Opinion: Government is failing the people
To the community,
I was taught that citizens can be governed by one, or by the few, or by many. A monarchy, an aristocracy, or a democracy. When the forms are legitimate, the governor acknowledges that they have a social contract with the governed. That they will not be capricious or arbitrary. That there is a moral base to politics.
All forms are subject to becoming corrupt. When corrupt, the one becomes a tyrant. The few become an oligarchy. The many become a mob. When corrupt the government loses its legitimacy and governs de facto, by illegitimate force.
Bill Crawford
In our community, we have a mix of the three forms. It is reasonable to compare the city manager to a monarch. He is contracted to execute the law legitimately. But is appears that he in reorganizing city government has been capricious and arbitrary in firing and hiring and re-assignments. Morally he has lost legitimacy. He has breached the social contract with city employees and citizens.
In the Tahoe basin, the TRPA can be compared to government by the few, a select group that is corrupt because they have not made the rules and law clear. Thus, they are capricious and arbitrary. Things are in a muddle. And it seems the TRPA plays favorites. Fairness is a lost cause. The law is what the TRPA says it is on a daily basis; whatever the whim of the day is is the law.
In the city, we have a City Council that in supposition represents the democracy, the people. But the council is the pawn of the city manager. There is no check, there is no balance on the executive by the council. Thus, there is not even the shadow of a democracy.
When all is said and done, the form of government doesn’t matter as long as the social contract is alive and well in good hands.
Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe
Well put Bill.
The State of CA has become a political and economic basket case.
Run by and for the ruling government class.
In the past few yrs SLT has become a pit hole of government employees and retirees.
The people buying up a large portion of the distressed property are government union employees.
Over paid – under worked – poorly educated – loser town.
Place looks like garbage because it’s full of it.
Mr.Crawford, I agree with you wholeheartedly.I believe in an honest, representative government. Thats not whats happening locally, statewide or nationaly.
The benefit for the few at the top is the new rule. Why are we turning over public properties that were built with my tax dollars over to privately owned companys? Is this what the elected officials were voted into office for? Selling off our town and firing it’s employees?
Sure there’s a budget crisis, but how about a little transparency? Make the city budget public, and no I don’t mean in some little obscure office in the airport. Put the budget on line and in the newspapers . Let the public see where the money goes…What comes in and what goes out. Let the citizens of this town see whats going on. Who knows, some of us might even have a few ideas.
Save city jobs! Our police dept., our fire departements, our public buildings, the golf course, beaches and parks.I want city employees driving city owned plows on my city street, not a private contrator with shoddy equipment and underpaid employees who are unfamliar with the area.
Don’t let our city manager sell eveything off before he jets back to Vail after he resigns while the city council justs shrugs and says “Oh well, things happen”.
Hope to see you at the next city council meetings.Be there or be square!
A number of months ago SLT was ‘officially’ deemed a Sleepy Little Town, in that its’ entrepreneurial namesakes are all gone, along with the proper spirit for any further economic vitality, of benefit to any substantiation of a certain quality of life
If being a City only means “fiscal sustainability” as Mr. O’Rourke designated with his so-called ‘strategic vision’, how does being a community fit in with that – if only the management level, a decrepit City Council, and the same-old, same-old ‘powers that be’ are left standing ?
And handed City assets for nothing ?
The failure that Mr. Crawford mentions is now endemic in this country, while doing less & less for its’ citizens. . .
One party starts programs that don’t work, while the other wants any proceeds to benefit those who don’t need it, or who need to be propped up “fiscally”. . . to be salvaged from their own (or their own immediate predecessors’) mismanagement.
Where’s the incentive, a future, or vision in any of that ?
It is now the ones at the top who have lost the fundamental meaning of our society – which leaves nothing for others to rely upon, except the never-ending demands for more – for what, exactly ?
With Cole and Retread Davis of the SLT machine nothing will change.
Then look at the county retreads of the same machine, next up no doubt Upton.
Yes it failed,Got my property tax yesterday.Us be a couple things on it,now they raised our taxes just to pay for all the extra Ink cartridges.
When you mix all these agencies all together it becomes a cesspool of disturbing odor,For god sakes please stay out the water.