A tale of two cities
In this prior post, I noted the fact that Manchester's Mayor Guinta wasn't sticking his hand out for Magic Obama's "free" bailout money. As reported in the NH Sunday News,
Guinta confessed he had had two conversations with U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter in which, he said, "she asked what earmarks I was interested in." But he maintained he wasn't ready to put anything in writing, saying, "I don't think it's appropriate to send a message to people that we're anticipating money. There's no legislation; there's just discussion about it."
Amen! At last, a politician willing to say "No," despite what everybody else is doing. What's popular isn't always right, and what's right isn't always popular-- it doesn't make it less right. To join along in the bailout mania, asking for funds that aren't really there, risking possible further fiscal damage down the road, while mortgaging our children's grandchildren's great grandchildren future, is the wrong thing to do. And likewise, as the Mayor properly points out, it is wrong to get people's hopes up needlessly, should the money not come. Better to tighten the fiscal house DESPITE pennies from Heaven or not...
Contrast Mayor Guinta with the leadership here in our neck of the woods here in Laconia. As reported in today's Citizen newspaper,
City leaders ticked off about $12 million in building projects and infrastructure improvements for U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, who huddled with them Monday to hear suggestions of how funds in the as-yet unwritten economic stimulus package might be spent locally.
Meeting with Shea-Porter and her aides were City Manager Eileen Cabanel, Mayor Matthew Lahey, Laconia School Superintendent Robert Champlin and Ward 4 City Councilor Brenda Baer. The session was closed to the media.
"I was glad to go to the meeting, but there were no promises made," said Baer, who explained that Shea-Porter scheduled the meeting to get an idea of what kinds of structural and infrastructure projects could be ready to go should the city get some economic stimulus money. "I'm glad [Shea-Porter] is out there listening."
Lahey and Baer are Democrats. Unlike Guinta, they have NO PROBLEM getting people's hopes up about bailout dough from Magic Obama. Being local, I'm familiar with some of what they are proposing, though I am not a taxpayer of that city. One such plan being put forth is a 4-plus million dollar fire station renovation. Knowing that city's chief's wasteful ways, I can state with a degree of certainty that this is an overblown, grandiose project that is only being called for by him and his cronies. Other than those in the paradigm, I know no "regular" citizens of that city that are clamoring for such a palace. I will be very irate if one nickel of federal money (read: MY money) finds its way into that boondoggle. Basically, they are looking for the feds to fund stuff they could never get away with foisting upon the locals.
I'm getting very bad vibes over this whole affair. Hopefully Mayor Guinta, and others like him (if there are any left), will continue to lead by example.
