The Mountain Xpress provided excellent coverage of the proposed referendum to raise sales taxes for capital improvement projects at AB Tech. As usual, the political defensive is resorting to mild distortions. One fair statement was made by Robert Malt, who organized a PAC, the Sales Tax Opposition Partnership, to oppose the tax.
“I think raising taxes in the middle of the second Great Depression is not a swift idea,” he explains. “Right now, the last thing we need to do is take money out of the local economy. Retailers, who are most affected by a sales tax, are struggling. We see restaurants and other businesses in Buncombe County struggling and closing.”
I used to work for AB Tech, many moons ago. I loved it, and so did the students. I have seen a sagging in morale in recent years, but what irks me most is some of the homework questions kids I’ve tutored have to answer. They are worded poorly, ambiguously, and sometimes hint that the instructor doesn’t understand the concept he is purportedly testing.
What brought that up? I think it was a feeble attempt to indicate that schools are not focused on education anymore, and nice buildings do not a well-trained brainiac make.
If you found that digression useless, hopefully you will think the same of the local daily’s coverage of television programming highlighting a big show that filmed a feature on the college. Doesn’t it just make you want to vote?
