Goverments are Not Big Business - Dang It.

Never let the facts get in the way of a good debate. First, we are not the richest country in the world. We simply spend more than anyone else. Go to www.usdebtclock.org to see for yourself. As I write this we are $11.8 TRILLION in debt. That is $38,445 per citizen that has been spent more than the government has already taken from us. We have $59 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities. We are not rich!
Pro-Obamacare folks use the “we already have a public option – Medicare” logic, consider this. From 1970 through 2005 (before the prescription drug benefits) the number of Medicare beneficiaries grew by a factor of 2.1. The economy grew by a factor of 12. Medicare spending grew by a factor of 47!
To put it another way, beneficiaries grew at an annual rate of 2.14% while the economy grew at a 7.4% annual rate and spending per beneficiary grew 11.6%. No matter how you look at it, the cost of our “public health option” has outpaced every category. This is why conservatives do not want another government program. Governments cannot run anything efficiently.
Look no further than “cash for clunkers” where car dealers are still waiting for their money. Or look at our own local water park. The local government officials have said numerous times they knew it would not be profitable! In fact, the deal with DISD is they would reduce the shortfall. How about the water park charge DISD for the actual use. How about the water park be required to make at least $1 in profit!

Denton's "No Tax Inccrease" Budget

When does a fee become a tax? When it is passed on to customers. In the budget the city officials say the rates for utilities will stay the same. Really? Franchise fees came about as a result of deregulation. Anytime a phone company, electric company, or cable company wanted to do business, they paid a fee. It made sense because they were using city rights of way to hook up the customers.
But what sense does it make for the city to charge itself a franchise fee? How can one department be charged by another department and all the employees be on the same payroll – ours?
If transparency is the buss word, why not simply say rates will go up. In this day of politicians and governments being intentionally dishonest, must we get this from our city? If you want to raise the amount of money the city rakes in with it’s monopoly of utilities, be man enough to say it. Do enough people in the city really think we are that stupid?
Of course, since fees are not shown on our utility bills, they may think we don’t know. Anyone who has paid a bill knows that the utility company passes along every fee, charge, surcharge, and tax to the customer.