My desire is to see a policy-formation process started that leads to some meaningful change in our parking law and enforcement system. That process is starting. It's easy to argue. Anyone can do it and it takes little thought. It takes less energy to destroy than to create. But it take a lot of thought and patience to work to bring disparate ideas of different people together.
There are more people out there who want change than those who don't. And I have to laugh at the one's who say "I follow the laws.." because that's not the point. They really tend to be selfish and refuse to try and think beyond themselves.
This just in: it's not about you.
It's about protecting Oaklanders who have little of means against a system, the City of Oakland, that's just trying to raise money to make payroll. The Oakland Parking Problem is such that we have people who have four-figure and five-figure salaries who are forced via the fines process to pay to save the six-figure-salary jobs in the City of Oakland.
That's what this is really all about. Otherwise, why not have a 15-percent across the board salary cut? That would really make a difference, and everyone knows it. Cut the City of Oakland salaries to reflect decreased property tax revenue. Then, when property tax revenue goes up, we can increase the City of Oakland salaries back to where they were.
We're in a very bad economy with what I predict will be a double-dip recession mid-year. We're not producing enough jobs for the people who need them. Oakland has a 17 percent unemployment rate. To suddenly turn-up the pressure on car driving Oaklanders in the middle of this just to make payroll is abusing the government against the very people it's supposed to serve.
Enough is enough.
So there's a large group of good people - and getting larger - that want change. I will not for a second tolerate massively sick people contacting me and being nasty because they have nothing better to do. Yeah, it does come with the territory, but I find in the 21st Century, one has to reestablish their territorial bounds. That's what I'm doing.
(See, in the old media days, people were more respectful and less angry. The letters-to-the-editor that were published were logical and to the point. Crackpot letters were tossed into the trash can. Now, I love New Media, but this idea of free-expression tends to allow nutcase behavior.)
Here's my bottom-line; we put the idea of many out there to change it. If a person's got a problem with the idea, then share it, but don't attribute it to me. Get involved in changing this. Those few who see me in public and don't say anything to me (and I don't know what they look like), then try to bug me in a really sicko fashion online, are really not good people and have certain moral problems. Don't be that person.
A good person can disagree and maintain composure in person, not via text message; by contrast, the people I'm referring to are really sick and express themselves only online and for all I know just want to do harm to me for being a black guy who has a platform.
Please.
I'm happy to help people get out the word about an issue, and talk about it. The bottom line is Oakland needs to change in this area, and it will. Sooner, not later.
Happy New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment