In 2009 Edward Mangano became the first Tea Party advocate to win an election, beating the Democrat incumbent for County Executive in Nassau County. He went to work immediately to repeal a home energy tax costing households an average of $7.27 a month.
Mangano refused to look for alternatives to replace the lost revenue in the already cash strapped county. The result is a budgetary crisis and the appointment of a state-appointed fiscal overseer.
Reuters has the full story here.
In conservative Colorado Springs, citizens voted for a Taxpayer Bill of Rights that killed the city's ability to raise taxes under virtually every circumstance. The result was half the street lights were turned off, park maintenance was ended, police and firefighters were laid off and most libraries were closed.
65% of counties in the U.S. are suffering from budget shortfalls, not as the Tea Party would like you to believe, because spending is too high, but because the recession has decimated revenues.
Budget cuts and layoffs only exacerbate the moribund economy. With the 2010 election, some states are starting to head down the same road. The result is that while the private sector has been adding jobs over the past year at a decent rate considering the economy, job losses in the public sector have ensured that unemployment has remained high.
The GOP is itching to do the same on the Federal arena but as long as ta cuts for the wealthiest aren't raised the budget shortfall will only get worse.
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