Sick and tired of money controlling our government

You've all heard the phrase "I'm sick and tired of it and I'm not going to take it anymore." It usually comes when you're pushed to your limits. Basically we all know our rights, but who has a chance to pursue them when we've been slaves to Big Government, Big Business and Big Money from special interests?

In today's culture, it's money that comes before your rights as an individual. Countrywide is failing because that's the rule they followed.

What about this Traffic Initiative? One of the main issues in Thousand Oaks is partisan politics in our city.

It's the money issue again, used as a defense from those that oppose the initiative. Don't forget that money rules, according to the majority rule of our city.

People come second.

This is what I say: So what if it costs the city for people to control the environment? The needs of the people should matter first before the big monopoly businesses that steamroll into our city.

An individual is rated stupid and not smart enough to know what it takes to run a city by our present leaders, who monopolize our city government due to special interest money.

Most people are probably intimidated by this ploy to silence you. You're already working like a slave, as it is, to meet your basic necessities.

We're already threatened with new taxes to support the city's current direction. Let's tighten our belts as the nation has been made to do and scrap the plans for a Discovery Center and expansion of our parks and make due with what we have for a while.

We have enough luxuries to sustain us. Let's take care of basics, like our schools. If citizens make a mistake in their decisions, they'll suffer the consequences.

That's how people learn how to do the right thing. We all have a brain and common sense, contrary to what our leaders tell us now. For this reason, I say support the Traffic Initiative.

Give some power back to the people, just like the park initiative did. It's worth the cost in the long run.

I'm not going to take it anymore. I think democracy and an individual's rights should be treated as equally as Big Government and Big Business.

People come first, not money, in my book. Marilee Ullmann Thousand Oaks