{"id":5930,"date":"2022-11-20T21:39:47","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T02:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citizensforgoodgovernment.org\/online\/?p=5930"},"modified":"2022-11-20T21:39:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T02:39:47","slug":"part-2-cleveland-county-citizens-are-broke-cleveland-county-leadership-has-broken-us-eye-witness-report-by-robert-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citizensforgoodgovernment.org\/online\/2022\/11\/20\/part-2-cleveland-county-citizens-are-broke-cleveland-county-leadership-has-broken-us-eye-witness-report-by-robert-a\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 2: Cleveland County Citizens are BROKE!! \u00a0 Cleveland County Leadership has BROKEN US!!! \u00a0 Eye Witness Report by Robert A"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On November 12, 2022 Robert A<\/b><\/u><\/strong>\u00a0published an article titled Cleveland County Government Going Broke!!??<\/i><\/b><\/u><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Please go back and re-read that article. <\/i><\/em>Robert A<\/b><\/u><\/strong>\u00a0<\/i><\/em>was wrong about that article. But only in the sense that things are much, much worse than\u00a0Robert A<\/b><\/u><\/strong>\u00a0had thought.<\/p>\n

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Remember the Cleveland County Manager has previously reported that the County unemployment rates were only 3.4%. But the worker participation was 61%. Meaning that the actual unemployment rate was over 39%. So, which was right???<\/p>\n

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Folks, go back to the November 15, 2022 Cleveland County Commissioners Meeting video. In the DSS Report, you will, like Robert A<\/b><\/u><\/strong>\u00a0did, realize that not only is the County going broke and spending recklessly and trying to raise taxes and fees and whatever to raise money, the Citizens of Cleveland County are suffering badly too. Only the citizens don\u2019t get to write checks on the County like the County gets to write checks on the citizens<\/b><\/strong>. The citizens only get to sign up for WELFARE<\/b><\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Totally due to failed Commissioners policies and actions. Wasteful spending, high taxes and low regards for taxpayers and citizens. Many struggling just to survive on a day to day basis. All clearly driven by Commissioners low regards for Cleveland County Citizens and taxpayers. That low regard that shows up in almost all the decisions that the Commissioners make.<\/p>\n

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Here is the proof:<\/p>\n

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The CC-DSS Director Katie Swanson, in her presentation, told the Commissions that ONE THIRD<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0of Cleveland County residents are on MEDICAID<\/b><\/strong>. Note that one third of Cleveland County residents equals 33,333 people. Men, women and children. Medicaid is the provider of health care to poor, poor people. People that are NOT even on the first rung at the bottom of that ladder to economic self-sufficiency. And the last time I saw numbers on how many people are on Food Stamps, the number was over 20,000. Down from 25,000. Which was probably a bookkeeping error or some change in how that number was counted and dropped so significantly. Also, other County information blames that 20,000 to 25,000 citizens on Foodstamps as being from the total lack of jobs or the jobs that are held by some of those 20,000 to 25,000 people are very low paying jobs caused by those citizens not being properly educated or trained for better paying jobs. So, those undereducated and undertrained Cleveland County workers cannot travel to surrounding counties and states for better paying jobs. And, those better paying jobs that might exist in Cleveland County are filled by residents of surrounding counties and states (SC) who travel to and fro\u2019 Cleveland County every day. (Note: What to do to improve Cleveland County Education and Cleveland County Economic development will be a topic for discussion on another day.)<\/p>\n

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So, 33,333 people are on Medicaid and only 20,000 of those 33.333 people are on Foodstamps. Why the difference? Well, says Robert A, <\/b><\/u><\/strong>it is all in the counting. Medicaid counts all the people, men, women AND CHILDREN. Foodstamps are actually only issued to adults, often in regard to children, but still only issued to the adult parents, guardians or other caregivers of children. Children are too young to shop for groceries themselves, etc. So, the numbers make sense. 33,333 on Medicare and only 20,000-25,000 listed recipients of Foodstamps. 13,333 children, more or less, makes sense in that context. Still, around one-third of Cleveland County Citizens are the poor among the poor living in Cleveland County. That large, percentage of citizens on Medicare and Cleveland County Schools also reports lots of kids are on \u201cfree-lunch\u201d programs. And often the meals these kids get at school are their only meals of the day. Which means lots of food stamps the parents get for those children are used for other things. Like buying drugs. It is a well-known fact that Food Stamps are the currency of choice for drug dealers in Cleveland County. But that too is an article for another day. But remember this, Foodstamps to feed children and free school lunches to feed those same children means that taxpayers are paying twice to do the very same thing-feed children and the poor. If the Commissioners had their \u201ceyes on the ball,\u201d they would require DSS to redirect the cost of Free Lunch meals at school away from the parent\u2019s Foodstamps allocations when they are not feeding their children at home. A clear FACT, and yet again a topic for discussion for another day. Note these \u201carticles for discussion on another day\u201d are indeed complex, but these issues have NEVER been discussed, or even mentioned, by the Cleveland County Commissioners. NOR were they discussed or even mentioned during the November 15, 2022 Commissioner\u2019s Meeting presided over by Chairman Kevin \u201cMad Dog\u201d Gordon. Even though the DSS Director and many DSS Employees were right there at that meeting. Basically, the Commissioners did what they always do. They thanked DSS \u201cfor all that you do.\u201d The Commissioners apparently don\u2019t give a \u201cwhit\u201d for the bottom third of Cleveland County\u2019s citizens.<\/p>\n

It is certain that, Chairman Kevin \u201cMad Dog\u201d Gordon doesn\u2019t care. All Gordon talks about in Commissioner\u2019s workshop meetings is raising taxes and fees on citizens. Higher Fire taxes so he can take over all the various volunteer fire departments in the County. Like he did with the Rescue Squads. \u00a0\u00a0Charge \u201cfees\u201d for mandatory Fire Code inspections. Pass \u201cNoise\u201d ordinances so he can have his neighbors arrested.<\/p>\n

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And Folks, that was that. For now!!! Stay tuned!!<\/p>\n

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Watch Commissioner Gordon plot and plan to take more $$$ from CC Taxpayers:<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

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