Oxford Township’s certainly hit the jackpot lately in terms of receiving federal stimulus funds.
First, we were approved to receive up to $1.5 million for the paving of the gravel stretch of Ray Road between the Meijer and N. Oxford Road.
Then, we got $447,968 to install a safety path on the north side of W. Drahner Rd. between Pontiac Road and M-24.
At first glance, all this is appears to be good news because the influx of money is allowing the township to improve its infrastructure.
Paved roads are a good thing.
Safety paths are a good thing.
But we should all remember where the money’s coming from ? the federal government, a.k.a. the enemy of individual liberty, states? rights and common sense.
Granted, the realist in me ? the practical side that knows I can’t change the system overnight ? is somewhat glad to see this money flowing into Oxford because it was our money before the Feds picked our pockets.
It’s not, as some dim people believe, ‘free money? from benevolent ol? Uncle Sam, who’s coming to the rescue.
Repeat after me, ‘It’s not free money, it’s our tax money. It’s not free money, it’s our tax money. It’s not free money, it’s our tax money.?
If the government feels compelled to spend this money somewhere, I guess I’d rather see it used for something useful and beneficial right here in my town as opposed to being wasted by those mental midgets in Washington D.C.
Did anyone else read the Associated Press story last week about how the federal government threw away $2.5 billion over 10 years trying to find herbal and alternative health remedies that work?
Surprise, surprise, these studies found almost none of these modern day snake oils actually cure anything.
Just so they don’t flush anymore money down the toilet by studying things that are complete bunk, I’m going to let the Feds in on something I recently discovered.
That ‘ancient Chinese secret? used to get clothes so clean was really Calgon water softener. Shhhh . . .
Being a principled anti-Statist, it infuriates me that we’re forced to send so much money to the Feds and in return, get a fraction of it back minus the huge chunk that’s confiscated to keep the bureaucracy running and pork projects funded.
Basically, all these federal grants and stimulus monies our local governments apply for amount to us begging like street urchins for table scraps at the elaborate banquet ‘We the People? supply all the food for every April 15.
It just doesn’t make any sense to send our money all the way to Washington D.C. so we can pave a road and build a safety path here in Oxford.
If we all paid a lot less in federal taxes, we’d probably be more willing to fund local projects on our own.
If we all paid a lot less in federal taxes, we’d all definitely have more money to spend on ourselves and our families, thus helping stimulate the economy.
Despite what the Obama-lovers would have us believe, I highly doubt Oxford’s road paving and safety path projects will help create any new jobs or even save existing ones.
Why? Because the $787-billion economic stimulus plan is failing quite miserably across the board.
A White House report from January promised the federal spending binge would keep unemployment under 8 percent.
Instead, it’s grown to 9.4 percent nationwide.
New Labor Department statistics released last week placed unemployment at a 26-year-high, with 14.5 million workers now jobless.
The man people elected to bring ‘change? to Washington D.C. is simply recycling Keynesian economics and calling it his own.
Based on the ideas of 20th century British economist John Maynard Keynes, this discredited school of economic thought holds that government investment in infrastructure is the best way to stimulate a depressed economy.
It didn’t work when Franklin the Dictator’s New Deal worsened and prolonged the Great Depression.
It won’t work now. What will work?
‘The best way to create the jobs Americans need is to cut taxes for families and employers, cut or eliminate taxes on savings and investments, and begin to repeal the twisted jungle of federal regulations that employers had to spend $1.17 trillion to comply with in 2008,? said William Redpath, chairman of the Libertarian National Committee.
So, while it’s nice to see local roads get paved to give our cars smoother rides and safety paths get built to give pedestrians a place to use their feet, we must remember a few things:
1) First and foremost, this is the money we worked and sweated for. It’s not a gift from Big Daddy Obama.
2) We send way too much of our money to Washington D.C. and receive very little in return.
3) This is not helping the economy one bit.
4) All this stimulus money does is make citizens and local governments more dependent on and more subservient to the federal government. We are definitely on the Road to Serfdom with no signs of slowing down.
The cost of accepting these Obama bucks is too high.