This is the perfect metaphor for the reach the Koch brothers have across the political process in the US; and not just at the national level. And it's an example of how, even when the need for spending is obvious, people's selfishness can be manipulated:
COLORADO SPRINGS —
This much everyone can agree on: The streets of this large city on the Rocky Mountain Front Range are a wreck. Sixty percent are in disrepair, cracked and rutted; driving on them is often a game of vehicular Minesweeper. One local TV news channel runs a segment called "Pothole Patrol."
But when this city's newly elected conservative mayor urged voters to approve an increase in the sales to pay to improve the roads, he drew fire from an unexpected source: a branch of Americans for Prosperity, a powerful conservative advocacy group backed by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch.
The group's involvement in a municipal infrastructure issue spotlights how it is seizing on local issues around the country as it works to build a permanent grass-roots army...Why should they care if potholes get fixed in Colorado Springs? I guess because all taxes are bad; because any willingness to increase taxes, no matter the need, raises the possibility that it could lead to the Koch brothers having to pay more. Or, maybe, gas taxes, which might lead to people seeking alternative fuels for their cars.
We're not heading toward plutocracy. Facilitated by the love of the largesse they spread within one political party only, we're already there.
[Image source]
To fully appreciate the impact of Koch brothers on Colorado Springs you need to listen to this:
ReplyDeleteGo to This American Life. org
Episode 459
What kind of country
Act 3 Do you want a wake up call?
This story describes the effort to slash taxes such that street lights were simply turned off. If you wanted the one in front of your house turned on that's fine. Just pay 125$.
Ala carte public utilities! Just what the founding fathers would have wanted.
I don't want to donate tax money.
ReplyDeleteI want to know what the Kochs payed to turn it all off.
Then I'd start a collection and turn off David Koch's toilet. I bet I could run all of CO. Springs with the donations I'd get.