earlier in the week, i whined about a new 'fee' inserted in my water bill. transportation maintenance fee is what the city is calling it. well, puking my venom online wasn't enough. i wanted to puke this venom, er, speak with an actual city official about this little 'fee'.
so i called up our local utility office. i was surprised at how pleasant the receptionist was. he didn't sound like a robotic drone. i've called the offices before. whenever the woman has answered, she is about as exciting as a turtle.
i politely said i was calling about the transportation maintenance 'fee' and wished to speak with someone in charge. (ok, i didn't actually include the quotations when saying the word 'fee'. i cannot call it a 'fee' without adding the quotes as a sort of qualifier. in my mind it is a tax being it's coming from my pocket and going to the city to provide for services. and i wasn't given the chance to vote on it.)
i was immediately put in touch with someone. an actual live person. no voice mail to talk into. so blah blah, i stated my reason for calling, stated my upset over such a 'fee', and said i had some questions. live person said, "i would be happy to answer your questions."
well, anytime i let someone know i am upset and have some questions......and when this someone says they would be HAPPY to answer my questions, i immediately know i am dealing with someone who has a script in front of them or is going to speak a lot of gobbly goop.
"how is this fee determined? i have assumed it's based on my water consumption. is this correct?" i asked.
"actually, it is a flat fee and it's based on road usage. we did a national study and determined the average amount of time the average family uses the public roads, determined by how much time they spend in their car, driving back and forth to work, to school, to run errands, etc. from there we took the number of households in the city and came up with this amount. we also conducted a similar study for businesses in the city," was the response.
"what if a family rides their bike? what if the family doesn't own a car?" i asked.
"the family who uses their bikes, or walks on foot or uses the bus, all use the roadways," was the response.
"you mean to tell me people who ride a bike or walk for that matter have the same damaging effect on the roadways as does a car?" i asked.
"well no," was the response. "so you are telling me that i am paying the same fee as a family who owns 2-3 gas-guzzling monster size vehicles?" i asked.
"yes," was the response, followed immediately by "i realize this doesn't seem fair. however, it would have taken us tremendous time and utilized tremendous resources in order to determine every family's particular transportation methods and how far they drive, etc. we decided a flat fee was the best way to go."
"even though it isn't necessarily the fairest," i said.
"you could say that," was the response.
"sounds like the typical government plan to me," i said. was there sarcasm and resentment brewing in my voice at this point? i believe there was.
"so tell me, why wasn't i informed about this earlier? i would have liked to have had the chance to voice my opinion," i said.
"oh, we advertised this on the local cable channel," was the response.
"we don't have cable," i said.
"well, we also put this in the city newsletter a couple of years ago," was the response.
"you're assuming i lived here a couple of years ago," i said. (i really did live here a couple of years ago--but i don't always read the city newsletter. i just wanted to make a point.)
"well we also put out this plan in numerous publications. we really did do what we could to spread the news," was the response.
"you know, the best way would have been to have attached a note to the actual water bill," i said.
"that would not have been feasible being the old water bills were very small until two months ago," was the response.
"that's a very convenient answer," i said.
this time there was silence.
"i'd like to ask you a personal question," i said.
"a personal question?" was the response.
"yes. a personal question," i said.
there was some hesitation. "all right," was the response.
"have you received a cost of living increase on a fairly consistent basis?" i asked.
"that is personal. and to answer your question i will say that i have seen my salary increase on a fairly regular basis," was the response.
"thank you for sharing that. now let me share my story. my income has actually declined 18% in the past 5 years. you see, i used to work for a local company that went out of business. since that time, i have had to settle on jobs that pay less. the competition is unbelievable and most of the available jobs are low end service type jobs. i haven't seen the city address these facts in any of one of the newsletters."
i was growing upset, so i took a breath and continued on.
"what i am saying is that i cannot afford another basic living increase. do you have any idea what it is like to live in this city, or this society for that matter, without having a secure little well paid job? private or public job for that matter? do you have any idea what it is like to see 50% of your income go to the high cost of housing in this community?"
i was on a roll, so i took another breath and trudged on.
"you want to see more funding for the streets in this town? QUIT WASTING THE MONEY YOU TAKE FROM THE PEOPLE. put a freeze on your salaries and start living more modestly like many of the citizens in this town. and begin demanding that the federal government stop stealing from the state and local governments so that they can fund their ongoing agenda of global domination. I AM POOR, lady. I AM POOR. and I CANNOT AFFORD FEE!" i looked around for a cigarette at that point, even though i don't smoke. give me something to inhale, my brain screamed.
there was silence on the other end for a few moments. finally came the response.
"i understand," was spoken in nearly a whisper.
"you can only understand it if you are living it," i said quietly.
"do you have any other questions?" i was asked.
"no," i said. then as an afterthought i said, "but i do have a lot more to say. and i am not going to be quiet. not anymore." then i hung up.
i later thought about this conversation. the government employees aren't the only people who piss me off these days. it's ANYBODY who doesn't see what is happening. anybody who doesn't see the work force enslavement. the greed. the gut wrenching, disgusting assault on the whole idea of the american dream....the home ownership, the savings, the retirement, the children, the family, the whole white picket fence bullshit of a lie. and the people who hurt me the most are people like my folks. my secure in their big homes folks. my folks who profited off of the housing and stock market booms. my folks who were able to create the american dream on ONE INCOME. one meager little office manager type income. back when employers gave ya benefits. lots of 'em.
it is these people who hurt me the most with their callousness. for you see, they are aware of what is going on. they comment on it. and they see me living it. and what do they have to say? "i wouldn't want to be in your shoes. i am just lucky the world was different when i was your age," upon which they return to their nice big comfy home.
:::deep sigh:::
honest to god.........at this stage in my life i simply do not know what to do anymore. it's all so overwhelming. too overwhelming. i'm not a rugged individualist. i used to be, or least i was good at pretending i was. now i'm just simply tired. when you're in quicksand, sinking, calling out for some help, looking around for some way out, a different way, a better way, you keep hoping someone will come along and will say "i see you" and offer you their hand.
faith. hope. words that are hard to digest lately. but other than my anger and my pain, it's all i feel i really have to rely on. and i am clinging tightly to them. i just don't know how much longer my grip is gonna last...
nina
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