"Michael Lampman" <mlampman_at_solitaireboats.com> wrote: > [snip] I recently proposed on a local mailing list in Florida that if the > paddling community in the state proactively wrote, proposed and lobbied for > its own registration bill, we could ensure that the idiots in the > legislature would not eventually impose a nonsensical one of their own on > us and that in this way we might even be able to limit the cost and ensure > that we would get some actual benefits from it. > The result was that the entire statewide paddling community, (at least so > it seemed), rose up in arms against me. [snip] Michael, in the end, it is becoming more and more difficult to get the average voter to make a connection between fees he/she pays and benefits received. The disconnection often occurs in a morass of invective and rhetoric about waste in government, an easy target, and a correct one at times. But, when local voters (as in my area) fail to support money for roads and then rail about the poor condition of the roads, what can you do? I regret you got pasted. Some who have contributed here on Paddlewise to the debate about the (now defunct) Maine registration bill seem to have over-reacted to the __concept__ of a registration fee instead of focusing on the practicalities of making sure the money gets spent for paddlers' needs. Some of the horror stories, such as what happened in Pennsylvania, fuel the fire for such rhetoric. I abhor what happened there as much as anyone. I'm with you, Michael, and Florida may be a poster child for access problems, if my short stay in the Sanibel/Captiva area a few years back is representative. In Oregon, we do not have the population pressures you do, and we have a relatively enlightened body of legislators (he says __very__ quietly), so that access is not bad, most rivers and lakes, but we also need to band together to keep what we've got. Your proposal to have paddlers initiate a bill is a good one, albeit one which made you a target. Remember, as a lead dog, your view is always changing ... unlike the view of those behind you. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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