Markets Work, Governments Don’t - Even In Salisbury

Wednesday the Salisbury City Council will adopt the FY 2008 budget. It appears that the council will adopt the “Bubba Plan”, authored by announced Nobel Laureate Gary Comegys.

Under the Comegys plan Police officers will receive a raise this year, but with no plan to bring them to parity over the long term. Fire Fighters will receive a cost of living adjustment (COLA) plus a miniscule raise. Again there is no long term plan to bring these public safety personnel to parity with area jurisdictions. Other public employees will receive COLA increases and, I believe, step increases. The “logic” behind this plan is that public safety employees are not worth more than other public employees.

Evidently, Mr. Comegys has deluded himself into believing that the market does not exercise its power in Barrieland. It is unfortunate that over the next few years the citizens of Salisbury will continue to suffer as the market continues to operate efficiently and public safety personnel continue to leave the city for better opportunity elsewhere. Markets work, government doesn’t. That is the plain simple truth when government attempts to dictate to the market rather than simply performing the functions of protecting private property and maintaining public order.

I guess that Mr. Comegys and Louise Smith also believe that businesses will be attracted to Salisbury despite their imposition of a double digit tax increase.

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