JULY 4, 2012
Cave Creek policies • Obamacare
The Cave Creek council has changed over the years. It used to be that budget time was greeted with hordes of non-profits seeking town donations. There was council discussion about whom if anyone would get a slice of tax payers’ money. These council meetings were grueling with passionate supporters of charities arguing for their worth, sometimes even disparaging those competing for dollars.
One time it became alright to fund those entities which were considered “town functions” like the library, museum and animal rescue.
When Ralph Mozilo was on council, his take charge personality dominated the council. When the debate raged for who got the town’s taxpayers’ money, Ralph said, “It is not our job to recycle tax payers’ money to charity, and this is a personal issue. Now I believe if you want to support charities, write a check.” Then Mozilo pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check to Animal Rescue. He then challenged the rest of the council to do likewise but they demurred.
Times change. Mozilo, whose wife is a director of the museum, is pressuring the town to give them an annual stipend. The issue of contributions is again on the table and I hope the council has the moral fiber to resist recycling tax payers’ money for any purpose.
There has been a name change of the Cave Creek Chamber to Cave Creek Merchants and Events Association (CCMEA) and I wish them well.
I was very involved with the Black Mountain Merchant’s Association, which morphed into the Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce at the town’s request, for about 15 years. Each year for most of that time the town offered $25,000 to the chamber. I always voted against accepting the money but was always voted down by the majority.
Back in those days we put on several shows to raise money and they were fun. One was the bachelor and bachelorette auction and the other was the gong show. We usually made enough from those shows to fund the fireworks and everyone in town had fun participating. Harold’s Dina Piaquadio did a great job of assembling the shows with lots of help from volunteers and board members.
The issue of funding the chamber, museum and library may be brought to a vote by council during the July 15 meeting. In the budget process council set aside $20,000 for the library and museum. I hope the council has the testicular fortitude to vote NO.
Then the CCMEA had a suggestion that will turn the stomachs of taxpayers. The suggestion was to add $10 to the current $50 business license fee now and $25 dollars next year with the increases going to the chamber.
Remember the license fee was supposedly to capture out of town contractors that were skipping taxes. Just like the town’s attempt to use property tax for fire coverage, this fee gives no opt out, so once again the local government is trying to pick the pockets of businesses whether they want to support the chamber or not. Sound like Obamacare?
The fact is the town should not be recycling tax dollars. What they should do is lower water rates significantly, drop sales tax by at least one percent and return to a five day work week rather than four ten hour days.
Think about how hard many of us worked to get a Walmart store here. Walmart currently has competitors, like Fry’s, that have one percent less tax to pay. When you consider grocery stores have a profit margin of only two percent you can see why Walmart is hobbled by Cave Creek’s tax structure and so are other merchants.
Obamacare
I expected to wake up to good news about the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare. I was stunned to hear the Supremes ruled in favor of this obscene legislation.
I have read about it online, watched Fox News and listened to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. The consensus seems to be that Congress has the authority to raise taxes and the court viewed the mandate as a tax. I doubt it is that simple and the arguments will rage all the way to the election.
One thing is clear: Obama must be defeated and Republicans must take over the Senate and retain a majority in the House of Representatives.
This disgusting SCOTUS opinion follows another mixed opinion about SB 1070. The fact that the actions of law enforcement were supported caused Obama to flip out and say ICE would not cooperate with local law enforcement. That is the act of a dictator not a president of this country.
I got an e-mail from a friend who said two FBI agents were eating at a Carefree restaurant. They were asked why they were here and they replied they were here to protect Hispanics from profiling or something to that effect. Doesn’t that scare the hell out of you? Those of you who go ballistic when Obama is compared to Adolph Hitler might want to reconsider their anger.