To the editor,
We all know that the economy is in bad shape right now. I know people who have not been given a raise in over four years. We all know someone who has lost a job and can’t find another one.
The people of Prospect have spoken not once, but twice on the state of the finances in Prospect. Both times the voters have rejected the budget put up for their consideration.
This is not the opinion of one person but the opinion of the majority of those who vote. The people have spoken and they are saying, “No” to an across the board 4 percent increase in the town’s budget and also “No” to raises for those who work for the town and who are still lucky enough to have a job.
Many residents of Prospect find that their property is not worth today what it was worth when they bought it. They are living on less money or, in some cases, on unemployment.
It is no wonder that the majority of those who voted in both referendums voted against any increase that asks them to pay, as the comedian George Carlin has said, “More of what they know you don’t already have enough of.”
Prospect is a nice little town. It is a pleasure to live here. With that being said, I recognize that there is a time a place for salary and budget increases. But now, with the general economy in a slump caused by the Wall Street debacle of 2008 and the real estate bubble being broken while investments and pensions lost value, it is not the time.
Please stand and vote again on June 10. Remember just what we are being asked to vote on and how it will affect our personal bottom line as well as those programs that will suffer if this budget is passed.
If the democratic process works, a budget will eventually be presented that is fair and balanced in the interests of everyone who lives in Prospect.
Patricia Smith Zappone
Prospect
