Look at every penny spent

(Updated: Thursday, January 14, 2010, 10:08 AM)

Ahwahnee and Raymond Cal Fire Stations are no longer staffed to provide emergency services to their areas. They were closed Jan. 11. This is not only a tragedy affecting the Ahwahnee and Raymond communities, but also affects all of Eastern Madera County.

Emergency response cuts have a trickle-up effect. Any emergency response call for the Raymond or Ahwahnee areas will require an engine to respond from Oakhurst or the Indian Lakes subdivision.

So, now the Oakhurst fire station is empty for as long as it takes emergency response personnel to drive from Oakhurst, past the unstaffed station in Ahwahnee, the time it takes to deal with the emergency, and then the long drive back to Oakhurst.

I realize money is tight but at the same time we are allowing our government to risk our very lives by not providing the most basic emergency services, that same government continues feel-good projects funded by grants. When I protest I am told, "The county's hands are tied."

It seems the money being spent comes from a restricted account or grant. The money can only be used for specific projects and in specific ways. I am outraged when I see the potential of people losing their homes or even their lives for the lack of funds to pay for essential services, when funds are in accounts but have been earmarked for a special project.

To use one of my analogies -- I guess it is a bit like letting grandpa freeze to death this winter because the heating budget is at zero and we don't want to dip into the account set aside to build him a swimming pool next summer.

It is well past time to demand a transparent look at where money is being spent no matter what account it is coming from. We the people have created this mess and it is up to us to fix it.

Unfortunately we seem to look like fish caught in a net of our own making. The harder we twist and turn the tighter we become entangled. No amount of money from a special bond can save us. Each and every bond comes with its own strings to further entangle us and waste a greater portion of our income.

Each bond passed floats in on a river of pork fat, quietly added to buy votes. It is time to pull out the old bait knife and cut our way out of this mess.

It is time to repeal or repair some of the ridiculous laws we have allowed to be passed. Each time we are told by politicians, "Our hands are tied," we must demand to know by what specifically is the problem and how do we cut through what is binding you.

The Madera County Board of Supervisors have decided there is not enough money to fund the basic essential services for Eastern Madera County.

From today on I will look at every penny spent by our government in a different light. Is what is being funded more or less important than the lives of our neighbors now being put in jeopardy? I ask you to do the same.

After that question is asked, we need to deal with the politicians telling us "Our hands are tied." If these guys were around in 1776 we would still be bowing to the king of England.