Submitted by Pat Thibodeaux:

Tis the Season! Tis the season for “gifts” from the Gold Dome! Counties have sent in their lists, the “officials” have checked to see which Senators or Representatives have been naughty and which have been nice, (and which ones might need a little help in the upcoming primary) and the sleighs have been loaded with dollars for this road and loans for that project and promises to do other good works. Over the coming months we will be seeing the bags loaded with goodies being handed out by those we elected to represent us.

Actually, it’s more like Trick or Treat on the heels of the largest tax increase in the history of the State of Georgia.  When the gravy train comes to town, we taxpayers would do well to remember that it is OUR money which they are graciously returning to us, less a little processing and handling fee. We might also want to ask ourselves how much more we could do if we were permitted to keep our taxes in our own communities. Maybe we could decide which projects were important to us (parking in downtown Blue Ridge for example). Are we smart enough to decide what we need, or must we rely on the experts in Atlanta to tell us? Must we ask over and over for years and then be ever so grateful when they deign to grant our request? How much more could we do if we were allowed to keep the tax money we pay in our own county without deducting the costs of a huge Atlanta bureaucracy?

Will a couple of paving jobs make up for the largest tax increase ever? This is not the largesse of benevolent rulers. It’s OUR money. We are intelligent enough to decide how to use it in our own communities, thank you very much. Remember this when the “gifts” are distributed.

Pat Thibodeaux

Morganton