The Emerald Ash Borer & Socialism Strike Suburban Chicago

"Is it bad that I'm ordering a Flight of White Wines when going to see Race by David Mamet?" - Grung_e_Gene

You were warned! Right-Wing Radio, Faux News, but it's too late. You've let the Chicago-Style Obama Gangster Socialism infest the Suburbs! White Flight No Longer can protect you.

Of course, I'm talking about the unacceptable plans of Arlington Heights, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois to battle the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle.

From the Daily Herald reporting:

Schaumburg is embarking on a 10-year, $9 million program to replace thousands of its ash trees with a variety of species immune to the ravages of the emerald ash borer.

During this first year of the 10-year plan, the village expects to spend $1.5 million, which includes $470,000 to remove 1,863 damaged trees. The village also will begin treating with a powerful insecticide 524 “high value” ash trees that are 20 inches or more in diameter. This needs to be done only every other year, but this year's cost alone is $128,000.

Additionally:

Arlington Heights would need to borrow roughly $11.5 million to combat the emerald ash borer infestation — expected to peak in 2015 killing roughly 5,000 trees, village officials said Monday.

The village board's committee of the whole Monday night gave its blessing to a funding plan that would involve issuing roughly $11.5 million in general obligation bonds in 2013 for the removal and replacement of the village's 13,000 ash trees.

So... It has come to this. I didn't import the Emerald Ash Borer into America! It's not attacking my trees! Why on earth should I pay for the removal and upkeep of my neighbor's infested trees?

We are living in an era when a solid block of conservatives have so deeply conditioned themselves they view any amount of government spending as evil and routinely speak of being "raped" by taxes. But, the Emerald Ash Borer beetle infestation is a prime instance of Government being needed. As in to ensure Domestic Tranquility and Promote the General Welfare.

It would do little good if you treated and protected your Ash trees if your neighbor decided not to and his infestation spread to your trees.

Could you sue him? Sure, but how would you prove the beetles migrated from your neighbors house and not from some other close by infested area? Capture a bunch of bugs and do a DNA mapping trace to prove they came from his strain?

Republicans have been constructing a very odd narrative wherein the Government can do nothing correctly. Now, often when Republicans take office they sabotage and undermine government but, this isn't due to incompetence but to a specific agenda of targeted destruction aimed at dissolving the effectiveness of Government.

Now, really what's going on here is the 1% are setting up Green Zones in America. The 1% who wholly owns and operates the Republican Party on a Federal, State, and Municipal level doesn't have the same worries as hundreds of millions of Americans or those residents of Schaumburg and Arlington Heights.

The only thing that concerns them is getting the Republicans to eliminate as many taxes, regulations, worker rights, the social safety net, and curbs on pollution as possible so they can steal and off-shore as much money as quickly as possible.