A Curious Commissioner

February 21, 2010

I have questions...

Why is it that we hear people whining about "too much government", yet when the snow falls they expect "government" to immediately solve their problem? It is ridiculous that some Pittsburghers want to blame Mayor Ravenstahl solely for the snow covered streets. First of all the city is broke, so just how much money can it spend to have enough trucks and workers available to immediately clean everyone's streets? The people complaining are the same who'd complain about spending too much on equipment and personnel -- especially when these assets would be idle all the time when we weren't experiencing record snowfall.

Why do the media feel compelled to assess "blame" for every issue, including historic snowfalls? I saw one report on a Pittsburgh television station where the reporter was trying to capture some snowbound residents’ anger, yet these residents were pleasant and philosophical about their situation. The reporter was befuddled that people were not as indignant as him.

Does Senator Kim Ward represent municipalities that have their own police forces? This one I can answer -- yes, though you wouldn't know it by her actions. All we ever read about are her attempts to help people in townships that might have to begin paying for state police protection. How about helping those in the rest of your district? You know, those who pay for municipal police through local taxes and then have their state taxes subsidize police coverage for municipalities that do not have their own police. Having a local police force is a costly service for municipal taxpayers. They should not be forgotten, especially since they help share the burden for the state police too.

Is it possible to fill the void created by the passing of legendary Congressman Jack Murtha? Someone will take his place, but no one can fill the void he left. Not only his constituents, but all Pennsylvanians, will miss the tremendous assistance he provided our Commonwealth. No offense to the other members of the state's delegation, but Congressman Murtha's seniority and stature allowed him to help people beyond the borders of his district. We in Westmoreland County government will really miss him because he helped us in so many ways.

Will there even be a 12th Congressional District after 2012? That will depend on who wins the seat for the next two-year term. If a Democrat wins the district could disappear, and that Democrat be forced to run against another of the region's Democratic members of Congress. If a Republican wins, they could be protected along with the regions other Republican members of Congress, and incumbent Democrats could be forced to face off against each other.

Are national Republicans even carrying on the charade that they want to participate in bipartisan efforts to solve our nation's challenges? Sadly, it appears that the answer is no. While some Republicans candidly admit that their only purpose in office is to work to get President Obama to fail, others initially feigned indignation that the Democrats were not bipartisan enough. Lately though Republicans in Congress have not only fought for the status quo in our dysfunctional health care system, they've voted against issues that they previously supported. "Cap-and-trade" and "pay-as-you-go" were ideas previously supported by the Republican Party. Now they oppose the policies simply because the Democrats support them. Republicans now rail against the "bail out" of the nation's financial system even though they supported it when initiated by President Bush. Perhaps most hypocritical are Republicans who also voted against the stimulus bill and criticized it in Washington yet hand out cardboard checks and cut ribbons back in their home districts for projects made possible by it. Let’s hope at some point, for the sake of our country's future, that the electorate holds these Republicans responsible for placing partisanship ahead of even the most modest efforts to cooperate in solving our urgent national challenges.