Our Fairfield County Council members should hang their heads in shame for sneaking in a $24 million bond without explaining to the voters why they took on this loan of such magnitude that could catapult this County into bankruptcy. Either they don’t have any business understanding of the consequences of such a humongous debt, or they simply don’t care about inflicting more burdensome taxes on our backs in these hard economic times. No budget-conscious family in its right mind would ever consider taking on such outrageous debt. They are fast taking our County down the road to its death and destruction.
With the kind of taxes they have already dumped on our backs, there is no way our County can ever dig itself out of the pit of debt into which they have plunged us. Soon no one will be able to own a home here because it will be nothing but a taxable liability. Also, Council members evidently do not realize that businesses are not formed for the sole purpose of paying taxes: They are formed to make a profit in order to make a living. With all of the sacrifice and hard work a business involves, who wants to work 24/7 just to have their businesses taxed to death and barely eke out a living for their families?
What kind of mental block keeps this council from realizing that lowering taxes would shore up our whole economy? It would draw new people to our beautiful, historic, potentially successful county instead of running away the ones who are here. Also, it would entice new industry to come in and provide much-needed jobs for our many unemployed instead of running away the few businesses we have left. Council could have and should have lowered our taxes if they had managed our revenue properly and hadn’t jumped the gun and pre-committed the potential future revenue from the two new nuclear reactors to pay off an incomprehensible debt that they should never have made. Those two new nuclear reactors could easily have problems that could delay their coming on line, or the reactors may never come on line. Then who would have to pay? We the taxpayers would be strapped with the payback of almost $44 million on this $24 million loan. It’s enough to make a strong man weep!
It’s time for Council to stop deceiving themselves and their constituents that they are some great savior of mankind that helps the poor. They are not pulling the poor up; in reality, they are holding them down. May God soon have pity on us and send us representatives on this Council who care about all citizens and this County — representatives with vision, foresight, common sense, and backbone.
Selwyn Pearson Turner
Winnsboro
