Here is how it works in Pima County: the working poor work harder and grow poorer. They live in the 8th poorest metropolitan area in the nation, and are surrounded by those who claim to care about their welfare.
The powers-that-be raise property taxes to fund the education of doctors, subsidize major healthcare providers, buy worthless land from cronies, fund animal shelters, and dole out cash to charities with considerable payrolls. Those taxes are passed on to the working poor renters – in the form of rent increases – by the liberal wealthy property owners who claim to care for the welfare of their tenets.
The working poor is working, and for many who have been poor most , if not all of their lives, property taxes are for those other people. They are not a concern when 1) you don’t own property, and 2) you are more focused on whether or not you have gas to get to one of your three jobs in weeks ahead.
The small business owners must remain quiet. The stories of retribution are legendry in Pima County. There are no ethical law enforcement officials anywhere to be found on the local and state levels. The last time any elected official was held responsible for their corrupt deal making was years ago.
The only people it seems, who are held responsible for their actions, are the small business owners. If they should violate a sign ordinance, they are treated as if they stole millions from the public coffers, but if a member of the powers-that-be steal millions from the public coffers it is treated like a sign code violation.
That threat of retribution has kept a lot of good people from standing up and calling for an end to the abuse of the taxpayers. But what can the powers-that-be really do to you? If enough small business owners stand up and call them out. Tell their story of government abuses. Donate to campaigns, walk neighborhoods and yes, even be brave enough to put a sign in your yard. What are they going to do to you that worse than what they have already done to you?
They have turned your beloved community into the 8th poorest metropolitan area in the country. They snap up private property with your money and take it off the tax rolls only to raise your taxes to make up the difference. They hold rigged elections to guarantee that the likes of Adelita Grijalva returns to destroy the chances of thousands of more kids, and bonds are passed to funnel money off to buy more land form cronies. What more could they do to you and the welfare of your family?
No one is going to end up in a shallow grave in the desert so get over yourself. No one person is going to make such a dent in the power structure that the powers that be are going to hunt you down. Let’s face it, the only people who have to fear the powers-to-be are other members of the powers-to-be club. They run the risk of not getting one of their projects approved by the crooks on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. They also know that if they hire the right consultant, they can get just about any crappy development project approved.
The rest of us are gnats, and they don’t bother with gnats. A hoard of gnats, banding together against the corruption, in a voter turnout that even their rigged machines could not beat, just might do it…. or you can live in fear and growing poverty. It really is your choice.