To the editor:

I am so, so tired of the people who don’t seem to want to do their part to help society by paying taxes, especially a very small increase in our county property taxes to support essential services.

I saw a letter recently whose writer thought it a good idea to “privatize” services, asserting that even a tiny tax increase will kill all forms of individual initiative and new businesses will not be started.

The writer goes on about regulations that restrict business development and burden economic growth, as if economic anarchy in the form of unfettered capitalism is to be admired and emulated.

I wonder if this person has ever heard of the “Wall Street Meltdown” that started under the watch of a “free market” kind of guy, George Bush. Or if this person had ever heard of the “secret energy policy” meetings convened by Dick Cheney in the White House. These meetings were designed to ease up on regulations for the oil industry because they were restrictive and expensive.

Now look at what has happened to America because of this lax policy. The people who don’t want to pay fair taxes hate government regulations that protect the environment, that reign in plutocratic CEOs and support agencies designed to help the less fortunate among us.

This person suggests that this is the real problem, these regulations. These are the people who blindly carry the water for the very people who are doing their level best to “shrink government to a small enough size that they can drown it in a bathtub.” They are destroying America.

I did go to the suggested Web site link at reason.org to study this privatization plan.

I read, and re-read, the article and came to the conclusion that it was apropos to have a comedian, Drew Carey, as the front man for what I consider to be an absurdly comedic idea. This idea that if we just privatize services and put them out for competitive bid we can get more for less is ridiculous.

A good example was the opportunity voters had to form a PUD on Whidbey instead of having PSE supply our electricity. So-called private competition has brought us the highest power rates in the state.

I am not going to fall for it. I am voting for Proposition 1. I am sick and tired of being at the mercy of “privateers” and can’t wait for the PUD to come up for a vote again.

Dan Freeman

Clinton