Death and Taxes

Let me be the first to say that I am disgusted by people who don't vote. Why you ask? Simple. My taxes keep going up. I swear people have an extra chromosome in Central NY. The 3,000 people who did vote on the school budget passed it 2-1. Where are the other 24,000 people who live in the district?

Here's the scenario. One of the highest property taxes in America? Check. One of the highest per pupil cost in America? Check. Highest retirement spending per teacher in America? Check. Best testing outcomes in America? Eh eh. Hmmm you say. Why would you keep throwing more money at that problem every year? Why not lower the costs so that more business and people would move to the region? Instead, it is a steady flow of people that are leaving, bringing their businesses with them.

So why bitch you say? Why not leave with the rest of them? Trust me. I will leave when one of the following happens. (a) My business cant afford to do business anymore in NYS which is coming soon. (b) My daughter graduates high school and moves to a southern state like all of the other kids. (c) I grow a pair of nads and put up or shut up.

But it was only a 2.8% increase in taxes Rob! Let me educate you all in Baldwinsville a bit. The school budget spending proposal shows me a hefty $2,000,000 increase in spending this year over last. If you look closely, out of the $97,000,000 that they are spending on 5813 students district wide ($16,687 per pupil), it includes $5,000,000 from a slush fund for tough times. That means that NEXT YEAR they will have to find $5,000,000 of the 2011 budget SOMEWHERE. Duh!! I think it wont come from the slush fund since it doesn't exist anymore! Since they didn't cut the budget this year, but raised it by $2,000,000, I doubt they will cut the money next year, when the economy is presumably doing better!

All I can say is bring the lube, because next year is the year that it is going to really hurt. I'm guessing a 10% increase in school tax alone. To keep the budget at 0% growth, with no layoffs, they will need to raise a MINIMUM of $7,000,000 in new revenue. Bah! Don't worry, plenty of businesses will open in Baldwinsville, NY next year to cover the tax base increase! Haven't you noticed all the small businesses opening and all of the hiring going on? Haven't you seen all the new homes with their property tax being built? I don't know anyone who is moving away from here to find work! Shit, so many people are moving away that the student population is dropping year after year. There are 267 kids less in the district this year than in 2006. That's a 5% decline.

How do we stop it? Move. Or, you could vote.

The Crash

It was another exciting night golfing. I drove one of the useless golf carts that Beaver Meadows leases so that I can carry some beers while golfing. It's always a major pain to carry beers while walking because they are always shaken. Not only are they flat, but there is nowhere to place them while one shoots, nor do they remain remotely cold. To be a true professional, one MUST take a golf cart. Four cup holders. Did I stutter? Four cup holders at a time!! Since I drove, my bro-in-law rode for 18 with me.

Unfortunately for Jimmy, he doesn't hold many skills in the art of golf cart driving. Let me set the stage. Here we are on 16. Jimmy drives the ball off the tee, to the right, in the pine trees. All the trees are trimmed low, there is plenty of pine straw, so that one can drive a golf cart under these 60 footers without issue. Simply put your foot on the gas, drive to the ball and take your foot off, coasting to a halt next to said ball. Ron and I are in the fairway watching his approach to his ball under the trees. Jimmy with his amazing cart driving skills decides to drive from the passenger side because he is cool like that. Needless to say, it didn't turn out so hot.

We watch with horror as Jimmy mistakenly slams his foot on the gas, instead of the brake, when by his account, a branch nearly poked him in the face. The cart shoots forward, from a near stop, at what seemed like 30 miles an hour...he swerves at the last second, narrowly avoiding a full speed head-on with a tree... he still collects a large root and the side of the tree, sending the cart careening at a 60 degree angle airborne. I'm talking a good four feet in the air at top speed with all our stuff exiting the cart into the air. It sounded like a car wreck. You know, tin can type CRUNCH! Jimmy lands upright, the cart stops dead and Jimmy immediately exits the cart. Panicking, he checks for missing or damaged parts, but all seems o.k.

Ron and I are 50 yards from the wreck but were laughing SO hard at this point that we almost fell over. I haven't laughed so hard in years. With tears streaming down my face, we get to the cart and all looks great. The damage is of course, two spilled beers and humiliation. I walk to the green while Jimmy recollected himself and realized that his life had just passed before his eyes.
He pulls the cart next to us, complaining that it isn't driving right. We finish the hole and take it from there.

Upon taking the reins of the cart back, I realized that the wheels are messed up something fierce. The alignment is shot and the wheels squeeled on the pavement because they were pointing outwards in two different directions. Another laughing fit occurred because Ron could see the struggle to handle the beast, even by an experience cart jockey like myself.

I limped the beast back to the parking lot and promptly informed the cart kid that the cart started acting funny on number 16. Jimmy went to the locker room to change his shoes as he was afraid that someone might recognize him as a crash victim. I didn't bother to explain why. I have decided that next time I play with Jimmy, he needs to ride shotgun with no touching the cart, or I'll have to suffer walking and choke down warm, flat beers!