CBS News obtained 86 pages of city council documents that show Palin sought to justify the tax increase to fund the sports complex in part because the private sector had not stepped in to fill the gap. She noted the strong support in the community as a reason to move ahead.
But her most striking argument for raising taxes is one you might not expect from a fiscal conservative. She writes that the rink offers an opportunity for government to stop a social ill like drug abuse or juvenile delinquency before it starts.
Among the documents is this email written from Palin’s account to the “Dept Heads” of the council in January 2001. Although its left margin is sliced off, the message of the email is clear. Palin writes:
“…as I look at the money that government [spends] on projects, programs, personnel and facilities to ‘fix’ societies ills and I realize that it’s [be]come more politically correct and accepted for government to throw money towards ‘after-the-fact [services]’, instead of preventive measures that a community could take to support and promote…family oriented, positive, constructive activities and lifestyles. Even on the local level we [spend] hundreds of thousands of dollars on our Police Dept., Youth Court, DARE Program, etc... ‘after the fact’ fixes for juvenile problems. We are in a position to help prevent (Palin’s emphasis) the [problems] that we are now forced to pay to attempt to remedy.”
This approach sounds surprisingly similar to Senator Barack Obama’s philosophies about youth violence and health care spending. Obama’s “Blueprint for Change” bemoans the lack of money spent on preventive health measures, “The nation faces epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases as well as new threats of pandemic flu and bioterrorism. Yet despite all of this less than 4 cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health.”
Robin Bailes, another hockey dad who moved to town after the complex was built says he doesn’t think government should be involved in anything, “Every time you want to do something you need five permits.”
But when asked about how he feels about local government funding the ice rink, his tone changes. “Kids like it, so I would probably support it.”
