Some Scenes From Monson

Tonya and I took a ride yesterday through Monson, Massachusetts, a town hit hard by the recent tornado. As I have written already, tornadoes are not something we get a lot of out this way, and certainly not with the kind of damage as these caused. We see pictures on the news, we watch specials on the Weather Channel, but until you see the devastation up close, you have no idea of the impact. 

The Storm Before The Calm

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, in the aftermath of the storms which went through the area, I had many different thoughts and maybe even an insight or two. Of course my first thoughts were to make sure Tonya and my family were safe, which they were, and then I hoped my friends on the Fire Department who I was sure were out there doing their jobs would all work safe. So in no particular order here are some of the things which have run through my mind.

What changed in fifty years

I was thinking about the “Golden Rule” today, actually more of “What ever happened to it?” When I was growing up we learned the golden rule in school, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Not only did we learn it we lived it, well most of the time anyway. So what happened since those days when I was growing up until now? What changed?

A Slow Friday

Not a tough day behind the dirty windshield today. I did one tow this morning. Seems the gentleman thought his car was overheating so he parked it on the side of the big road and hopped over the guardrail to walk to a nearby garage. I wonder if he was concerned at all when the fire trucks passed him to put the fire out. The one in his car that is. Sometimes people just make me wonder.

Everybody Talks About The Weather

As I was driving behind the dirty windshield today, I realized something. Every morning before I go to work, and then when I get to work, I flip through all the channels to watch the weather forecasts. I learned along time ago that no one can accurately predict the weather so I put all the forecasts together then use a proprietary formula to come up with what the weather will be. I am right 50% of the time, which is about the same as any one channel. But I digress.

Yes or No, that is the question

Ahhhh, fall in New England, a time of falling leaves, brisk mornings, wood smoke in the air and colorful campaign signs. Besides the usual signs for all the candidates this year, here in Massachusetts we have our yearly complement of ballot questions. This year we have three of them, one of doing away with the state income tax, one with changing the status of possession of marijuana from being a criminal offense to a civil offense and the third, the perennial question on whether or not dog racing should be banned.

Tonight I have spent some time researching the income tax question and trying to decide whether I should vote yes or no, a yes vote meaning that I want to get rid of the state income tax, a no vote meaning I want to keep the state income tax.

I have provided two links here, one for each side, if you would care to read what each side has to say on the issue.

http://www.votenoquestion1.com

http://www.smallgovernmentact.org

I am still undecided on this issue, what I am afraid of, and I was afraid of this before I even read the propaganda, is if I no longer pay income tax, will my property tax go even higher than it already is? I am not sure how much money comes from the state to run my town, but if they take the state taxes away, will I have to make it up? If I honestly believed that the state would actually eliminate all the waste currently in the government, I would vote yes in a heartbeat, but with the current administration and legislature, I don’t see that happening.

The other scary thing I see, is on the website of the “No” supporters, there is a list of supporters. I see names like “Acorn”, many unions, many citizen organizations and alliances and associations, all people who benefit from the programs and waste created by the state government. It is to all their benefit to keep the income tax to perpetuate their existence.

But then I also look at it this way, no matter how I vote and if the question actually passes, the legislature will somehow find a way to not enact the measure, as they have done in the past. See, here in Massachusetts it really doesn’t matter what the voters want, it’s all about the special interests and the legislature. Oh and don’t forget the children.