Pogsues speak to election issues

Being Frank, by Frank Ameduri

Another election cycle is upon us, and the candidates have had an opportunity to vent their spleens, spout their rhetoric and thump their chests. While the Pogsues aren't fielding a candidate, it's important for the party to speak out on a few of the issues. For those who don't remember, Pogsues, or PPOGDSU, are members of the Pragmacratic Party of the Greatest Darned State in the Union. As the name suggests, Pogsues don't bring a lot of baggage to the table. They don't pigeonhole themselves with a bunch of philosophical, ideological claptrap. Pogsues take each challenge on its own terms -- both as an individual issue and as a part of the big picture -- and they attempt to find a solution based upon pragmatic, logical thinking. Don't lean left because your ideology makes your left leg heavier, and don't lean right because your philosophy makes your right leg shorter. Link arms and lean forward, because that's where the solutions are.

Here are a few of the questions from the Frontiersman candidate forum, and the Pogsue responses.

The borough relies heavily on property taxes for funding. How can residents be assured that as the need for services increases, property owners won't have to shoulder the entire burden?

There's that nasty "T" word. Just utter the word "taxes" and Democrats dive under their desks and Republicans puff up their chests. Republicans haven't met a tax they'd kiss, though they've shared a straw with "user fees" of late. Democrats like to at least hold hands with taxes, but they've taken to doing it under the table lately. Living in a community with a government is supposed to come with some degree of services. The government doesn't pay for the services -- the people who use them pay for them. It's really not as complicated or as sinister as some would like it to seem. If you want better schools, safer roads, clean water and public safety, you've got to chip in and help pay for them. If you pay for them by yourself, it'll cost a lot more than if you just pay an income or sales tax. No, property owners shouldn't carry the entire burden. You are the government. You decide what you need, and then you pitch in and pay for it. If you vote for people who say they won't institute or raise taxes, don't complain when they close your parks or invite resource developers into your backyard. They're just keeping a promise.

When issues such as zoning and coal-bed methane development, medical waste facilities, adult video or book shops or other contentious topics come up, the assembly often reacts with knee-jerk legislation. Is there a way to be more prepared for these hot-button issues?

Great question. Simple answer. There wouldn't be hot-button issues if we only WERE prepared. You don't give a hoot about zoning and planning until Clucky Chucky's Chicken Farm wants to move into the vacant lot behind your house. You don't care about sub-surface rights when the resource development is taking place on the other side of the Valley. There's only one hospital, and it's not in your neighborhood. Who cares where the medical waste goes? Zoning and planning aren't about taking away your rights as a property owner. They're about preventing other property owners from taking them away. The borough's growing. You have to decide now how you want it to look in 15 years. Your view is going to be different depending upon whether you want to make your home here or whether you want to make your fortune here. If it's a fortune you're after, you can always carve it out of the country and then retire someplace where they have zoning and planning. Growth and development are inevitable, and good -- when they're done responsibly, and you can only do that by regulating them. If you don't agree with that, I've got a nice gravel pit you can build your house on.

What do you see as the most important road and traffic concerns, and how do you plan to address those concerns?

There aren't enough roads in the Valley to handle the increased traffic. Most of the existing roads are not wide enough. Traffic control patterns are inadequate, and only a handful of people can handle a four-way stop without a double-shot of Ginko and three traffic cops. If that's not enough, there are too many drunks on the road and not enough police, prosecutors and judges to lock them up. My solution? You've got three choices, folks. Place restrictions on growth so you can reasonably keep road improvements in line with growth rates. Allow growth to pace itself, but increase spending on road improvements. Allow growth to pace itself, don't do anything different with road improvements and stop complaining. If you choose plan three, somebody please install a traffic light on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway outside the Frontiersman, however, so I can get home at night.

Frank Ameduri is the chairman and sole charter member of the PPOGDSU.