Schoharie County, Mohawk Valley and the Catskills have been devastated by Hurricane Irene. Ditto numerous other areas in the Northeast. On Sept. 3, I took a ride through Rotterdam Junction; it was depressing. The politicians and media were gone. I tried not to get in the way or gawk too much. As far as I could see, the Red Cross and local volunteers were on the ground. That was it. FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] went back to Washington to plan for its next photo opportunity. I also viewed the locks, as much as allowed. I have bad news for everyone: The area is ripe for more disaster — hurricanes Lee, Katia, a conga line of natural disaster. Schoharie County was the breadbasket of the American Revolution. Schoharie was our breadbasket until Irene. The British, pro-British elements, Indian allies and Canadians set fi re to Schoharie Valley — to the tune of 95 percent of the farms. To help the people rebuild after the Revolution, Benjamin Franklin made it possible for the Schoharie basin to be tax-exempt for a generation. This afforded the people resources to rebuild their lives. There is a lesson to be learned from our founding fathers, a lesson no history (civics) teacher will ever teach. Reducing the tax levy allows people to rebuild and prosper. A massive central government plays a small part. A small part best describes the aid being given upstate New Yorkers, so why all the taxes? The taxes keep the politicians in planes, running around from disaster to disaster. Taxes also provide hundreds of thousands of jobs for party fateful. As I left Rotterdam Junction, I noticed obscene political signs everywhere in Rotterdam; no restraint! How about a pledge from everyone running in the geographic region to divert 50 percent of monies collected for campaigns and use these funds for local hurricane relief? Don’t tell me election law won’t allow it, just find a judge to sign a court order. It is done all the time. Now we find out if the politicians, and those who want to be, are willing to work in the people’s interest or their own. Is there a Benjamin Franklin out there?
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