If you want your head to explode about how your hard-earned tax dollars are spent lobbying state legislators and manufacturing a public image, read this story from veteran journalist John Cheves at the Herald-Leader about one of Kentucky largest school systems.
Read it, then remember that this is how the system works.
It’s not just private companies who hire professional lobbyists to do their bidding. Public organizations often spend tens of thousands of your tax dollars to lobby a state legislature and/or buff up their image with the public … the same public who’s paying their bills.
I’ve spent a lot of time at our state capitol the last few years following the mass shooting at Old National Bank, talking with lawmakers about gun violence and gun safety bills and attending hours upon endless hours of committee meetings. Unlike lobbyists, the amount of money I get paid to do this is zero. I am a freelance journalist with no boss and no benefits. I bear witness and then tell the public what I have seen. Sometimes I get paid for what I write and sometimes I don’t. I’m just a citizen who is continually infuriated at what I see happening in both state and local government, and the outright arrogance with which it is done.
It is easy to become disheartened when you’re up against powerful men and women with their fancy titles and their big salaries and their cozy relationships.
Here’s a big thank you to every citizen who is and has been sounding the alarm about what’s happening in the Fayette County School System.
Remember, it’s not the powerful politicians, the paid-and-protected school superintendents, or the handsomely paid lobbyists with their carte blanche access to the powerful who keep the lights on and demand accountability.
It’s you. The citizen.
Stay mad. Keep showing up. Hold them accountable. Demand better. It’s your money they’re wasting.
--30--
Comments
