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| O'Fallon Watchdog |
Exposing Corruption, Injustices and the Truth.
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DANGER: Local Government?
Steve Blechle
Any citizen who has run afoul of a city hall bureaucrat knows local government can be just as dangerous to liberty as the
federal government. What most people don't realize is that local government has been growing in size, scope and power.
Local government now dwarfs the size of the national government. Starting in the 1960s, it began to surpass the size of
national government and it is now roughly 50 percent larger.
Local government has gone beyond the types of services that we expect, like police, fire, schools, and snow removal, to
take on all sorts of powers. Local government is operating services that were never imagined, such as real estate
development and recreational facilities that should be private-sector activities.
Most people don't pay attention to their local government. Turnout in local elections, whether for bond issues that can
seriously raise our taxes, school boards that affect the quality of our children's education or boards of aldermen who form
city policy, are abysmally low.
The greatest threat is "the invisible governments." this would include TIF commissions, planning and zoning boards and
other quasi-governmental bodies that have the power to tax, to issue bonds and to confiscate (condemn) property. There is
no one watching over them. They are not elected. They have no accountability and take on no liability for their actions.
People need to pay as much attention to their local politicians as they do their national politics. Your local school board
member, councilman and zoning commissioner probably have a greater impact on your life on a day-to-day basis than the
president of the United States. The more sunshine (use of Missouri’s sunshine law) we can put on local government, the
better. When local government violates people's rights, people need to take their local governments to court and show that
they will fight back. The court system often acts as a restraint on the power of local government and often times is the
citizens only alternative.
Steve Blechle
Any citizen who has run afoul of a city hall bureaucrat knows local government can be just as dangerous to liberty as the
federal government. What most people don't realize is that local government has been growing in size, scope and power.
Local government now dwarfs the size of the national government. Starting in the 1960s, it began to surpass the size of
national government and it is now roughly 50 percent larger.
Local government has gone beyond the types of services that we expect, like police, fire, schools, and snow removal, to
take on all sorts of powers. Local government is operating services that were never imagined, such as real estate
development and recreational facilities that should be private-sector activities.
Most people don't pay attention to their local government. Turnout in local elections, whether for bond issues that can
seriously raise our taxes, school boards that affect the quality of our children's education or boards of aldermen who form
city policy, are abysmally low.
The greatest threat is "the invisible governments." this would include TIF commissions, planning and zoning boards and
other quasi-governmental bodies that have the power to tax, to issue bonds and to confiscate (condemn) property. There is
no one watching over them. They are not elected. They have no accountability and take on no liability for their actions.
People need to pay as much attention to their local politicians as they do their national politics. Your local school board
member, councilman and zoning commissioner probably have a greater impact on your life on a day-to-day basis than the
president of the United States. The more sunshine (use of Missouri’s sunshine law) we can put on local government, the
better. When local government violates people's rights, people need to take their local governments to court and show that
they will fight back. The court system often acts as a restraint on the power of local government and often times is the
citizens only alternative.