Letter to the Editor: It takes courage to speak the truth

I found Mrs. Sinclair’s comments regarding a Matt Muckler interview distressing.

She writes “commended for preventing local elected officials from further pinching family budgets.”

What an unbelievably arrogant and tone deaf slap in the face to local elected leaders who strive every day to keep taxes low and an affront to home rule. They go to church with their neighbors, buy groceries and drink coffee alongside these neighbors. It’s truly amazing to think these people simultaneously complain about the overreach of the federal government, then tie the hands of local leaders to decide what’s best for their community while they force feed top down government from their ivory tower the Capitol building. A building constantly under repair and the opulence of which could fund my city’s budget indefinitely. The hypocrisy is stunning.

“Contrary to Muckler’s comments” is a sentence that should never appear as everything Muckler said is spot on. It took a lot of courage for Mr. Muckler to speak the truth.

The entire commentary is wrapped in an awe shucks times are tough for families packaging, while simultaneously ignoring the FACTS that property taxes are at historic lows. Oh the hyperbole, the Jeffersonian use of families and then juxtapose the wholesome family at odds with evil local elected officials who seek to further pinch. What an unbelievable crock of horse excrement. It’s a special occasion to get to witness this level of unmitigated and unrepentant gall to vilify the volunteer local council person.

The reality is that most Jasper County local elected officials make about $40 a meeting. They literally make less than $500 a year, have zero campaign donations, pay for yard signs out of their own pockets, are not influenced by lobbyists hired by the rich, and make very tough tax decisions based on what’s best for their neighbors and their community that they care about, they are not beholden to those that financed their campaign/hired them on the side because no one did, they are volunteers. There’s simply no way you can look me in the eye with a straight face and convince me that some politician under a gold dome that just happens to be working on the side for the family leader (just for a random example) is a better place for all the tough decisions to be made than here locally. Nor can you convince me of the narrative that my council, and their sub $500 annual pittance, who also, like many towns conducted business for years at the tar paper shack (fire station on folding chairs and folding tables) is out to further pinch the wholesome family.

Wade Wagoner

Altoona