{"id":28961,"date":"2024-05-23T05:00:36","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T09:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orionscoldfire.com\/?p=28961"},"modified":"2024-05-22T19:25:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T23:25:36","slug":"the-dunwich-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orionscoldfire.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/23\/the-dunwich-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dunwich Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Farmer Cthulhu in His Fields<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here in Dunwich we had our town budget meeting and the Finance Committee asked for a 10 percent increase and there was an uproar.\u00a0 The Bishops and the Whateleys demanded that First Selectman Cthulhu go into closed session with them and provide an itemized list of all the increases in expenditures.\u00a0 At the end of the session the First Selectman exited the chamber.\u00a0 When asked by the committee if all demands had been satisfied, he belched out a dark viscous cloud and declared, \u201cSure, at least until dinner anyway.\u00a0 I\u2019m always hungry an hour after Whateley.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the next session a group of concerned Dunwichians demanded that alternative revenue raising methods be provided.\u00a0 Cthulhu suggested a 0.001% head tax be levied.\u00a0 This low rate excited many of the concerned group and they asked what details would still have to be worked out if this tax was provisionally approved.\u00a0 The First Selectman confided, \u201cWell we\u2019ll have to figure out how to decide which heads to harvest.\u00a0 I favor going blind fold and just biting off whatever heads come within my grasp until I\u2019ve reached the agreed upon total.\u00a0 That seems fairest.\u201d\u00a0 It was unanimously decided to shelve that proposal indefinitely in favor of the 10% tax increase.<\/p>\n

Democracy in action in Dunwich is a frightening but somehow clarifying process.\u00a0 As opposed to other less mythic New England towns Dunwich cuts through the pretense of egalitarianism and nakedly reveals the precise power dynamic between Great Old Ones and anyone small enough to be engulfed, chewed and swallowed by their cephalopodic maws.<\/p>\n

But to be fair, it\u2019s not as if Americans aren\u2019t equally at the mercy of their government.\u00a0 Paying taxes and not receiving services like police protection, safe drugs, secure borders and honest representation in Washington are standard operating procedure since at least the Obama administration.<\/p>\n

Surely, no one is surprised anymore that no balanced budget is ever negotiated, approved and administered.\u00a0 Since Obama\u2019s time continuing expenditure resolutions and multi-trillion-dollar omnibus boondoggles are the new normal.\u00a0 I wonder if it is even possible to get a balanced budget enacted.\u00a0 Would the administrative state just shrug it off and print more money and chalk it up to the need for \u201cclandestine intelligence programs\u201d above the public\u2019s pay grade to know or even question?\u00a0 I have to confess I\u2019m curious what in the world Trump will do if he gets back into the White House.\u00a0 It\u2019s rather like being one of the fifth century Westen Roman emperors.\u00a0 You have to go through the motions of giving orders to the generals but outside your window you can see the Goths and the Vandals carrying off the last of the treasury.<\/p>\n

This beyond reckless deficit spending will eventually lead to collapse.\u00a0 It has to.\u00a0 Really the only question I have is whether there is a plan to handle the collapse or will the rats just desert the sinking ship for greener pastures.\u00a0 Will the Obamas flee Martha\u2019s Vineyard for New Zealand or Singapore?<\/p>\n

Well, at least locally, the budget process is carefully controlled and all due respect is provided to the voters.\u00a0 First Selectman Cthulhu is also the ballot clerk at the budget vote.\u00a0 Every registered voter receives one ballot and casts it proudly.\u00a0 And we\u2019re proud of our innovations in local government.\u00a0 By pre-printing the yes oval already filled in we have saved hundreds of dollars over the last few years in the cost of pens and markers.\u00a0 And that way Cthulhu doesn\u2019t have to eat any \u201cno\u201d voters.\u00a0 That\u2019s progress!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here in Dunwich we had our town budget meeting and the Finance Committee asked for a 10 percent increase and there was an uproar.\u00a0 The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3366,1263],"tags":[63,362,3341],"class_list":["post-28961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-life-in-dunwich","category-stuff-that-personally-interests-me-miscellaneous","tag-budget-cuts","tag-cthulhu","tag-dunwich"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dunwich Budget - Orion's Cold Fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orionscoldfire.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/23\/the-dunwich-budget\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dunwich Budget - 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