One instance is that vast amount of money that was spent back in 2008 to 2010 regarding the roof of the Washington County Courthouse and how they didn't bother to get guarantees and repairs in writing and make sure the repairs were done correctly before forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars on the 1888 constructed structure. Which now needs a totally new roof and various repairs due to water damage, age, stress, and other environmental issues with the building.
All the while the county spent millions on a new jail that had cracks in the floor at the time that it was opened to put in the multitudes of criminals flooding the community and mostly because of theft or drug issues. All the while they spent a couple million more on a new judicial center and judges chambers because we all know that the two judges just couldn't bother doing their job in such horrid conditions that they have where they sit in air conditioning and heating all day during the winter. All the while the good people of Washington County end up getting jobs slaving away in one of the local factories for barely enough money to just get by but not save an real amount that would provide a quality retirement.
While the county sheriff, county prosecutor, county judges all make in excess of 130,000 dollars a year and the average taxpayer makes a fraction of those salaries. Most families make in the 30k to 60k range county wide at their increasingly unstable jobs while the judges, sheriff, prosecutor, and other public hirelings are able to screw off on public time while making salaries much more than the median family income of approximately 45k a year. While these public officials in the higher reaches of county government are making 3 times that of the average family in Washington County, Indiana.
A county which has consistently over the last 30 years or so been in the bottom 10 counties in the state of Indiana regarding per capita income, job creation, family income, median family income, and various other measures of wealth and creative enterprise.
Yet, the people continue to be run into the ground by excessive taxes, government waste, too many sheriffs deputies sitting around packing on the pounds, etc. While the judges and the law enforcement community continues to get fatter and fatter both figuratively in income and literally by the spread of their rear end. The ordinary people are losing their homes and properties and sustenance by the lack of income from their jobs, no pay raises, and no real economic prospects. Unless you consider working at a mom and pop store, big box store, or fast food to be an economic future. I don't however.
All the while these fat cats sit up there and pass judgment on the community and those in the community who they are eating out their substance while putting family members in jail and creating a new criminal class. While turning their heads to the massive drug problems and problems with methamphetamines that has racked Salem in recent years. Along with the massive increase in theft, petty crimes, and other issues that end up tying up the court system.
Yet Salem has always had a criminal underclass running the town now supposedly a city for many years. Back to the 80s when well known local businessmen eagerly supplied pot and dope to the young people in Washington County. This increased in the 90s where their ill gotten gains weren't enough for them so other drugs were moved into the county while the public officials and good old boy county government electors were put in office.
Those good old boys had the nerve to talk about making Washington County a place to be proud of and to a great place for their kids and grandkids to grow up in. Yet more empty talk from these incoherent and often imbecilic goobers that call themselves council members or commissioners.
Instead of getting good jobs in the community other than a couple of the local sweatshop factories invested in by their good friends in the local business community, they were more eager to attain the goals of a certain group of so called community busybodies whose ideology was that of big government Republicanism just as long as they were running things.
So they could continue to run the community into the ground while corrupt cops held sway, drug dealers and their financial backers flourished and made out like bandits. While certain professionals in the legal profession helped those drug dealers stay out of jail or made sure they got leniency.
While this Roman style fiddling and burning was going on that would have made Nero proud, they county continued to lose businesses and jobs that had held families here and people for generations. One of the biggest was the loss of Smith Cabinet Company aka Child Craft which finally ended up relocating south of the border in the paradise called Mexico because of low wages and lax labor standards.
While they were fiddling and burning Salem to the ground economically while covering up for the local politicians and good old boys, the community continued to lose jobs and lose ground. Maybe it wasn't 75,000 dollar unionized jobs working at Ford or GM but it was still 30k to 45k a year jobs that were going away somewhere else and nothing was really ever done to do anything about.
So henceforth a true Washington County solution along with other small towns was to become a retirement community where people could get jobs wiping rear ends and taking care of the retirement age folks who obviously need the help but not everyone wants to be a burger flipper, gas station attendant or work in low wage retail and jobs without good pay and benefits. The good old boys of Salem and their subsequent mayors and public officials touted all of the development which really consisted of a couple of small box stores and garden variety dollar stores.
Add in the local new big box store which does provide a bit more shopping convenience but isn't going to employ everyone that wants a job. Not that it wasn't needed because it was due to the good old boys local friends charging 2 or 3 times for products and merchandise that could be bought at the big box store for a fraction of the cost.
It reminds me of the whining that was incessantly heard in the community when the big box store was plotting to move to Salem. The locals some of whom should be called yokels were adamant that the town would dry up and blow away as soon as the local big box moved in. All the nondescript and crappy businesses would just fly off to never never land and never be seen again because of all the horror stories that existed from other small towns that never were and never would be in some dumpy state where the poverty level is 30 percent and half the population gets government checks on a monthly basis and we're not talking about age 65 and over seniors either. We're talking about 18 to 65 year old people who are physically and mostly mentally capable who wouldn't work. Not disabled people with real and legitimate disabilities but the usual societal deadbeat types.
Salem wasn't worried back in the 80s and 90s about factory losses that happened only in other communities in Indiana and the Rust Belt states of the North. They thought they were insulated until Smiths left down for south of the border.
The good old boys though now are getting up in their years and finally being pushed to the side and they should be because its time for the people to take charge and make these people are thrown out of office on election day and never to see the inside of a government building ever again for their workday pleasure. Instead they should end up working the fine assembly lines of one of our local factories such as a wood manufacturing company or an auto parts making in 100 degree plus heat that would make a billygoat puke. That might teach them the value of work and being productive.
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