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opinion
Thursday, June 3, 2021 • Page 4A
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Bridge Turner
I’m Just Sayiri:
Malcolm X Was
Right, About This
“I have a dream that my four
little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their charac
ter.”
The previous is a widely recog
nized quote from Martin Luther
King, Jr. which, sadly, applies con
versely today. Critical race theory,
taught in many schools, promotes
the very thing against which King
preached - judgement based on
skin color. The roles merely have
been reversed.
Racism and discrimination are
equally destructive, regardless of
which color perpetuates them and
which color is victimized by them.
I wrote a column decades ago cal
ling affirmative action reverse dis
crimination. I thought it was a
clever observation at the time, but
it was inaccurate.
For reverse discrimination to
exist, one first must assume that
discrimination is a one-direc
tional. It is not.
By modern “woke” standards,
the application of racism is not
only acceptable, but appropriate
under certain circumstances.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot,
a black female Democrat, recently
announced that she would ban
white journalists from press con
ferences, taking questions only
from minority reporters. I think
we all know what type of reaction
would have occurred if a white
male Republican mayor had
banned minority journalists. Both
are equally inexcusable.
MLK and Malcolm X both
were strong voices during the
1960s civil rights movement. One
of Malcolm X’s basic teachings
goes largely ignored:
“The worst enemy that the
Negro have is this white man that
runs around here drooling at the
mouth professing to love Negros
and calling himself a liberal, and it
is following these white liberals
that has perpetuated problems
that Negros have.
“If the Negro wasn’t taken,
tricked, or deceived by the white
liberal, then Negros would get to
gether and solve our own prob
lems. I only cite these things to
show you that in America, the his
tory of the white liberal has been
nothing but a series of trickery de
signed to make Negros think that
the white liberal was going to solve
our problems.
“The Democrats are playing
you for a political chump and, if
you vote for them, not only are you
a chump, you are a traitor to your
race.”
Malcolm X reportedly was as
sassinated two days after express
ing the previous quote.
Liberals parroting their favor
ite buzz phrase, “systemic racism,”
seem to fall directly into the cate
gory to which Malcolm X referred.
Other new favorites are repara
tions and “equity.”
I heard a black man in a televi
sion interview describe repara
tions as “the extraction of money
from people who were never slave
owners, to be given to people who
were never slaves.” He said it
would create resentment, rather
than healing. Agreed.
To clearly understand “equity,”
I searched for definitions and
found the following:
“Sometimes people may need
differing treatment to make their
opportunities the same as
another’s. This is called equity.”
“Equality has to do with giving
everyone the exact same re
sources, whereas equity involves
distributing resources based on
the needs of the recipients.”
“Equity recognizes that each
person has different circum
stances and allocates the exact re
sources and opportunities needed
to reach an equal outcome.”
Equity sounds like controlled
distribution to ensure that no one
excels and no one fails - everyone
must be reduced or elevated into a
median zone - regardless of effort
or prowess. In a socialist system,
“production and distribution deci
sions are made by the govern
ment.”
Many groups have fought for,
and achieved, equality throughout
the history of our nation. Right
fully so. But we all should be leery
of “equity.”
Author Bob Woodson, also a
black man, recently said in a TV
interview, “I’d rather face the old-
fashioned bigotry than the damag
ing handouts of today.”
On the heels of Upson
County’s Emancipation Celebra
tion, one of the longest running
events of its type in the United
States, I submit that the “big pic
ture” is not as bleak as painted by
liberals. I am certain that all is not
“doom and gloom” in our com
munity.
As a country, we have wan
dered so far into political correct
ness, cancel culture, self-loathing,
and “wokeness” that we barely
have a sense of humor. Why can’t
we all - black, white, and every
shade between - hit a “happy me
dium” and enjoy our lives?
One of the worst years in many
Americans’ lifetimes is in the rear
view mirror. It’s time to say
enough is enough and put the nit-
picky bickering in the dust with
COVID-19, where it belongs.
Lordy, Lordy...
Local Preference
Equals Growth and
Business Retention
We all know that most eco
nomic growth comes from busi
nesses that are already
established. When local busi
nesses grow, our local economy
does too. We, the taxpayers, have
an opportunity to help our local
businesses and build a solid foun
dation of economic sustainability.
All we have to do is contact our
county commissioners and tell
them that we want a local prefer
ence policy.
Upson County has a point sys
tem procurement policy, but it is
flawed, to say the least. Recently I
obtained three bids from our
county for the purchase of lawn
mowers. All three bids were
awarded five points for being
local, but only one business was in
Upson County. The other two were
from Pike and Lamar. I know for a
fact that neither Pike or Lamar
pays into our local tax base... They
aren’t local.
