Recently, due to a revenue shortage, The City of Houston made substantial budget cuts to the police and fire departments, while continuing to fund policies of redistribution and social planning. Below is a copy of the letter I sent to the mayor and city council. If you live in the city, I urge you to let them how you feel also. If you have no problem with these moves, well...enjoy your serfdom.
Dear Mayor Parker and Houston City Counsel Members,
In light of the recent news that use of HPD helicopters has been reduced by 75%, I had some questions regarding some of the other decisions that you have made with regard to the allocation of City funds. It appears to me that you have chosen to sacrifice public safety in order to advance a social and political agenda. How do you justify the cuts to the police and fire departments, while continuing to allocate the taxpayer’s money for social engineering projects? For example:
- Parks and Recreation $ 60 million-The proposed 2012 budget includes line item expenditures such as: Recreation and Wellness $ 4.5 million, Greenspace Management $ 17 million, and Community Centers $ 7.8 million.
- Planning and Development $ 7.2 million- This entire department seems to be a waste of money, in particular, $ 1.9 million for “Community Sustainability”. The City of Houston was founded in 1836 and I see no evidence that we’re in danger of disappearing.
- Office of Business Opportunity $ 2 million-The stated goal of this department is “To provide training and ensure equal access to minority owned businesses.” In other words, taxpayer subsidized discrimination against businesses owned by white men.
- Health and Human Services $ 39.5 million- Redistribution of wealth; taking money from all taxpayers in order to provide free services to a few. The stated goals include: “Educate, promote, and encourage healthy behaviors”, “Improve access to health information” (Ever hear of the internet?), and “Improve environmental outcomes in the city”
There are very few things that the citizens of Houston need from our city government. Public safety and the enforcement of our laws are the most important of those few. You should be cutting the budgets of these other department, or eliminating them entirely, in order to provide more funding to the police and fire departments. The parks dept. budget is absurd. What good are public parks, swimming pools, and community centers if police don’t have the necessary resources to keep the crack dealers and child molesters out of them? It’s not city government’s job to provide health education, family planning, or free health care. As far as “community planning” and “sustainable development”, it’s nothing but a load of leftist crap. It does nothing, other than provide employment for useless bureaucrats and increase the costs of development and construction; costs that are passed on to the taxpayers. Everything mentioned here amounts to a socialist redistribution of wealth. You’re taking money from me and my neighbors to provide free services to people that you believe are disadvantaged.
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”
Karl Marx
Like all other socialist do-gooders, you ignore the consequences of your Utopian policies. The citizens most likely to suffer from an increase in crime are those in low income/high crime neighborhoods; the same people you say you’re trying to help. There is a very logical reason why we don’t have enough revenue to fund government; it’s because we have way too much government. If we see an increase in crime as a result of these budget decisions, it will rest squarely on your shoulders. You had other choices.
“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
Thomas Jefferson
PS: As you attempt to turn our city into the southwest version of San Francisco, you might take note of the mass exodus of businesses from the State of California.
Sincerely,
Glenn Whitehead
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