How do elected officials see you?

How do elected officials see you?

Ever get a strange feeling that your elected officials think you are an absolute dolt?

If not, I ask you to consider the recent passage of the $26 billion jobs bill.

First, President Obama employed a tactic that is commonly used in the Valley when a levy is placed on the ballot. I call it the trifecta-of-fear: teacher layoffs, prisoner release and cuts to emergency services. To promote the bill, Obama cited two of three when he said, “We can’t stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe.”

What kind of parent would you be if you sent your child to a teacher-less school or let them ride their bikes in a neighborhood that lacks police protection?

Second, and even more insulting, is that the bill’s proponents assure us that it will be paid for by closing a tax loophole and by reducing food stamp benefits in 2014.

If you believe the passage of yet another spending bill is the only way to ensure your child will be educated and safe, you may be a dolt. If you believe cutting food stamps is not just a political maneuver, and in fact will take place, you are a dolt.

Bill Hegarty, Poland