BY RUSSELL TURNER
SPENDING DISCIPLINE
I have been fortunate to have parents that taught me the value of money and the need to use good stewardship with the money I have earned. I have noticed that too many of the people of the United States don’t worry about saving; they make a bad assumption in believing that just because their financial fortunes may be good today, those fortunes will be good tomorrow. My business is a very seasonal business. Certain times of the year the phone will ring off of the wall, but after the initial inrush of calls the work will level off to a more realistic rate. I have seen contractors come and go through the years, many of them make the mistake of thinking their businesses will continue to have the same amount of work throughout the year. Many of them will purchase new vehicles and hire more people. When reality starts to settle in they find themselves with payments they cannot afford and more employees than they need, when this happens they are forced to make the hard decisions. The worst decision would be to increase prices and risk driving your customers to a competitor. In my business I have made it my policy to live within my means; whether I am doing a lot of work or surviving the lean times I use spending discipline and spend about the same during both times.
Saving some of your income is the best way to achieve stability. A few days ago I read an article in which the author cited the statistic that almost 70% of Americans did not have $1,000.00 in the bank. This included people that have huge salaries; too many of us have the attitude of easy come, easy go. Sadly that attitude has invaded all aspects of our lives. In the upcoming election Oklahoma State Question 779 needs to be looked at very closely before we even consider voting on it.
State Question 779 is claiming to increase education funding. While concern for education is admirable, we need to look at the condition of our state and the economics all of us are facing.
I want to share a news release from the OKLAHOMA EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION. FOR RELEASE: September 28, 2016 In August, Stephens County posted Oklahoma’s highest county unemployment rate of 10.3 percent. McIntosh County had the second highest rate for the month, while Latimer County reported the state’s third highest rate. Cimarron County claimed the lowest county unemployment rate of 2.7 percent. Unemployment rates were higher than a year earlier in 73 of 77 counties, lower in two counties, and unchanged in two counties.
This one report should raise some concerns about increasing taxes across the entire state. Also, if SQ 779 is passed, it would cause Oklahoma to have the highest combined sales tax in the whole United States. I can guarantee that the counties that are bordering other states will have a decrease in tax revenues; the people in those counties will go across state lines to purchase their groceries and other needs. SQ779 would raise the state sales tax by over 22%, which makes about as much sense as trying to give a drowning man a drink of water. Also, by making this a constitutional change, the only way it can be changed or modified is to have another question on some future ballot. Before you go to the polls take the time and read the entire bill, and don’t rely upon the mainstream media. I will vote no on SQ 779, increasing taxes in bad economic times is showing little spending discipline.
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