizen.
>
> 9.5% of Latah county residents are 65 and older.
>
> See: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/16/16057.html
>
> That doesn't equal voter registration; but voter registration doesn't
> mean that people vote, either. It's probably close (and, typically,
> seniors vote at a higher rate than others).
>
> > Just from
> > previous trips to the polls (you know, where you VOTE--for
> > those who are having to now REGISTER so they can voice their
> > opinion on this hugely important issue while ignoring all
> > previous elections and issues... but I digress) I have
> > observed it's very heavily populated with senior citizens
> > (whether as voter volunteers or just voters. I was kind of
> > worried about the last school vote because I saw so many
> > senior citizens and wrongly assumed they would be voting
> > against the bond because they didn't want to pay higher
> > taxes.
>
> Hmmm. I wonder why that would be? Let's see -- senior citizens are
> typically on a fixed budget; raising taxes means taking money out of
> their mouths. It's a classical redistribution of wealth -- but for
> seniors it's from those who don't have...
>
> Dale
>

Debbie

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  Debbie Gray      dgray@uidaho.edu      http://www.uidaho.edu/~dgray/
  We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to
  have the life that is waiting for us." --Joseph Campbell
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