Hazleton for Sale…Maybe
So what do you do if you’re the mayor of a city in financial distress? Have a fire sale! After years of bad decisions, chasing businesses out of town, wasting tax payer money, and illegal use of funds, Hazleton is now on the verge of financial collapse. Indeed, under the “leadership” of Mayor Lou Barletta, the city of Hazleton has suffered mightily. Now, running out of options, Barletta is planning to try and sell the Hazleton Water Authority to try and keep the city afloat.
So this is what it has come down to? Selling off Hazleton piece by piece? True, selling the Water Authority may raise funds in the short-term. However, the Water Authority isn’t the source of the problem. A shrinking tax base and the financial consequences of Barletta’s inept leadership are the reasons Hazleton is on life support. So what happens two years down the road when the city is still on the verge of financial collapse? Sell some more stuff? Anybody wanna buy a bridge? Or a school, perhaps?
Also, if the Water Authority is privatized, it’s a safe bet that rates for Hazleton residents, as well as residents of other cities serviced by the Water Authority, will shoot up. This will only add to the financial hardship faced by the residents of Hazleton. Mayor Barletta is pushing ahead with brutal tax increases and city service cut backs. All of this will have the effect of further harming the long-term health of the Hazleton economy. Seriously, why would anyone want to live in Hazleton at this point? Well, I guess if you like being financially raped, maybe…
And with all of this going on, Mayor Barletta is still pushing ahead with his campaign for the US Congress. As our nation inches out of one of the worst financial meltdowns of our time, can we really afford (literally) to have people like Lou Barletta making decisions about our economy? We’ve already seen Barletta’s version of a financial stimulus plan: Tax the hell out of everyone and sell off everything you can get a quick buck for. Clearly, this is not the type of representation we need in Washington and we can do better than Lou Barletta.
Mayor Lou Barletta has already demonstrated, time after time and year after year, that he has the God gifted ability to take a bad situation and make it worse than anyone could have possibily imagined. The city of Hazleton stands as a brutalized monument in tribute to Barletta’s failed leadership. The city is teetering on the brink of financial collapse, her businesses are closing and/or relocating out of the area, and her assets are being put up for auction by the man responsible for it all. Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.
See also: Lou Barletta Tries to Re-Write History and Barletta Makes More Excuses for His Failures
-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com
