Play with words as much as you like, isn't it strange how politicians cut the cloth to suit their needs.
TCC Councillors were effectively telling us 4 years ago that Tauranga's high Capital Debt was a myth. They said the critics had the figures all wrong and annual rate increases would not be what had been projected. Reductions were promised.
Well now, here we are in 2011 and it has all turned to custard and hit the proverbial fan.
Tauranga will suffer a degree of austerity, vital infrastructure will be neglected and the Council property portfolio will be crunched simply to keep the Council debt in check.
Don't for one moment think that this will stop TCC Councillors and the ‘want to haves' brigade scheming how to throw money into the trash can. The amount of money spent on peoples wish lists, wasteful overspending are still with us.
We have reached this state in 2011 because politicians and selfish people refused to acknowledge the need for prudence in 2007 and failed to implement thrift in 2009.
Some of the ‘Johnny come lately's' and those biffed out have tried to reinvent themselves as prudent people and call for moderation yet their past track records show they have been some of the worst offenders on wastefulness, overspending and promoting luxuries before necessities.
The public need to look through the façade and check out the true colours. Shame we don't still have the town stocks, with humiliation as a deterent. Fairy tales used to begin with once upon a time, now we know they begin with ‘if I am (re) elected'.

S Paterson, Mount Maunganui.