This week, it was announced that budget cuts would now include canceling the Mars missions. However, Rep. Cliff Steans (R-FL) wants to go further. In a recent speech, Steans called for the selling off of national park lands. We have previously seen states sell off park lands, government buildings and other property — even as we burned hundreds of billions in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In a town hall meeting Belleview, Florida, on February 25 that Steans stated “we don’t need any more national parks in this country” and that we need to “actually sell off some of our national parks.” That is a remarkable proposal since national parks are the most successful program in the government with rising demands of citizens visiting parks and sites. One would think we would be expanding the parks not cutting off one of the most popular government programs.
Here is the full statement:
I got attacked in a previous town meeting for not supporting another national park in this country, a 200-mile trailway. And I told the man that we don’t need more national parks in this country, we need to actually sell off some of our national parks, and try and do what a normal family would do is — they wouldn’t ask Uncle Joe for a loan, they would sell their Cadillac, or they would take their kids out of private schools and put them into public schools to save to money instead of asking for their credit card to increase their debt ceiling.
Putting aside the thousands of jobs and millions of recreational hours supplied to citizens through these parks, we continue to show a bizarre sense of priority in sending billions abroad to fund wars in countries with growing anti-American sentiments. Instead of saving hundreds of billions of dollars, we will instead continue to cut educational, scientific, and environmental programs that protect our future.
Source: Think Progress as first seen on Reddit
SwM
We can put them on scales: Repubs and Dems.
And in our convictions decide one is more sinful than the other.
But can we declare that no dems are sinful? Can we say that they are excused, and put on our blinders.
This is certainly not something I would accuse you of doing.
I say we, because until Jill opened my eyes, I at least, belonged to the windvanes with painted labels.
Jill said:
“It doesn’t filter events through American exceptionalism nor partisanship. It just looks at what is happening and tries to stop it.”
The other side of this is that republicans are against the tax increases that are needed to raise revenue to avoid the cuts. They are always ranting about how we must balance the budget through cuts but have no tax increases on our wealthiest citizens. I think Romney’s newest proposal lowers taxes by 20% on the wealthiest while raising them on low income people.
“It’s funny how everyone is saying what an idiotic idea it is to sell government owned land, but nobody explains why it is such a horrible idea.”
The National Parks System is a historic national treasure, mostly kept pristine for the enjoyment of all. If we sold something such as “The Grand Canyon” it would be destroyed by developers. “Grand Canyon DisneyWorld”. Those who would want that have no sense of the beauty of nature or the heritage of the nation. I could go on but I’m afraid the answers would be too complex for you to digest.
What on earth would we do without PBS?
Republicans put NPR and PBS on the chopping block every year.
THERE’S A LITTLE RWA LURKING IN MOST OF US
tt is so damn easy to look for a scapegoat, and our politicians supply them willingly. We seize the issues they supply, and as RWA’s we turn as their winds blow—like windvanes. Just as a herd of gnus or swallows or sardines swing in synchronous movement.
We haven’t come further than that. Just why we feel so amazed when we read the writings of men/women who use their minds—-you have many you could cite.
Wonder why they can? They must have started young, and were talented, and encouraged. Can we all go up the ladder a bit. Yes, I say.
This is not a testament to the lunacy of Stearn but rather to the idiocy of the American people who vote for him and the rest of the republican/tparty.
This is the GOP creed–privatize, sell off national treasures to the highest (or most expedient) bidder. Another example, Gov. Scott Walker just signed the WI wetlands development bill into law. See http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20120301/OSH0101/120301018/Wisconsin-Gov-Scott-Walker-signs-wetlands-development-bill-into-law
Jill,
“It doesn’t filter events through American exceptionalism nor partisanship. It just looks at what is happening and tries to stop it.”
________________________
Right on the money. The partisanship, the right left middle and all the other name-calling only stops us from thinking. From seeing what is happening.
If you SEE it, then you might ask yourself why it is happening.
Particularly agree as to the haves grabbing more regardless of what land they are citizens of. India is one such land, but even there international capital and corporations are grabbing land from the small-holders.
Billionaires get richer, and the small farmer goes broke and commits suicide—leaving the widow with a debt, and children she supports by day labor.
This is only a little indication—-it would take hours to explain.
So be glad we can fight this here a bit.
Belleview [Rep. Stern’s district] is in close proximity to the Ocala Nat’l Forest, a beautiful area w/ lots of boating, camping and hiking. Dollars to donuts Stearn’s benefactors want to own ONF for their private game preserves.
It’s funny how everyone is saying what an idiotic idea it is to sell government owned land, but nobody explains why it is such a horrible idea.
I think it is highly partisan issue. Bush coined the term the “ownership society”. That’s the way things work in Texas. Bush also wanted to totally privatize Social Security. Ryan and others are following in his footsteps. Dismantling the EPA is another partisan issue that Rafflaw brought up on another thread. Republicans have turned town money for public transportation and high speed rail among many other things. Taking money away from public schools is yet another republican attempt at privatization. The list goes on and on……….
In case you haven’t noticed, the U.S. government is going bankrupt. So selling land might be a good way to raise some money and reduce spending.
Where ever and whenever there’s an idiotic or really terrible idea around there’s always seems to be a Republican close at hand to support it and, indeed, claim credit for it.
Why the he’ll not Teddy Roosevelt would be so proud of his party today….. Kinda like he was with Taft…….
Perhaps we can take Rep. Steans on a tour, sell tickets, only $5 to view the man without a heart or brain. Seriously, the lack of moral compass displayed by the GOP is shocking. Neanderthals live!
There is a deliberate fire sale of public assets going on, not only in the US but in other nations. The spoils are going to the very richest people in the world, those who already hold some fantastic percentage of the world’s wealth/assets. I urge people to read the blog nakedcapitalism because this blog explains the wealth transfer very well. I would also recommend Bill Black’s blog on corporate criminality.
Clearly ruling elites have decided they don’t just want most of it, they want all of it. They are going for it, here and abroad. The method they use is to strip out funding for all public good, declare the stripped out assets a failure and then seize them.
If they are so worthless why are private entities so eager to snap them up? A savvy businessman wouldn’t buy such worthless junk as our national parks, right?
Time to call bull shit on all of it. This is theft. Our most precious resources are being taken and consolidated in the hands of a few. These resources will be used up until the entire planet is poisoned with the greedy mismanagement of the few against the many.
This isn’t a partisan issue. We only believe this is partisan because we are not looking closely at what is really going on. We also tend not to make connections between events in other nations and the US. That is one reason OWS is so important. It doesn’t filter events through American exceptionalism nor partisanship. It just looks at what is happening and tries to stop it.
lets all eat our seed corn so next year we can starve to death. It makes so much more sense than asking billionaires to cough up an extra buck or two – or cutting a defense budget as large as the rest of the worlds combined.
They are the only things anyone would buy from Gummit, Inc. The roads, watersystem, and power grid suck, so perhaps the sell-out crowd Steans belongs to at least have a marketable product to peddle.
I know how to save money. Send Rep. Stearns packing. He can forfeit his salary because he is already being paid by the corporate lobbyists. This is the same guy who thinks Obama’s birth certificate is suspect!