Contracting with local busi
nesses makes sense and the bene
fits are far reaching when it comes
to economic retention, sustain
ability, and growth. It’s the best
investment for our tax dollars. It
doesn’t take a financial and/or
economic guru to figure out that
the more a local company grows,
the more people they employ and
more tax dollars go into the local
tax base.
Out-of-town businesses and
vendors do not pay into our tax
base.
A local preference policy
should be clear and easy to under
stand, and be within a certain dol
lar amount to maintain fiscal
responsibility. I also see this as a
great opportunity for our county
commissioners to show that they
support our local businesses.
It’s interesting to see how and
where all of our money is spent.
We need to pay attention and un
derstand how much we could gain
by simply reinvesting our tax dol
lars.
The City of Thomaston has a
local preference, but Upson
County does not. I am still check
It’s a good time to own a home
in Thomaston. If you do, you just
hit the jackpot. I tried to alert our
politicians, city planners, and com
munity leaders about the influx of
newcomers to Thomaston in sev
eral of my past columns, so call me
a prophet or fortune teller. Ac
tually, it’s not that I was so smart or
that I can read tea leaves, the data
has been front and center for all to
see. Many factors are driving the
demand for housing in Upson
County.
The internet has made it pos
sible for more and more people to
work from home. As more people
exercise the option of not going to
an office, places like Thomaston
are attractive options. People who
are working from home would
rather live where the living is easy.
With several companies per
manently shifting to remote-work
ing arrangements because of the
pandemic, workers are choosing to
live remotely to avoid the high cost
Judicial Center,
B. Waine
Kong, Ph.D., JD
Waine’s World:
It’s A
Seller’s Market
in Thomaston
of living and nightmare commutes.
When was the last time we had
a traffic jam in Thomaston?
Industry is finding that Upson
County is super affordable as well
as finding a cadre of sophisticated
workers so we can expect an uptick
in jobs and almost no unemploy
ment. Is it time to invite your chil
dren to come home? Small towns
are super affordable for employers
who are adding jobs and at the
same time contributing to our tax
base. Thanks to our progressive
thinking politicians, our pro-busi
ness tax policies are working and
encouraging growth.
With the increase in the tax
base, paying more property taxes is
inevitable, but we will have better
schools and maybe the county
council will finally consider buying
the golf course and put it on a sus
tainable footing. It’s such a good
idea! How will young people learn
the game and us old guys have
something that gets us out of the
house and into the sunshine.
(Norm, please reconsider)
In addition to being centrally
located in middle Georgia, we have
no propensity for natural disasters
and a temperate climate. We have
an ample supply of clean water,
electricity, available parking, and
we just increased our sewage ca
pacity. Our roads and bridges and
our entire infrastructure are in
great shape.
Cheaper cost of borrowing
brings more buyers to the market,
creating more demand and prop
erty appreciation. Record low
mortgage rates have dramatically
reduced the cost of borrowing in
the last few years.
Quality of life issues like low
crime rates, hospitable people,
honest politicians, impartial law
enforcement, and schools are good
and getting better. I want to live in
a place where people get along.
Millennials are finally moving
out from under their parents and
buying their first homes creating a
situation of too many people need
ing affordable housing and not
enough supply. According to the
Home Enterprise Institute, home
prices across the country went up
by over 10 percent last year. In
some places, the increase was over
20 percent. The last time this hap
pened was in 2005. But this time,
it appears that high prices are here
to stay.
The cost of lumber increased
300 percent in the past year. In
other words, the cost of building,
renovating a home, or any con
struction is dramatically increas
ing, resulting in a qopercent
decline in availability of homes for
sale, creating a significant imbal
ance between the supply and de
mand.
We have an airport (Did you
know that skydiving is popular
here?), golf course, hospital, doc
tors, lawyers, and all the profes
sions are represented. Our amazing
parks and recreation opportunities
are the best. Whether you are retir
ing early or late, Thomaston is a
great place for retirees. If you are
looking for an affordable com
munity full of nice people (includ
ing police officers), over a hundred
houses of worship and an active
Senior Center where lunch is $2.
If you need a higher level of
medical care, museums, theaters,
fine restaurants, and other amen
ities that only a big city can offer,
Atlanta, Macon, and Columbus are
only an hour away. And if you need
to travel anywhere in the world,
Hartsfield-Jackson is the largest
airport in the world.
According to Martha Adams
(who sold us our house 10 years
ago and a wonderful ambassador
for our city): “I have been in the
ing on the school system. I believe
the local taxpayer should get pref
erence over an out-of-town con
tractor/vendor. It’s a constant
reinvestment into Upson. I think
it’s high time that all of our gov
ernment entities implement a
“local first” policy.
