Candidate for Commissioner Kim Amontree, a registered Republican living in District 2, previously a Non-Party-Affiliated voter, now running in District 4, promotes in her campaign that she wants “attainable housing” – not affordable housing – for government workers, campaigning this to special interest groups, while effectively marginalizing all other residents in the county.
What this means is that if you work for any of Amontree’s approved government employers you could be eligible for her attainable housing. Attainable does not mean it is affordable. But it does mean that if you work for the government and you may get government housing, much like practiced in communist and heavily socialist countries. If you quit your job, you lose your housing too.
This means that, in essence, you will submit, in a bondage relationship, to the local government.
This form of government bondage is much worse than when we had slavery, partly because it is the government that’s behind it. At least a slave could buy their freedom and keep their house. The implicit bondage that Amontree campaigns on is a type of systemic marginalization and exclusion politics of anyone who does not work for the government, but everyone will be charged through taxes to provide these benefits to a carefully selected group of government workers. The government will have its employees in a stronghold, controlling every aspect of their life.
That’s Marxism on steroids. She might be registered Republican, but her policies and mindset appears to be that of support for redistribution of wealth and tax dollars.
The right thing to do would be to advocate for affordable housing for everyone who works in the county, whether they are government employees, small business owners, students and apprentices, single parents, retired individuals, waiters, store sales associates, or whatever they do. But with the policy that Amontree advocates for, many hard-working people will be excluded.
Her campaign makes it sound good, but that is just rhetoric. This is not a policy that will support providing attainable housing for all. It is only attainable for a selected few.
One of the frustrations many voters express today is the growing disconnect between political labels and political behavior. A party affiliation can provide a general indication of a person’s political philosophy, but it does not always tell the full story. Elected officials and candidates are complex individuals whose positions may differ significantly from the expectations associated with the party they represent.
This reality highlights the importance of looking beyond labels, vetting candidates, and consider carefully if a candidate truly supports and works on policies that aligns with that of the party; in this case the fundamentals of a limited republican form of government.
The Attainable Housing campaign objective that Kim Amontree is advocating for is not in line with that of a limited, republican form of government. It speaks to big, collectivists forms of government and more tax dollars redistributed without transparency.
Citizens who care about public policy should pay attention to what public officials say, what policies they support, how they vote, and how they govern. Political identities can be useful shorthand, but they are not a substitute for understanding a person’s actual record and priorities.
In a representative republic, accountability depends on an informed public. Healthy civic engagement requires more than accepting political branding at face value; it requires examining actions, decisions, and outcomes, and it requires the voter to critically think about how a candidate/politician’s actions aligns with policies that speak to limited – as per the U.S. Constitution – government. Whether a voter ultimately agrees or disagrees with a public official, a well-informed opinion is built on evidence rather than assumptions.
If you don’t want big government, don’t vote for candidates who advocate for big, boundless government and increases in redistribution of wealth. The choice is yours.
By Karina Schmitt, Blog Contributor