It has come to my attention that the city of Bridgeport has accepted or is expecting some amount of money from the federal stimulus package. This money is to be used to help renew/replace outdated infrastructure in the city water system. I am calling on the mayor and city council to reject this federal money and fund the project locally. As we all know, the stimulus package passed by congress in 2009 is pure and simple expansion of the federal deficit. Money we as a country do not have. The money will have to be borrowed from foreign lenders or simply printed at the Treasury. Either way, our taxes and our children's taxes and likely our grand children's taxes will have to be raised at some point in time to repay this money and the massive interest it will surely accumulate. It is folly and over simplified thinking to believe that money received for projects such as Bridgeport's water system is somehow "free" or not raised locally. Taxpayers will bear the burden of this debt long into the future - Bridgeport taxpayers. Sadly, accepting this money from the so called stimulus bill means only those that pay federal taxes will pay for the system. Those households that have income levels below federal criteria and pay no federal income tax will not be sharing the burden. Only the (statistically speaking) 52% of households that pay federal taxes will be paying for all 100% of Bridgeport residents to enjoy clean drinking water. Fundamentally unfair. It is time for all Americans to step up to the plate and share the fiscal responsibility of local infrastructure projects. The users that benefit should be the users that pay for the system improvements. I would rather pay locally higher water fees than send my money to Washington and have an inefficient bureaucratic system somehow find a way to funnel it back to my local town all while some of it is lost in the hassle.

Furthermore, the city of Bridgeport was going to improve the water system anyway - this year. The same labor and same jobs will be needed with or without the current recession. It makes little or no sense to use the stimulus money on this project as it does not create or maintain even one job that would have existed without the stimulus bill. In other words - this project does absolutely nothing to stimulate the economy either locally or nationally. Just another taxpayer funded debt creator.

The stimulus money is NOT free and will have to be repaid -- it just won't go to the city office - it will go to Washington DC. Please join me in pressuring the city fathers of Bridgeport to reject the stimulus funds. All area residents are encouraged to do this as YOUR tax dollars are being dropped in as well.