Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

The Cost of Not Voting

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by

Bob Rayner
in ,

by Joe Fitzgerald 

If I were a more articulate man, I could explain what sorry shape the governments of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County are in right now.

Rational people have little doubt about the county. The biggest government expense, the school system, is currently being run by people who do not know what they are doing. That’s one possibility anyway. The other is that they’re causing randomly divisive chaos on purpose.

In the city the schools are being run well, but the city council approves housing as if it were free. The schools will be overcrowded soon enough. Five years? Ten? We can’t afford to build another one.

Relationships are being destroyed. The city flirts with leaving the Chamber of Commerce. The county board casually damages the shared technical center. Massanutten Pique would describe their behavior.

There used to be a business and professional class of people who capped career accomplishments with service to their community. They’re not stepping forward. Cincinnatus is staying behind his plow.

What happened?

The deadline to run for Harrisonburg City Council is less than three months away. The guy who hasn’t held a job in 20 years isn’t on the ballot. The ad salesman and the environmental ideologue are. It doesn’t look good.

Sometime in 2025 the council will do something blundering or damaging and people will act surprised. Just as eight years before people surprised by the election of Donald Trump rallied on Court Square. After the election. Just as people in Rockingham County are trying to organize against the amateurish flailing of their School Board. After the election.

Elections have consequences. So does ignoring them.

Joe Fitzgerald is a former mayor of Harrisonburg. Republished with permission from Still Not Sleeping.

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15 responses to “The Cost of Not Voting”

  1. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    “The guy who hasn’t held a job in 20 years isn’t on the ballot.”

    Well, that’s a good thing, ain’t it?

    Could be worse. Could have people show up at meetings threatening all manner of sovereign citizen garbage including military tribunals. Re: Maricopa AZ

  2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “The schools will be overcrowded soon enough. Five years? Ten? We can’t afford to build another one.”

    Loudoun County says “sure you can!”

  3. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    What can you say when we very much DO decide who we want to lead whether it be National, State or local?

    Are we somehow “broke” in that even though we have among the best of all possible freedoms on planet earth – we STILL end up with folks leading who ought not be?

    What’s a better way for Harrisonburg, (or Richmond or ???) to be operated if not with a locally-elected leader?

  4. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    The cost of minimum wages…
    “In Georgia, Waffle House workers only make $2.90 an hour. They make tips, too, but that’s all the company itself is obligated to pay them. Sort of! Because they also charge their workers $3.00 every shift for a meal regardless of whether or not they actually eat one.”

    1. John Harvie Avatar
      John Harvie

      Think I’d eat breakfast, lunch AND dinner.
      at that rate. That WH does that sucks. We prefer IHOP anyway. Great crepes.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        I used to frequent WH in my youth. But the IHOP at Wards Corner and the Giant Open Air for that 2:30 AM steak & eggs couldn’t be beat.

        1. John Harvie Avatar
          John Harvie

          Wow! Giant Open Air. Memories. Dealt with them for decades in NOVA before coming to Tidewater.

          Publix has the market here but I miss my Safeway.

    2. Randy Huffman Avatar
      Randy Huffman

      My understanding is if tipped employees don’t make enough in tips to meet minimum wage, the company is obligated to make up the difference. The Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 ($7.25 in total, I assume Georgia is not higher), so Waffle House is above that threshold.

      Given the cost of eating out these days, I can’t imagine restaurant workers would not make enough to cover minimum wage (even at Waffle House), plus a lot more, unless of course there is no traffic. If employees don’t make enough, or feel the cost of the food charge is too high, then they are free to move somewhere else, right? Free markets work both ways, and keeping employees is a challenge everywhere.

      The next question, are cash tips declared as wages for income and payroll tax purposes…? They should be.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        If payment is made by credit card, yes, those tips would be declared. Cash? Well…
        But, I believe withholding is based on 15% of the tab price and restaurant owners are obligated to withhold. So, when you pay cash for a $10 tab and stiff a waitress on her tip, she will have money withheld from a nonexistent $1.50 unless she reports the zero tip. My niece worked at a Cheesecake Factory when she was in college.

        But are you suggesting that those extremely wealthy waitresses are avoiding taxes like, oh say, Trump? Inflating his holdings for loans and unreporting for taxes?

        1. Randy Huffman Avatar
          Randy Huffman

          Trump Trump Trump. Geez, how did you morph into that topic? But for fun, lets talk about Jen Psaki complaining about the hiring of Ronna McDaniel by NBC, can’t make it up, can you?

          But lets stay on topic. I too had a son who worked in a restaurant and you are probably right on the imputed income. But given most people tip better than 15%, 20% is more the standard, I would say wait staff are coming out ahead.

          We should care about everyone declaring their wages & income and paying taxes. It doesn’t matter whether you are wealthy, or middle class, right?

          1. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            It wasn’t hard. You intimated tax fraud and cheating. Who is the biggest you can think of?

            But back on the subject, absolutely. I have never heard of a loophole for a $50,000/yr income, but I have heard someone say, “Taxes? Taxes are for little people.”

            And the system is making it harder and harder for little people to cheat and harder to audit the rich.

            Remember the money Biden wanted for the IRS for auditing? What happened?

          2. Randy Huffman Avatar
            Randy Huffman

            I did not intimate tax fraud, it was a question.

            As for IRS, the wealthy are being audited, those extra auditors were for non wealthy taxpayers… and perhaps to go after people that the deep state wants to have checked out?

          3. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Okay.

            Republicans are now front-loading IRS cuts and paving the way for additional drawdowns in subsequent years, especially if they win big in the 2024 elections. The new timetable means that one-quarter of the $80 billion funding bump for the IRS over the next decade has been nixed entirely within fiscal 2024

    3. Drive-by Commentator Avatar
      Drive-by Commentator

      All of which is why whenever, wherever, whatever I eat in a restaurant including a fast food place, I always have a $10 or $20 in my pocket and I put it in the hand of the person who served me, look them in the eye, and say “Thank you for taking care of me. This is yours.” And they stick it in their pocket.

      Last week, wife and I have brunch at a decent local place, couple of Bloody Mary, damn near one of everything on the menu, bill came to $85, I left a $30 tip. The server came out, caught us in the parking lot with tears streaming down her face, and said — no shit, this is what she said — “Your tip lets me pay my rent this month.”

      Which is why I ALWAYS pay restaurant bills in cash and tip in cash. If you pay and tip by card, the tip is split and the server gets very little. Most of the time, I toss in an extra $10 and tell the server to give this to the cook.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        A mensch.

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