Buidget Cuts

The State is does not have the funds to cover the cost of running the government, so the thing to do is cut services and raise taxes. There isn’t enough money for road repair so they want to cut repair and maintain programs and add four cents a gallon to the gas tax to help pay for road work. A smart move when people can barely afford to pay for the gas they need to drive to work each day. At a time when we depend on tourists to drive up north to see the scenic wonders of our wonderful land, bringing their much needed dollars with them. Truly one of the greatest ideas our elected leaders have ever come up with.

Unemployment is the highest it’s been in years so cutting budget costs by letting people go is truly leading by example. Let’s hope our leaders keep up the good work. Perhaps instead of laying people off they could be finding ways to put people to work. A few government sponsored jobs in the State park system or cleaning the streets and parking lots in our towns could go a long way to getting those much needed dollars flowing though the economy.

Whatever the answer we need to streamline the budget, but not at the expense of the little guy at the bottom.

Wind Farm

Right now there is a major debate in the state of Michigan about putting a wind farm off the coast of Lake Michigan. The company that wants to build it is in the process of holding public hearings about it and as expected people are opinion is divided about it. The facility would consist of a large number of wind turbines placed two to three miles off shore to generate electricity.

One group says it will make jobs and the other says they won’t be local. They fell that the construction will be done by specialized companies and the plant will be run by outsiders. While there is something to said for that theory, even if outside crews do the work they still need to eat and sleep somewhere and that means local jobs. The people who would run the facility are not going to commute to work, they will most likely buy or build homes in the area and that also means jobs.

Then there is the issue of esthetics. The not in my back yarders say it will be ugly and hurt the local tourist business. They think it’s probably a good idea but it would work better further up or down the coast. They need to realize that while the locals might see this as ugly there are others who would go out of their way to see it. Those people mean money spent in the area and that local jobs.

All and all it has the potential to be both a good or bad thing for the area and the State, but like so many things when and if it is built we will find a way to live with it. Who knows people might even find it something to brag about and remember they come to see the Hover Damn don’t they?

History 101

A funny thing about history, its maintained by a handful of people and their view is the one we grow up believing is true. What we are taught is what we know, making are teachers the custodians of the truth. When the generation that has lived through events is gone, only the teachers are left to keep the true history alive.

That said we must realize that the true history of an event depends on how you view it. It is said that the winners of a war write the history of it, but if you were not the winners does that mean your version is wrong? If both histories reflect the same events seen from two points of view the answer is no. The trouble comes when events are forgotten or whitewashed to change the way one side or the other is seen by the observer.

As we grow older we have an obligation to make ourselves aware of what today’s youth are being taught. The text books of today include events we have lived through and we are the ones who know what may be omitted in an effort to edit information that will reach today’s youth.

In the end when all is said and done it is our responsibility to make sure the past is passed on to today’s youth, least we should forget some event that should live on in history.