I am of the belief that voting is one of only two times the government actually asks for your opinion, the other being jury duty. If you don’t vote you shouldn’t bitch about what the government does, since you chose not to express any of your ideas.
I also do not believe that the franchise should be free to all. If you are not a taxpayer, but are voting you are asking the public to cash checks you have no financial standing in. By limiting the franchise to tax payers you reduce the influence of those who do not contribute. I can hear the gnashing of dentures now “What about the retirees?”, they earned the franchise during their working years and should retain it in their “Golden Years”, maybe establish something similar to the 40 quarters to be eligible for SSI, require 3 years of being a net tax payer in order to establish the franchise right. Make everyone “Get some skin in the game” to quote a former President.
Orion's Cold Fire
All the Secrets of the Universe and Some Really Important Stuff Too!
Just as disabled veterans have earned their franchise – the hard way. If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul. I agree with the skin in the game concept. Say I live in Red County, but I also own property in Blue County. I get absolutely no vote on property taxes in Blue County. Or, if I am a property owner, why should non-property owners get to vote on what I pay in taxes? Bread and Circuses. If I am living on public assistance, I should lose the vote until I get… Read more »
Property taxes really are where the rubber meets the road. Our taxes are going to have to go up significantly this year. All the fake money from COVID is gone now and all the stuff people added in the last few years still has to be paid for. The wailing and gnashing of teeth will be loud. But the only recourse is for people who are unhappy to run for local office and make the hard choices themselves. They’ll have to show up to meetings every week and vote against stuff that people want like repairs to school buildings and… Read more »