The Observation Deck

[quote="Paul Porter"]I'm young. I just turned 30. I vote. I care about local issues.

I'm a family man, and I love things like our great parks, library (part of the taxes that some posters complain about), the new schools being built (more complaints about taxes from some posters), and wonderful local businesses (including restaurants and bars, which some posters rail about).
/quote]


Paul

You do understand Taxation without representation? Right?

The Library and the Schools were voted on and overwhelmingly approved by the voters.

Front yard garbage, and losing the hospital is taxation without representation.

So are you for taking $53,000,000 dollars in public funds and giving it to a private non-profit group that never has to answer to the people they got the money from?

Just curious.


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Jim O'Bryan wrote:[
You do understand Taxation without representation? Right?
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Not sure who Paul Porter is, but I will take a stab at this.

Taxation without representation is when people believe they are not directly represented by a political body that passes laws affecting their rights as citizens. For example, the American colonists in the 1700's and the residents of Washington, D.C. today both felt they were being taxed without representation.

What does this have to do with Lakewood? Whether or not the hospital is a good deal, bad deal, or somewhere in-between, we are definitely represented. Do we all like our representatives? I would say not. But to suggest we have taxation without representation is, in my opinion, incorrect. You can hate HOW they are representing us, but we are being represented.

Jim - I echo Matt's sentiments. Ours is a representative democracy, wherein we elect leaders to govern on our behalf.

Duly elected executive and legislative officers are charged with managing our fair city. I'm perfectly fine with them making managerial decisions in the course of that governing.

by Paul Porter » Fri Nov 06, 2015 6:12 pm

Jim - I echo Matt's sentiments. Ours is a representative democracy, wherein we elect leaders to govern on our behalf.

Duly elected executive and legislative officers are charged with managing our fair city. I'm perfectly fine with them making managerial decisions in the course of that governing.

Our City Charter has provisions for the citizens to question those managerial decisions. So does Ohio & the USA. A lovely balance of power.

My 2 favorite quotes on this subject:

“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”

― Benjamin Franklin


For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery.

Jonathan Swift quotes

pam

Paul Porter wrote:Jim - I echo Matt's sentiments. Ours is a representative democracy, wherein we elect leaders to govern on our behalf.

Duly elected executive and legislative officers are charged with managing our fair city. I'm perfectly fine with them making managerial decisions in the course of that governing.

Paul

I am a total fan of the representative form of government. I get it. I am often quoted as saying elected officials do not work for us, but public employees do.

But you mentioned schools and libraries. I was merely pointing out that Lakewoodites chose to raise taxes. They were told exactly what it would cost, and went to the vote of the people and was approved overwhelmingly. That was far different from our taxes going through the roof from things we did not vote on.

While I'm a fan of representative government, I am not a fan of taxation without representation.

I am certainly not a fan of actions that will raise our taxes, and hate the idea of moving $50 million from public access to private only access.

Did not want to confuse the other thread, so pulled this out.

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