|
By John Mauer Kent, as a small Connecticut town, cannot operate at a deficit as the federal government can. But there are, really, two types of deficits. The most obvious is overspending without sufficient taxes, a financial deficit. The federal government is good at this. The less obvious is over taxation, followed by higher spending because the increased surplus is too tempting to politicians, a political deficit. Our small towns can engage in this. Rarely do outside events reach into Kent in a meaningful way. A business failure or downsizing in New Milford will cause some of our residents to lose their jobs. A crash on the stock market will cause the second-home market to dry up. Yet, except for our soldiers, international events seem far removed from every day life here. However, such is not the situation with recent events in global warming science. Continue Reading By John Mauer Health insurance companies face an insurmountable task in living with the universal health care. Aetna, or at least the health insurance branch of that company, has decided to remove a central part of the Connecticut medical system from it’s network, Hartford Healthcare. By John Mauer As this election draws to a close, the discussion of a town manager has centered on cost. That’s totally equivalent to saying that the sewer is too expensive so let’s get rid of it. However, evaluation of the cost from the data given by Connecticut towns is relatively straightforward, so here is the first pass (high school algebra, this). In Kent, a town manager should cost about $90,000, less the $69,000 we pay our selectmen, for a net cost of $21,000. By John Mauer Demographics. The statistical data of a population. From the 2000 US Census, we know that Kent had 2858 people, not counting weekenders. Officially, there were 653 children, 473 of school age. The median age was nearly 43 years old, older than the US median. Yet today, Kent has gotten older, and probably wealthier. By John Mauer In election season, debates are usually the order of the day, and this season is no exception. This year, the Kent Library Association is organizing the debate among the selectmen candidates. Both the editors of the Litchfield County Times and Stoneforge Chronicles were to take part by asking pertinent questions. However, according to the debate organizer, the Democratic First Selectman candidate, Bruce Adams, and another party representative threatened to pull out if Stoneforge Chronicles took part. So the debate was changed to fit the needed political bias. We wonder what questions they are afraid to answer. Continue Reading By John Mauer Sometimes, the news can be confusing, which means that some part of it is exceptionally biased. Proponents of a new, government controlled, health care system point to Canada’s health care system as a model of universal coverage. Opponents also point to the Canadian system, but as flawed and ineffectual. As near as we can tell, both are correct, but the United States cannot emulate that system. We have already overloaded our system with overly expensive Medicare. By John Mauer In health care, self-employment, either as an individual or a small business owner, is frequently met with rotten insurance rules that prevent coverage. The health care bill before congress does say something about that, but then seeks to destroy all options except the public socialized option. Why can’t congress fix an obvious inequity without destroying the system? By John Mauer The parable of the Good Samaritan echoes of Sunday School, coat-and-tie sermons, and bible study. But it is a perfect description of the reason many people volunteer to help their neighbors in many ways. The parable expands the meaning of neighbor from that of convenience to that of another’s need. However it is good to remember that the Samaritan had two days wages that he could and wished to give to the beaten man; his sacrifice was both voluntary and compassionate. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable of personal sacrifice, not group behavior. By John Mauer Just a week ago, our toaster oven broke, well not exactly broke, but one of the heating elements quit working. The unit was just eight years old; I expect household goods to work longer than that. Our last toaster oven was over fifteen years old when it stopped. We needed a new toaster. |
||
|
Copyright © 2010 Stoneforge, Inc. - All Rights Reserved |
||