Today is election day.  Here in Indiana most polls are closed with the exception of a few counties that have referendums on extra funding for certain school districts, and here in Marion county (a.k.a. Indianapolis) the great public health care institution Wishard Hospital is requesting funds to build new facilities to replace the aging and deteriorating one they currently have.  It seems like a no-brainer.  It is NOT.

How can you even consider saying NO to our children’s education or to the need for a better public health facility?  Anyone with half a heart can’t.  However our state government did.  When the current budget was passed and the doling out of public monies to these institutions was “restructured” to be more “equitable”, many school systems found themselves automatically in the red as their “equitable” funding was chopped off at the knees.  And so in approaching the state about this they were informed it would have to go to a referendum vote because the cowards in the statehouse are not about to raise taxes.  Hmmm.  Well of course no one thinks taxes should be raised.  I mean can anyone really account for what we’re getting for our tax dollars now?  Education, right?  Some of it, but clearly not as much as used to.  Street repair?  Yeah, some.  But have you seen the roads around here?  Work on the interstates are done with fed money, not state.  Public safety?  Sure, some of it.  But with crime on the rise and the jail bursting at the seams, who can say if it’s enough?  Not to mention their low pay and nearly non-existent pensions.  Financing private new-mafia run business?  DING-DING-DING-DING… we have a winner!!!  Yes… private business IS being funded with PUBLIC monies.  Read that again.  What private business you ask?  Nearly all sports that is not motor sports, on all levels from school to the pros, is funded with tax dollars.

How is it we have money to fund the Capital Improvement Board (read Colts and Pacers) yet not enough to take care of Wishard and educating our children?  How is it the school systems have enough cash to fund an excess of sports equipment and facilities but not enough to keep teachers on staff or to buy books?  This society, and the people making these decisions, need to have a serious priority realignment!  Sports is important in school and the lessons learned there are very important, and so yes it needs to be funded.  But do high schools need professional training centers, uniforms, huge coaching staffs, and super sized facilities, all at the expense of education?  At the expense of the arts?  Can I get a resounding NO?  That’s what the answer should be.  Should a public health institution go wanting for a decent facility at the expense of building mega arenas when the current arenas are fully functional and in better shape than the hospital is?  NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What is wrong with this picture??  Can anyone else see this?  Additionally, why on earth are we cutting back on state funded food stamps and unemployment benefits while at the same time funding PRIVATE business that benefits only the wealthy few????  This is ALL wrong!  And the thing that sickens me the most is that the majority of the numb and blind public thinks it’s fine and don’t want to be bothered with it.  Wait until you are on food stamps.  Wait until you need unemployment.  Wait until your child can’t graduate because they can’t do enough basic math to balance a checkbook because there were no teachers or books.

The referendum question shouldn’t be do we give these PUBLIC institutions more money, ergo raise taxes?  It should instead be do we immediately cut off funding all private business with PUBLIC money and instead divert these funds where they are really needed, to support PUBLIC institutions?

This election is a waste of time.