the real Sarah Palin - perspective from a Wasilla mother

She enters the job.....ZERO debt, she leaves...$22 million in debt.

Fiscal conservative, my arse.

DD

 

maybe you need to reread the original post, she wrote an email to friends, it spread. that's what happens when you select an unknown politician to be your vp nominee.


at least we have someone who can tell us a little about palin.

 

Twenty million dollars could be the widening of main street from one stoplight to the other in a two stoplight town. Or a small bridge. Or an upgrade to City Hall. Or any number of relatively inexpensive capital projects a growing city would need. "Flush with surplus" could mean billions in liquidity or a fiver in your wallet.........depending upon your perspective. I don't really care one way or the other about Sarah Palin, but my take on this is simple: without quite a bit more information, this isn't worthy of discussion. Infrastructure is important to building your tax base. Much like a business, responsible leverage in city planning can ultimately help build your equity. If she incurred 20 (or 22 or whatever the hell it is) million dollars of city debt to build up her moose rifle and snowmobile collection, then you everyone should be up in arms. If the debt is tied to improvements in city infrastructure (which helps build your tax base), then this is simply not a talking point.

 

whoops wrong thread

 

omg, nothing worthy of discussion now with this woman, not even her actual jobs in politics. ummmkay

seems to me this has been the only subject really worthy of discussion

edit: okay, without more information,

however there is quite a bit of info on the subject

 

Total Government Expenditures Increased 63 Percent Under Palin. In
fiscal 2003-the last fiscal year Palin approved the budget-the total government expenditures of Wasilla, excluding capital outlays, were $7,046,325. In fiscal 1996-the year before Palin took control of the budget-the expenditures were $4,317,947. The increase was 63 percent.
[Wasilla Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2003, Table 1]

Palin Supported Increasing Wasilla Sales Tax From 2 to 2.5 Percent to Build $14.7 Million Sports Center. "Wasilla residents have given the go ahead to building a new multiuse sports center in town and to raising the city sales tax to pay for it. With the final votes counted Friday, residents voted 306 to 286 in favor of a measure to raise the city sales tax from 2 percent to 2.5 percent to pay the estimated $14.7 million cost of building the center…Mayor Sarah Palin, who supported the measure, said the tight vote will motivate city officials to keep a close eye on the budget for the center." [Anchorage Daily News, 3/9/02]

Palin Left Behind Almost $19 Million In Long-Term Debt, Compared to None Before She Was Mayor. In fiscal 2003-the last fiscal year Palin approved the budget-the bonded long-term debt was $18,635,000. In fiscal 1996-the year before Palin took control of the budget-there was no general obligation debt. [Wasilla Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report 2003, Table 10]

here is something on the subject, she supported a $15MM sports complex, and raised sales taxes. (so she has big city spending experience LOL). however she did increase their budget substantially

got it from this site but saw the same thing on several sites
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080906100826AAWMMER

 

one more thing before anyone says the sports complex explains the debt. The complex was $14.7MM, the debt is $20MM, so unless they drastically overpaid for the complex, she still added debt to the city to upwards of $3MM.


also its funny how many people actually voted on the sales tax subject.

 

sports complex and road improvements, according to the email. As approved by voters. Did anyone else read it? Didn't really see much there. Pretty um....whiney...I'd say.

Look.....i'm her polar opposite in terms of politics....but I don't see the need to disparage her job in Alaska just because she's on the other team. She seems to have done a reasonable enough job...and her approval ratings were high. 2400 word email (just for friends and family ) notwithstanding.

 

omg, now we can't discuss her actual job performance. pretty whiney


---->

 

and she's the one who claims to be the fiscal conservative. is it whiney to examine that claim

 

Are you discussing or digging dirt?

We have supposed outrage on this $22M of long term debt....yet little acknowledgement that it was approved by voters, and what is was for - capital projects. That's discussion? It was in the email on which this thread is based.

You note she increased sales tax (from 2% to 2.5%!)....did you mention she decreased property tax?

And she actively sought fed money while a representative of Alaska? OMG!!!! In that role she is actively looking after Alaskan interest. Crazy.

I guess I'm just tired of this team politics crap. And it's been too rampant for my taste since the Palin pick. So I find myself defending a politicians who's politcal outlook (not that it matters) are complete opposite to mine.

I think I've got to just walk away for a bit. Let the mudslingin' continue.

 

I have often written a 2400 word email to my friends and family just to bash somebody. Haven't you?

 

its mudslinging to discuss a city budget. fact she left the budget with $18.7MM in debt.

fact at lot of that was used for a sports complex

fact she increased the town's budget

where's the mudslinging

 

Now now...telling the whole story wouldn't be nearly as much fun, now would it?

 

So tell it...because the half that is out is pretty questionable.

DD

 

again, there is nothing else we have to use to discuss this woman. she's running for the second highest office in the land. excuse us if we decide to discuss any actual reviews of her.

this 2400 word email is about the most information we have on this woman. or would you like to continue to discuss whether her youngest kid is hers or her yet to be born grandchild?

 

Pgabs:

I may just have to report your last thread.

Nothing you've said is particularly offensive on it's own....buy you've resorted to bassoesque-logic...and he's supposed to be on a timeout.

It's not that it's not open for discussion....but when it's been pretty clearly explained (or the info is fully laid out in the piece that started this whole thread) and we continue with crap like ....fact. she left the city with $XX debt without any context of what it was...or questioning her fiscal conservativeness for a capital project on which she needed, and got, taxpayer approval and which are typically paid for with debt I just don't consider that a discussion.

 

I believe he is in a timeout for posting responses to two different posters which consisted of nothing but the words "f*** you".

I don't think pgabriel has done anything even remotely like that.

Certainly, you can report whatever you want. Whether it will just make you look like "the boy who cried wolf" is another matter. If people want to report posts, I wish people would just go ahead and do it instead of grandstanding and threatening with empty bluster. That is a technique verifiably originating with T_J. He’s done it enough that others have picked it up, but original source speaks volumes about tactic.

Please feel free to report any of my posts, if it makes you happy. But threatening people with the report function is just a bush league tactic for tin pot wannabe demagogues. To threaten it on something like this when there are threads with all sorts of offensive personal back and forth out there is just ludicrous. If you do feel like reporting it, I would like to make a wager with you about whether there will be any action taken. I will even give you very favorable odds.

 

i'm the one who is trying to go through what the debt was on. i'm the one who posted the actual budget numbers

 

Look....I disagree with pgabs, but nothing he has said is disrespectful or offensive. Why report a post that isn't offensive? You'll become the little poster that cried report.