There were many things my family and I liked, and miss, about Binghamton…chief of which is the convenience of being close to many places we frequent–like the shopping Mecca of the Vestal Parkway. But there are many more things we did not and do not like. Like the recent 15% property tax hike Mayor Matt Ryan and the lapdog Citizen Action Council (formerly known as the Binghamton City Council) just passed for next year. And the water and sewer bill that is going up either 43% or 89%, depending on how you calculate it. (These percentages for property tax and water bill increases are not embellished–they are, in fact, real.) My condolences to our friends still living inside the City limits. You’re getting hosed by a bunch of socialists.

I expect you’ll find what has been a trickle of people leaving the City of Binghamton to become a steady stream, perhaps even a torrent. If the next election does not “toss the bums out” I predict the City, within a matter of a few years, will collapse economically as taxpayers continue exiting in droves and welfare frauds continue to move in.

Elections do have consequences. People do get “fed up” and take action. Eventually. It’s a shame the City of Binghamton has descended to such lows. But perhaps someone will rise to the occasion and challenge the socialistocracy that now runs it. One can only hope and pray.

In the meantime, my family and I are enjoying our country living and our beautiful new house. We thank God for His blessings of our new house, and for the speedy sale of the old house.

Thank you for your patience in my absence from writing this blog. And thank you to those who have told me they missed it. You have encouraged me to “pick up my pen” (or in this case my keyboard) and continue on. I’ll have more to say in the coming days and weeks about the impending election and how crucial it is that we vote. In the meantime, don’t forget to register–especially if you’ve moved since last year’s election. The deadlines are almost here.

Meanwhile, a question for you: Have you ever moved because of taxes and inept government? Have you recently moved for some other reason? If you have, leave me a comment and tell me about your experience. Are you glad you moved? Wish you had stayed? Say it in the comments!

We heard yelping and thought Chico had a run-in with a dog or cat or some other beast. The smell had not yet hit us, so we let him back into the house where he promptly dragged his body all over the carpeted floors to try and escape the burning sensation and extreme smell. Once we realized what had happened, I grabbed him and gave him several baths in the bathtub. We looked up remedies on the Internet and tried one on him (it helped some–hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap). I also used the dog shampoo we have for him. However, this morning the smell is still extremely strong on Chico.

We now have a smelly house–and we were planning an open house for this Sunday! Needless to say the open house is canceled. We’re borrowing a carpet cleaner from a friend to deep clean the carpets. My plea here: If any of you has had this experience, or you’ve heard of/tried remedies for getting the smell out of a house once an animal has brought it inside…please share! Also, any thoughts you may have about getting the smell off the dog, where the odor is still extremely strong, please let me know. Leave a comment or send me an email at jim@rssbinghamton.com.

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