There was a time when politicians listened to what the majority of the people had to say. Those days are gone, and special interest groups with their big wallets have replaced even common sense. We are not sitting on a cliff but an abyss into which once we enter we will not get back.
Americans are tired of being used as pawns in party politics, which serve only a small minority of Americans. We need term limits that preclude the "good ole boys club" politics that have stopped common-sense decisions from being enacted.
Freshmen congressman and representatives aren't allowed to make their own decisions on legislation without having pressure from the senior politicians. We need to get back to government "by the people, for the people" before it's too late - if that ship hasn't sailed.
This isn't lost on our county scene, either.
After a large outcry from the public, county commissioners voted to put Valley View Home and the soccer fields up for sale.
It seems to me that this sale has been years in the making and that the consulting firm wasn't brought in to help Valley View Home to become profitable so that it could continue, but that so it could be sold. That was the plan all along.
Valley View posted a $300,000-plus profit last year. Where is the county planning to raise revenue to replace that income? Is it going to cut more services in a county that clearly needs more, or are commissioners going to raise taxes?
What about the long-term ramifications on the residents and the employees? Services will be cut, and the employees will lose wages and benefits. The sale of the soccer fields will displace 400-plus children. Where will they play? Are we going to have more youth without anything to do in this county, which sorely needs youth programs? Should this sale have been proposed in a referendum?
I have no axe to grind because I don't work for Valley View or the county government. It's just a common sense observation by a concerned Blair County taxpayer.
Roger Ritchey
Altoona
