Shovel Ready

Thursday, February 19 2009 10:26

I didn't expect to be using my blog to write about national issues, but with the economic crisis and all the talk about federal stimulus, it's about time I weighed in.

As everybody knows, this Web site is about the negative effects of tax shifting -- one government pushing its responibilities and expenses onto a lower level of government. In my mind, the stimulus package signed this week by President Obama is just the opposite of tax shifting. If it is done right, it will be the kind of "tax returning" that I've been waiting a long time to see.

Ask anyone in Empire Falls -- stop in McSorley's Butcher Shoppe, Mahoney's Grill or Judi's Cut 'n Curl -- and you'll hear the same complaint. We keep paying federal taxes, but rarely, if ever, do we feel like there is any benefit coming back to us.

Now is the time to change the feeling of disconnectedness we have with our federal government. Empire Falls has plenty of infrastructure projects ready to go, including road improvements, water and sewer upgrades, and energy efficiency initiatives. And each one of the projects would create jobs, promote economic development, and improve the quality of life for our historic municipality.

In a time of questionable investment strategies, sending Federal Stimulus money back to communities like ours is a smart investment. Our projects are ready, and we have the shovels and workers ready to get the job done.

Paid Leave for Cancer Screenings

The Mandate: Sections 159-b and 159-c of the Civil Service Law provide that any public employee or public officer has a right to take paid leave, of up to four hours per year, for breast cancer screening or for prostate cancer screening. As a result, those covered by these laws have paid leave over and above whatever paid leave may have been granted to them by their employer. The reality is that any employee with accrued sick leave could potentially use such leave to undergo screenings for these types of cancer. Consequently, these laws are unnecessary. Furthermore, this coverage extends to part-time employees. While this class of employees is generally not provided with paid leave, any part-time employee seeking a cancer screening would be able to schedule such outside of normal working hours.