There are also some Jewish private schools, which appeal especially to conservative, orthodox Jews. If public schools are a hot topic in American towns, another hot topic is the distribution of the tax burden between residents and businesses. Ten or twenty business owners seem to have more clout than two hundred residents because the business owners have more motivation, more passion, and they persuade politicians to pursue policies favorable to them. Another topic that has been discussed in Seekonk recently is open space. There s a widespread feeling that open space is desirable, but few towns are willing to translate that widespread feeling into spending on open space.
Open space lasts indefinitely, and benefits posterity, but posterity has no voice in a democracy.
I hope these remarks on local affairs have been of interest, especially to foreign readers, who constitute a majority of Phlit subscribers. If you haven t found them interesting, well, I promise to return to more literary topics in the February issue. Hope to see you then.