Ponca Wonka Politics

Ponca Politics was today.  Our city has a forum for questions from citizens for our state senator and representative.  I swear that the questions are all from cranky retired teachers.  Typically half the questions will have to do with education.  That's a good topic, but there are rarely any questions about energy or petoleum. Isn't that the main industry of our city?  Isn't that the largest refinery in the midcontinent, outside the window?  Isn't there a drilling boom sweeping across the northern OK area?  Nor are there questions about agriculture.  One of the hottest issues this year is about the Obama administration's war on family farms and the oil and gas guys.  EPA wants to crucify the oil industry and doesn't want to let the farmer's wife and kids help the family business.  These issues are so intense because they threaten the economies of Kay and Osage counties.  No questions at Ponca Politics, however.  There are rarely any questions about roads and bridges although this was a major emphasis in the state because two years ago, 1600 of 6800 bridges were condemned or judged insufficient and dangerous.  And interestingly, one of our major employers is the largest contractor on roads of the state.  No tourism questions, no law enforcement questions, no military questions, no wildlife questions, no small business questions.  Two lakes, 5 museums, cross border meth lab problems, and a secretive anti-terrorist sensory facility in the town.  The town has had good economic growth despite the doldrums around the country are found here. Weird,hunh?

Good thing I'm not a politician having to answer these questions.  The School Super stood up (the guy who makes $205,000 a year and has an underling who makes 185) and decried "the disastrous cuts" that came in 2011.  Wait.  I seem to remember our Governor limiting cuts to 3% in education before further cuts would be made in other state functions.  And he made a rambling rant that was really rather like a speech than a question.  Finally he asked something about threshold levels of cuts and how distasteful they were.  I would have shot off at the guy.  What, with 53% of state budget going to elementary and secondary education, and colleges and Human services taking up another 35%, is the rest of the state supposed to live on?  53% of budget goes to 4% of the state's workers.  And we possess #30 in ACT test scores, civics, economics and business is hardly taught, and why are you griping about 3% cuts when I used to often have 30% cuts in my former small business?  And still some classes don't have textbooks.  Where does the money go?

Some of the questions were unanswerable--asking the guys to predict natural gas prices, for example.  Another old guy who I know to be a retired teacher stood up and scolded Fields and Vaughan over constant cuts in budget and taunting them with "When is the benefit from tax cuts coming."  That finally drew a Chris Christie remark from Vaughan and plea from Fields that no one can predict the timing of the economy.  I would have held up three fingers at the guy.  3 years.  That's how much time it took for the state to swell sales tax revenues to exceed the cuts in income taxes they did in 2005.  Those cuts doubled the state's growth from the prior decade and have been much talked about.  Sorry if that runs counter to your mindset.

So I don't know what to make of this forum sometimes.  Maybe that is why it has only 30-50 people in attendance.