Think about this: 37 out of 50
states have local preference or
geographic policies. They have
them because they work.
We have put a lot of money
and effort into attracting and re
cruiting new businesses and in
dustries over the years. Seems to
me the best investment is putting
our money (tax dollars) back into
the hands of the locals.
real estate business for over 30
years and this is the craziest hous
ing market I have ever seen. Inven
tory is tight and construction is still
lagging behind demand. Those po
tential home buyers who thought
houses were going to decrease in
value are now getting priced out of
the market. In the past six months,
people from California, Missis
sippi, Missouri, Florida, and Ari
zona have moved here. Every
house that comes on the market,
there will be at least four offers the
very next day and it becomes a bid
ding war. We are selling so fast, we
have nothing to show. People who
are moving here mention the air
port combined with good weather,
low crime, and reasonable taxes as
their motivation.”
While the increase in property
values is good news for those who
already own, it has the potential for
increasing the homeless population
and children who will never be able
to live on their own. And while the
property values of homeowners has
escalated, this inevitably leads to
higher taxes which will force some
people to sell and move where?
Our city planners better make
plans. Should we consider public
transportation? Are we preparing
for this inevitable turn of events? In
any case, it’s a good time to call
Thomaston home.
Continued from Front
of the debt. formed.”
“SPLOST is way more Ellington agreed that
than just a building,” Tins- voters should be informed,
ley said. “It’s everything... “I just want the public
“If we’re going to let the voters
decide whether we’re going to do
this, then I’m of the opinion we
need to hit the brakes.”
-Chairman Norman Allen
“If there’s a question on the
ballot and voters say no, they’ve
told you what they think. ”
-Commissioner James Ellington
are we going to pick up the
can and be done with
this?”’
With the board’s au
thorization, Allen recently
executed options to pur
chase approximately 27
acres off West Main Street
for $550,000 or 30 acres
off Highway 19 South for
$583,000. According to a
press release, “Most of the
funding for the purchase of
the property will come
from the proceeds of sur
plus property sales, money
that the board had set aside
for this specific purpose.”
If voters reject SPLOST,
options for funding con
struction would include a
millage increase.
“What do we need the
voters to decide?” Allen
asked. “Do we need the
voters to decide how we’re
going to pay for something
that we’re going to do? Or
are we going to ask the
voters to decide whether
we’re going to do it? If
we’re going to let the voters
decide whether we’re going
to do this, then I’m of the
opinion we need to hit the
brakes.”
Allen said “a problem
has been identified and
presented” to the board
multiple times over dec
ades, most recently
through testimony from
judges, Sheriff Dan Kilgore,
and District Attorney
Marie Broder.
“We’re responsible for
providing for public safety
needs in the community.
Do we move, or do we hit
the brakes? I say we move,”
Allen told commissioners.
“This is a need, not a want.
Politics has nothing to do
with it.”
Tinsley said ballot ques
tions could address a list of
projects “including a court
facility” and authorization
vehicles, equipment, as
phalt, IT infrastructure,
water and sewer infrastruc
ture, and more. This is a
complicated issue, and
voters need to be in
to know what they’re vot
ing for - just be transpar
ent,” Ellington said. “I
think [the court facility] is
a need, but as a representa
tive of the public, I also
think there’s a need to let
them know exactly what
they’re voting for.”
Allen suggested that
under current conditions at
the courthouse, the county
exposes itself to lawsuits
because of security issues
and cases risk being over
turned. “We had jury delib
eration in the chamber of
commerce conference
room [across the street],”
he said. “That ain’t right.”
Wilder said he was un
sure whether he would be
in favor of a millage in
crease if voters did not ap
prove SPLOST extension.
Ellington said questions
would be answered at the
ballot box.
“Clearly state what it’s
for - not just ‘bond debt’ -
and if the majority of
people say no, then re
assess,” Ellington said. “If
there’s a question on the
ballot and voters say no,
they’ve told you what they
think.”
Tinsley told commis
sioners that since a general
contractor’s compensation
is largely based on overall
cost of a project, risk of ac
quiring a contractor’s serv
ices is “relatively low” if the
project is abandoned.
In other business, com
missioners voted 4-1 to ap
prove EMC Engineering’s
bid for work on a Com
munity Development Block
Grant. Ellington cast the
opposing vote after learn
ing from Tinsley that EMC
did not submit the lowest
bid.
“No reflection on EMC.
They do a wonderful job for
us, and we’re lucky to have
them,” Ellington said. “In
the future, I just want to
see the numbers. When
we’re taking bids on some
thing, I want to see all the
bids.”