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Re: so the National Parks are Closed
Posted by **pycb** on Oct 3, 2013 at 6:03:43 PM:
In Reply to: Re: so the National Parks are Closed posted by **comic relief** on Oct 3, 2013 at 11:14:06 AM:
********what would be the big deal if the National Parks were permanently shuttered anyway?
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********taken away from Federal control?
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********why not simply turn them over the states that they are in to administer?
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********the Feds could allocate the money that was in the budget to run that particular park for the 1st year & give it to the host state - after that it would be up to the state to decide how & if it should be funded with any proceeds coming from tourism going back to the state
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********perhaps giving the state some sort of ongoing partial & time limited tax credit to help with the funding
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********after all - isn't the Federal government's job to oversee & protect the nation as a whole (the common good/external threats) rather than overseeing acreage that resides within an individual state's boundaries?
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********let the states determine the best way to handle & administer them in a way that's best for the state
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********how did the Feds become "the groundskeepers" with the rest of the nation funding their operations for areas of land that reside within a given state & who benefit from the land being where it is?
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********just a thought...........
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*******Greed will take over and the protected land will be sold off and developed. The state would look to 'benefit' from the land, and the land would be lost.
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*******Just a thought*
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******a possibility but I would think it remote - a large section of upstate NY (the Adirondacks) is currently under NYS control as a State Park & always has been - no exploitation there - very little development
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******think of how much land in each state is already under the administration of a State's Park Department - these would simply be folded into that Administration & handled the same way
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******they could always be deeded over with the caveat that they are not open for development & are to remain in their current undeveloped state
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******it would take the burden of funding them away from the Federal government thereby reducing Federal Spending by the same amount
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*****Do you really think that the state governments are in better financial situations?
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*****Sorry to burst bubble, but they're not. Most states are already in the middle of their own budget crises and are making cuts across the board. State parks have already been hard hit by these cuts: "During the past five years, state park systems across the country have taken disproportionately large hits to their budgets compared to some other state functions."..."Closing state parks has been a tactic of last resort, but more and more states are turning to that solution to make up for critical budget losses."
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******if I understand the intent of the division of powers between the state & federal government correctly - the states were to have control of their own destinies with the federal government being established to deal with issues that effect the nation as a whole
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******somewhere along the line we seem to have allowed the Federal government to assume more & more control over local issues that probably should be in the State's control - hence the name UNITED STATES
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******it's the federal government that unites them & it's role is primarily common defense against external threats & to regulate business between the States - not to control things within the state's borders - I could be wrong in that & perhaps it's overly simplistic - but the states following the Civil War were reluctant to give up control but realized they needed a central government to resolve issues between states
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******I think regulation & administration of parkland belongs with the states who benefit from that land being in within their boundary
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*****The National Parks Service was established to protect national treasures. The nation needs to continue to protect those treasures.
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*****The money that needs to be cut is military spending. Billions of dollars of equipment is going to just be left all across Iraq and Afghanistan simply because it's expensive to ship it back. I'm OK with a couple billion spent on national parks, I'm not OK with trillions being spent on occupations and the 'war on terror'. The US spends more on its military than the next 11 countries combined. According to that chart, we account for nearly 40% of the entire planet's military expenditure. That's obscene. *
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****that's OK & to a certain extent I agree with you - but......
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****that's not what the thread was about CR
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***So the thread wasn't about how the federal government can save a little money? Forgive me for voicing my opinion in your precious thread.
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**no need to get your undergarments in a knot................
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***You're right, let's just shutter all the parks across the nation. That's the best possible solution and saves so much money. You've made such a well-thought and well-researched argument why the parks are better off in the hands of the individual states...
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***Did you look at the link I provided where it states that Florida is selling 160 parcels of state parks, wildlife refuges and conservation land totally 5,000 acres? Or how Ohio is allowing oil and gas drilling in their state parks? But again, you're right, that's just a remote possibility and isn't already actually happening. Carry on with your thoughts...*
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**no need to get your undergarments in a knot................
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**Those are State Parks under State control.
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**Did you not catch my comment that a caveat to turning over the National Parks would be to leave as is with the state simply picking up the administration costs?
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**It would seem based on the limited amount of looking around that I've done that the Parks would self sustaining if not generating enough revenue to offset the cost to maintain them:
**The 394 national parks generated a total of $31 billion and supported more than 258,000 related jobs according to the park service.
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**And no - the thread wasn't about saving the Feds money or reducing the size of the military budget. It was about possibly turning something over to local authority that probably belonged there anyway. With the revenue that would be generated going back into the state coffers rather than being absorbed into the Feds pockets where they would spend it on God knows what.
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**Like I told Mac - I do not profess to be overly knowledgeable or some sort of expert on this. None of us are.
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**At first glance it seemed like something worth exploring.
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**The outcry over their being closed seemed to outweigh the inconvenience of their temporarily being closed.
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**It got me thinking.
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**Thought it might be an interesting topic to explore without the need to "let slip the dogs of war" as so often happens on this site.
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*At first glance, RuPaul looks a woman...see what trouble just a glance can get you into?
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*It really didn't get you thinking, it gave you one very simplistic thought that was shot down as it's not one worth exploring.
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*Here's the problem with initiating a discussion on a public forum, others might not agree with you and will present some alternative ideas relating to the overall theme (government $ and control was the predominate theme of your post). Discussions are supposed to be fluid, and for me that flowed into a comment regarding the billions wasted by the military.*
I wasn't asking anyone to agree with nor was I expecting it. I was asking for others opinions. Opinions I hoped would be shared without resorting to the historical vitriol that is so prevalent on this site.
It's a shame that it once again reared its head.
And BTW - sometimes simplistic is the correct answer to an over thought issue............
Followup Messages:
- Re: so the National Parks are Closed - **comic relief** - Oct 3, 2013 at 9:12:19 PM
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