In the preliminary discussions that led up to planning the Protest on May 19, I was trying to put together the arguments that would be presented by those who support Mr. Craig's budget.
I assumed that some people would overreact and say that I want to release prisoners, hurt kids by cutting the Board of Education budget, and close down all the libraries. Then they would scream that I would contribute to crime in our neighborhoods by cutting the Sheriff's Departmental budget, and then they would call me an idiot. Perhaps they would argue that there is no way that they would let their kids get redistricted so we don't have to pay for 4 new schools out of our own pockets.
Each of these arguments is scary, on its face. However, we need to look past the sensationalism and address these issues individually. In response to my blog posts, people have commented things like, "Patrick wants to release child molestors and keep children from school. What a douche." No kidding. Now, tell me how you really feel.
I, nor those people who agree with me, are calling for releasing convicted prisoners, or hurting our children. Also, we don't want to stop paying taxes altogether. We just want to receive benefits equal to the costs that we have to pay in order to live in our homes and own our businesses. We don't feel that we are being fairly taxed, and we are exercising our rights to change it.
If that means that there will be a paycut, or worse, layoffs for county employees, then so be it. When a local business can't afford to keep staff on the payroll, they release underperforming employees; why should the Harford County Government be any different? Let's be logical when arguing these points. If you do your job well, and your job is necessary for the County to function, you will be safe. Otherwise, perhaps you would do well to look for a new job.
