I have the good fortune to be working with a number of selfless citizens from around Cape May County from extremely varied occupations. Some have national and local political experience; two have been mayors; some have been public and some have been private business administrators; one is an author of books on collective bargaining; some in education at the state and national levels; one is in private and public crisis management and preparedness.
In addition to practical knowledge, the college degrees around the table are equally varied, ranging from biology, geography, economics, banking; various types of management and planning, including a PhD in School Administration.
Just what is it that drives this group to work on their respective Cape-Issues tasks and to pow-wow monthly at 7 AM to compare ideas and plan the next step? It is a realization that there is something that is achievable that may go undone if they did not explore it.
And yet it is more than that; it is an awareness that we Americans have a reputation for doing great things, and consciousness of that propels us to do our best for the good of the whole.
In Cape May County we recognize that we are disjointed and that we could accomplish more with fewer tax dollars if we were to look at the budget pie as a whole.
Nationwide currently government is living in a dream world. As hard as it is for government officials to bring expenses in line with revenue, the private sector is having a much more difficult go of it, and yet they are forced to live within a shrinking budget. Even though the taxpayers generally are under significant stress, in some great measure, government has not adjusted to the reality that it cannot continue to take an ever larger piece of the pie.
I have heard people say such things as: Every year the school budget goes up, and we have no option but to pay it. My healthcare premiums keep going up, and my deductible has doubled. It is driving people out of New Jersey. To such things I would say to you: Folks, we don’t cast off our residents. It is not morally correct.
The Cape Issues undertaking is a work in progress and will take many years to accomplish its potential. But those years will pass, whether we strive for what is achievable, or we don’t.
Art Hall, publisher
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
