Allegory on target

By Jim Killebrew

[January 02, 2015]  In Saturday's edition of The Lincoln Courier, Dan Tackett wrote of the "lack of accountability in spending taxpayers' money."  Of course he was using an allegory as a symbolic expression of a deeper meaning through the appearing of his "ghosts", to reveal a deeper political meaning.  I was somewhat amused Mr. Tackett mentioned my name in his apparitions because to carry the allegory effectively the vision must see something that is only representative of the inner thoughts of the person having them, rather than actually being reality.  That fits the bill for me since I have never been on a street corner carrying a placard, demonstrating in protest style.

Nevertheless, even in Mr. Tackett's use of psychodynamic therapy of transference he managed to highlight sentiments I basically agree with in regard to our little town of Lincoln.  It could be that politicians and the citizens of the general public sometimes think differently regarding the use of public funds.  Since our city, like all other government entities, is not a corporation producing a product in demand on the open market, it does not generate any cash for self-sufficiency and economy building, but rather is a total consumer that gobbles up as many of other people's dollars as it can through the collection of taxes.

 

Each dollar the city spends comes from someone's pocket; collectively, through the tax structure, each citizen must contribute to the city each and every dollar it spends.  Not just the local taxes, but anytime the city uses state grant money for expenditures with any project, it is from the citizens somewhere in the state, including Lincoln.  State or federal money is like city money; money that is obtained from the citizens who earn it.  That means the money spent in our fair city should be spent wisely for needed services because all the money used is coming from some sort of tax from citizens who earn it.

 

Politicians generally want some kind of physical results that can show up on the front page of the newspaper or the local media.  For local cities it is things like parks, sidewalks, beatification of the center city areas to bolster the local Chambers and the businesses that comprise the membership.  Occasional start-up businesses are generally a plus for the local politicians as well as an occasional newly paved street complete with ribbon-cutting ceremonies.  For state-wide politicians the physical accomplishments usually are on a grander scale affecting more people, and costing greater sums of money.

I may be completely wrong about what the average taxpayer wants.  Rather than spending a lot of taxpayer money to gussie up the alleyways with "streetscape" ventures, people want better roads.  People want the best police protection available.  Lincoln has that, but could always use more; more personnel, more equipment.  People want safety and security in emergency medical situations, fire incidents, and safety issues.  People are looking for priorities that look more like common sense decisions being made rather than ensuring another term for the politician.

 

People want jobs with meaningful salaries that provide some security for their families.  People want to have businesses that manufacture products, broaden the corporate tax base, and provide security for careers rather than minimum wage.  They want businesses that are meaningful for them to have and hold steady work rather than repealing those businesses that may compete with already established businesses.  In short, people want politicians who represent them to represent them in a practical way where they can see the politicians earnestly planning for the needs of the people by setting priorities that address needs more than the desires of a privileged few.

[By JIM KILLEBREW]