It Really Is Our Money: The Looming City Budget Deficit and What We Can Do About It
The issue here is not that there isn’t enough money. The issue here is: who has the money, and who will be asked to pay? We grow up being taught that we live in a representative democracy. On the local level, every elected official has to build a base of support so that on election day, she or he will garner the most votes and win the election. The broader and more diverse a politician’s base of support, the better, right? Of course, we learn through experience that’s not the whole story. Politicians need money to be able to run campaigns. They get that money from those who have it, which is why, though they need us everyday people to officially get elected, politicians often don't reflect our interests once in power - no matter what their party. I don’t believe that in his heart of hearts Mayor Nutter and his administration believe in the politics of accountability to powerful interests at the expense of everyday people. Which is why I firmly believe that we should call on the mayor and city council to do what we elected them to do, which is to represent us. This administration represents the teachers, the firefighters, the small businesses, the service providers, the young people, the families, the unemployed, immigrants. It represents the whole city because it is the city that put this administration into power. We did that so our representatives could fight for the best interests of everyday people like us. Of course, we can make informed suggestions in the hopes of helping the administration do its job better. But perhaps our most important job, beyond coming up with helpful suggestions, is the strength of our belief that there is a way to move our city forward without asking those of us living paycheck to paycheck to keep paying, and those of us living without a paycheck to keep sacrificing. We believe it can happen. We know it can happen. We elected you to make it happen.
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