Is this the policies of a Conservative?

Question

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative." During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later -- to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

Answer 1

Republicans are wolves in sheep's clothing. They are all liars and elitist. They don't care about the poor or suffering. Look what Bush has done in the last 8 years....look at the economy, gas prices, healthcare, unemployment, environment, etc....all choas from thos d**n REPUBLICANS!!!

Answer 2

You forgot something, the towns people of wasilla love the sports

complex. There are other contributing factors that you don't add in

your rant here, thanks for trying though.

Answer 3

Of course not and her facts are incorrect. I still think we need to be very careful because a lot of people are misinformed or uninformed. A lot of this is complex and hard to understand. It's not simple. Most people didn't go to college. Even the people that did, it doesn't mean that they understand it all. People tend to go more on what people say even if it's meaningless or incorrect in many ways. They don't take the time to ask questions and to really think about it. They just go with it. It's why we have Bush for 2 terms. He does one thing but says the opposite. He's made government bigger. Does that sound like a Republican thing to do? He's spent so much money (borrowed money). Does that sound like a Republican thing to do? Reagan was the same but people somehow think he was a great President when the record doesn't show it all. People believe what they want to believe and then look for evidence that agrees with it. It takes a disciplined and intelligent person to seek out the evidence regardless of any bias. It's important to recognize your bias and just ask questions. Accept that you won't find all of the answers or what you find may not be what you wanted to find. You have to sort it and understand it or try to. It's not easy. You can understand better of why we are in such a mess. There are so many layers.  

Answer 4

Im not suprised. Shes a wreck...

Answer 5

The devil is in the details.  You need to cite your source(s).

Answer 6

Oh and you forgot an 80% approval rating...the highest of ANY governor in the US.

Answer 7

She hasn't changed much as Governor.  McCain and others speaking at their convention called her a tax cutter.  That's an outright lie.  The reason Alaska's budget is so strong under Palin is that she put through a windfall profits tax on oil extraction - much like the one Obama supports and McCain opposes.  That raised about $2 billion and made it possible to cut other taxes and fund extra programs.  It's why her approval rating is so high.

Answer 8

And as GOVERNOR she has an 80 percent approval rating. She's turned down federal funds for a pipeline for NATURAL GAS, the largest public works project in history, and is paying for it out of state funds. And, despite this, Alaska's got a significant budget surplus.

Contrast this with Obama who's sole executive experirence is as a community organizer with a $400 thousand budget. Obama hasn't had enough executive experience to be responsible for anything. Do you really want to learn just how bad he is by electing him president? Particularly when the man doesn't understand diddly squat about business. Windfall profit tax ~ what the heck is that and who would pay it? The people. Energy policy ~ Bush merely mentions domestic drilling and the price of oil falls 25 percent. Doh!! Guess Obama didn't think about that.

Good try, but it won't fly. She's done a great job and Obama hasn't. (And notice I'm comparing the VP candidate with the presidential candidate. That speaks volumes.)