Quote:
Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed
Exactly. For any expenditure, you could find a group of people that think it's absolutely essential.
Thanks to limited municipal funding, there are essential projects that aren't done simply because we don't have money for them.
I'm not totally against a few democratic votes on specific projects/issues, but for the most part, it's simply a bad idea. The general public isn't educated on all the issues related to a project. That's why we "theoretically" pay people to represent us, to spend time educating themselves to make informed decisions. (and I realize that not nearly all decisions are made by council)
I wouldn't trust the public to make a informed decision on arena funding for one. The project is far too "sexy."
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Far too sexy or maybe the truth is that many of the projects some people deem essential really aren't that essential. We have been coping without these essential projects just fine over the years. The only thing constant in Calgary over the last decade is road construction everywhere. At what point do motorists just have to suck it up and live with an extra 10 minutes in their commute?