Texas
Related: About this forumHightower: By axing parks, politicos are stealing the people’s property
Sorry, were closed. In one of the saddest signs of the times, this message is popping up all across the country as governors and legislators are cutting off funds (and shutting off access) to one of the finest, most popular assets owned by the people of our country: State parks.
More than 6,600 of these jewels draw some 700 million visitors a year to their grand vistas, historic sites, wildlife, campgrounds, educational centers, and lodges. Parks are literally a tangible expression of America's democratic ideals, common ground for every man, woman, and child to enjoy and experience. For the middle class and the poor who cant jet off to luxury resorts for a getaway or vacation these spaces offer a form of real wealth, something that each of us literally owns, knitting us together as a community and nation.
Yet, too many spiritually-shriveled, small-minded, and short-sighted state officials are snuffing out this uniting social force, stupidly treating parks as nothing but a budget number or worse a piece of the nanny state to be axed in the name of ideological purity. Top politicos in most states are closing many of their parks, slashing hours and services at others, or simply handing over the publics asset to profiteering corporations: Idahos governor has proposed eliminating the entire parks department; California shut the gates of a fourth of the states parks last year; officials in Arizona and Florida intend to privatize their parks; Washington state has cut off most of its park funding; and Ohio has okayed oil drilling in its parks to replace state financing.
As Woody Guthrie said of outlaws, Somell rob you with a six gun/Some with a fountain pen. Shutting parks is theft by the in-laws, the political insiders whore stealing The Peoples property stealing from America itself.
http://www.jimhightower.com/node/7704
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Kolesar
(31,182 posts)We pay about $100/year in property taxes for the Metroparks and, believe me, they are the pride of Cleveland. Everybody loves them.
Even poor, beat down Youngstown voted for the parks levies thirty years ago when the city had 50% unemployment.