Aug 31 2008
Palin on the Bridge to Nowhere:
She was for it before she was against it but she kept the money anyhow….
Part of that reputation comes from her political rhetoric, beginning with her years as mayor of Wasilla. But while Palin made controversial cuts at the local museum in Wasilla and battled library expansion, she oversaw a fast-growing town with a fast-growing budget to match.
As with much of Palin’s sun-kissed career, her timing was ideal: She was able to cut property taxes by three-fourths because sales tax revenues from the city’s new big-box stores were soaring. She even pushed for a sales tax increase to build a pet project, a new sports complex for ice hockey.
A rink that ran up costs to $20 millions and has ripped up the 8000 person town’s finances ever since.
