Quote:
Originally Posted by markbarbera
Padthai, if you are going to attack someone else's writing skills, you should proofread your attack before posting it, lest your own spelling/grammar errors betray your hypocrisy.
On more than one occasion I have been accused of being 'old' because I support Bratina. Evidently there are some out there that feel the worthiness of opinions expressed by those who are 'old' should be discounted in value. For them, I feel pity because they possess a certain naivete that prevents them from realizing the value of life experience when forming opinions, and they probably have a lot of life experiences ahead of them before they learn that lesson.
For the record (even though it really is none of your damn business) I am 44 years old, so I will let you decide if that is 'old' enough for you to oversimplify the rationale for my support of Bratina as mayor.
Also, for the record, I am disappointed by the way this particular situation was handled by the Mayor. An upfront explanation of why Peggy Chapman's salary was being adjusted would have taken the legs out of the brou-ha-ha that has predicated the pay raise. Simply put, Chapman got the raise because she was seriously underpaid for the first year in her position, given the volume of work she performs in the mayor's office. That should have been the clear, direct response to questions surrounding the raise. After all, we do live in a society that actively promotes the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.
As far the bleating that a raise like this is wrong during times of fiscal restraint, it is important to point out that, even with this salary increase, the salary in the Mayor's office is still at or below its budget.
Finally, I feel obliged to respond to the suggestion that there is a major public outcry over the pay raise. While there is some online noise about this, it is, generally speaking, coming from the same handful of people who lately have made noise more out of habit than reason. And, the only media members I have seen doggedly pursuing this story is the dynamic duo of Bratina-bashers housed in the 44 Frid Street bunker.
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Mark, I regret that my comments were misinterpreted. Any negative inference was unintentional.
The stereotype of the old, CHML-listening crowd of Bratina voters may be unfair, but I think there's some credence to it. The younger generation of Hamiltonians in particular are looking for a mayor with some vision, some forward-thinking ideas and someone who is open, transparent and accountable. We're simply not seeing it.
I, in fact, do respect the wisdom of those who are 'old,' but unfortunately with our current mayor, he reflects the negative stereotypes of the older generation: crankiness, stubbornness, ignorance, curmudgeonliness....as opposed to wisdom and the positive benefits of age.