Opinion: Let's celebrate - local governments wasting our money

Remember that time, just three years ago, when Clovis Mayor David Lansford told us there was no choice but to raise taxes? That was just so the city could continue operating without cutting services, he said.

Thank goodness we don’t have money problems any more.

The city of Clovis has so much of our money now it can afford to entertain us with a fireworks show.

City commissioners on Friday night approved spending $10,000 for the big booms. The vote was 6-1, with only Helen Casaus acting like a responsible adult.

Curry County — which raised our taxes six years ago to fund the jail we repeatedly voted down — also is apparently rolling in our dough these days. County Manager Lance Pyle — acting with permission from county commissioners — also pitched in $10,000 for the fireworks.

In case you’re wondering, the annual city fireworks show has previously been funded by donations from local businesses. Our government shut down those local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic so they don’t have money to donate this year.

So our local empire has decided to save the day — with money they told us they had to have just to keep operating; with money they had to have to build a new jail that we didn’t want that’s still not completed six years later.

Don’t forget we probably can’t gather in Greene Acres Park on July 4 to watch this fireworks display because our government says crowds are still not safe due to the coronavirus.

Anybody else wondering where exactly in the Constitution it says it’s OK for supreme rulers to take our money and entertain us with it? Must be in the same (invisible) paragraph where it says government can close private businesses for a disease that barely even made an appearance in our communities.

— David Stevens

Publisher