24 March '17
Welcome back to the Chronicles, Dear Readers. It's good to be with you once again.
So...SPLOST passed Tuesday night. And it passed in a pretty big way. While not entirely unexpected, it was, nonetheless, a little disappointing. Several folks, including myself, felt like it wasn't in the best interest of the home county, but that's the way it goes. You win some; you lose some. Or, in the case of Yours Truly, you rarely win, but that's okay. It's just the nature of the beast.
Hell, last November I found myself on the double losing side of the presidential election. My guy, Gary Johnson, finished 3rd with only 3% of the vote. Here I am now on the losing side in Newton County's SPLOST election on the sorry end of a 25/75 split. 25% is a huge increase over 3%! That's a win, baby!
And I think of a Beck song:
And I also think of the a Steely Dan song: "I am another gentleman loser."
When it's all said and done, it's not rocket science. Basically, it comes down to money. It's the American way. The pro side raised and spent a whole bunch of it. They GOTV (got out the vote). There was nothing like that on the other side. There never is.
Also, and several of the pro-SPLOST folks will actually tell you this, all those pork projects that irritated some of us so much are precisely why this thing passed. These organizations that are getting these funds really put the word out, send out email blasts, and push their people to go vote. And when you always hold this as a special election in the spring, that's all you have to do to win. Throw out some scraps and spend a little change. And again, that's just the way it goes.
But there is a silver lining. Several have mentioned it. Newton County has no excuses. They got their SPLOST. There should be no way that we will see a tax increase.
Right?
We'll see...
As always, we appreciate you reading. 'Til next time.
Best,
MBM
