There have been two writers to the Gloucester Daily Times responding to the column “Refloating our Ship” on March 3 by Catherine Bayliss. I ask them to consider what has been going on around them for the
past 15 years and then answer some questions. Is Massachusetts financially better off now? Are the schools more successful in graduating competent students? Are teachers better outfitted with training materials? Do they
have fewer students? Are educational budgets used to maximize the education of the students? Are the Police, Fire, and Emergency departments better funded, trained, and supported than they were? Are their tools and
equipment up-to-date? Do they have enough personnel? Are city roads and sewers in better condition? Are there more people and jobs coming into the state?
C.G. Rood, “Writer blames Democrats” on March 15, says that anyone who is Governor is politically impotent due to the makeup of the state legislature. Let us test that idea by voting in a Democrat to the
Governor’s Office and see what happens. After 15 years of Republican Governors I do not think the State is better off and, surely, it could be no worse off with a Democrat leading the State.
Robert Bliss, “Resident castigates Democrats” on March 20, asks many questions and each one could inspire books to be written, so I will pick just one. “Do regulations on businesses that drive them out of
the state work for the common good?” Here is an example of how that can work either way. Contaminants from flue stack gases have been restricted for years and the level of contamination that is tolerated has generally been
lowered. One way to deal with that is to move a smelting plant to some other place that will tolerate dirty air and acid rain. Initially, this is an inexpensive response for the company, but it has unpleasant consequences
for all of us. Smelters in Ohio and Ontario use extremely tall stacks to avoid contaminating local air. Those emissions are carried high into the atmosphere until they come down in New England as acid rain. It is cheap but
is that for the common good? An alternative way is to scrub the gas before release into the atmosphere. That is expensive, but it has a far better impact upon the environment.
If you focus on the public good, find ways to make difficult or unpleasant situations better for more people, and elect officials who will work for that goal, the more all of us will benefit. We all need to
hold elected officials accountable for their actions and lack of action. We all need to be involved to find solutions to very complex problems. Rarely will the solutions be easy, inexpensive, or quickly done. Democrats, at
least, try to grapple with many issues instead of focusing on just one problem and a superficial solution.
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Art Thomas's letter to the
Gloucester Daily Times April 20, 2006. |
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Gloucester
