Editor:

The March 12 Antioch Press article “Big rate hike for big trash users” reported the Antioch City Council’s approval, by a 4-1 vote, to allow Allied Waste Services (AWS) to gouge customers by an extra 26 or 27 percent for the next 15 years. The implication is that it’s for people who produce a lot of garbage, and that those who switch to the impractical 26-gallon can size will actually be rewarded with a minuscule savings.

Talk about a load of garbage! As I watched the trucks zoom past all the empty houses on my street this morning, it became apparent that this is a bald-faced money grab to compensate for the lack of funds due to foreclosures. This proves that the trickle-down theory doesn’t work for citizens, only businesses. And what they allow to trickle down aren’t benefits, but costs. So, as Big Business and Big Government have done their best to crush the hardworking taxpayers of our country, it will be up to local businesses and local governments to sweep up the remains.

Antioch’s City Council ruined what remained of our property values by wooing an increasing number of Section 8, and allowed remaining decent residents to be screwed by backdoor dealings. There are worse places to live than Antioch, but we’re going down fast, thanks to them.

Tommy Ray, Antioch