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[pct-l] Sec. N (and tax cuts!)



Sorry, but a recent post hit a nerve. This is probably not the right forum for this, but I didn't start it.

Bear with me. I promise to bring it back on the right subject toward the end.

Aren't tax cuts great! No they probably are not, but I think they are better than the alternative.

Just a few years ago there were budget surpluses in the just about every state and the Fed. Today

just about every state is in the red and facing some serious budget problems. The Fed is always in

the red, but that is for another discussion. Ever wonder how this happens? When politicians have

money, they spend it. When they spend it, the size of government increases. And when the

economy turned and those surpluses dried up, they had to find a way to keep all their pet

politicians programs. So they try to raise taxes, fees, and increase every source of government

income possible. When this is not enough, they start cutting services. But, not those pet

programs. They cut where the public feels the pain. Ever wonder why when a tax cut or bond

issue is on the ballot we are told that if funds are taken away police and fire protection will suffer?

Or schools? Or, in this cause, the NFS and NPS? 

In my opinion, the only way to reduce government pork is to reduce the money supply to them. I

kept track of all the taxes I paid one year. I mean all taxes; income, property, sales, utility,

gasoline, user fees; Recreational Fee Demo Programs (again, for another discussion), etc.. ALL

taxes! It came out to more than 61 % of my income. I suggest you try it sometime. You might be

surprised at how much of your work day is spent supporting government. For the record, I live in

California, which some of the highest taxes in the country.

Yes, don't forget to vote. Please. Unfortunately, we choose the politician and are rely on her/him

to make the correct decisions on how the money is spent. I am waiting for the day when the

Internet is prevalent enough where the people can vote on government bills. Then all we will need

politicians for is to write the bills. They wouldn't even need to be employed full-time (some might

say they aren't now). The money we save of their salaries could be used for something like.... trail

maintenance. 

On the subject of trail maintenance and smart spending. I agree trails need to be maintained, but I

think this needs to be done sensibly. When I hike a trail that has a 8 foot wide swath cut through

the brush I have to wonder, do these trails really need to be "maintained" to this extent and who is

the intended user. The brush is has been cut is thrown in unnatural heaps on the side of the trail

where it dries and becomes a fire hazard. Trails maintained in this manor take away from the

wilderness experience, are ugly, and cost us all more than they should. I even think some of the

blow downs need to be left in place. It would keep the mountain bikers off the trails. Hikers can

go over most blow downs. Having to get off a bike and carry it over obstacles several times

would probably discourage most mountain bikers. 

When I described the PCT to a good friend in the Yukon, he asked me a couple of times "Is it a

route or a trial?" In the Yukon, maintain trails are few and far between. Most are "maintained" by

frequency of use. Of course, there typically is not the amount of under brush in the Yukon as

there is in some of the states, but he did start me questioning the over maintenance and over

engineering of some of the trails in US.



Just... "Playing Thru".