Snow melts. Anger subsides. Priorities linger

So it did snow, after all.  

The forecast was a bit off, quite reminiscent of the projection and actual path of Hurricane Helene.  Northwest Georgia got frigid cold temperatures, but the snow was mostly reserved for South and East Georgia.

I was in Savannah for the week, as the legislature had been scheduled to be at ease for budget hearings. Snow is rare down here, so I’m told, even in Georgia snowfall terms. I was here for the start of the blizzard of ’93, but that’s another story for another day.

The local reactions were similar, if a bit exaggerated to what I’ve experienced with an Atlanta area snowfall. It began as a bit of wonderment and surprise at both the event itself and the volume of accumulation.  Savannah is a beautiful city in its own right. A layer of snow added a level of majesty to its scenery.

What is even more rare, whether here or in North Georgia, is to have a snow event followed by days of sub-freezing temperatures.  Our tree canopies provided sufficient shade to keep a 3-4” snowfall on the ground and roads for several days.  We were still experiencing road closures due to ice on Friday after a Tuesday evening snowfall.

By the weekend, cabin fever was setting in for many.  The happy comments on social media were turning to a bit of scorn. As is usually the case, many were wondering why we don’t have the equipment to fully treat and/or clear the streets for these events.  

There were hypothetical calculations of the lost business and future tourist revenues because we can’t handle a few inches of snow.  We see this a lot in Atlanta.

There’s two evergreen lessons in politics here that are generated during and after almost every white out. I’ve been preaching them for over a decade now.  

My first television appearance as a political “expert” was during the extended ice event in Atlanta in 2011. The metro area and much of the northern half of the state was iced over for a week or so, if my memory serves.

One of the local TV stations had run out of things to say, and the news folks were running on fumes and stale pizza. They decided to invite a couple of bloggers in to move our debate from the internet to live TV. That turned into a six year run for me as their political analyst.

My sparring partner wanted snow plows everywhere. No one would ever come to Atlanta again if this was our reputation. Our convention business was as good as dead. We were a national embarrassment according to her, and “someone must do something” was her mantra of the day.

I noted my two basic premises.  Snow Melts. Anger Subsides. 

Everyone wanted someone to do something because for a week, it’s what we all were obsessing over.  Most of us couldn’t leave our homes, do our jobs or conduct normal everyday things because there was ice everywhere. We all saw the problem, so we all were demanding someone fix this unpleasantness we were collectively experiencing.

Snow plows cost money.  The numbers needed to cover even half the roads in this state would be staggering, much less having the people trained to run them.  

We also at the time were furloughing teachers and had cut the state’s budget to the bone. I noted that the final budget negotiations were going to occur in late March or early April, most likely on an early spring day when the temps were in the 70’s and this particular problem already a distant memory.

I asked her how many teachers need to be laid off this year so that we can have some plows available in three or five years when they’ll likely be needed?  No one likes these kinds of questions when they’re mad about what’s bothering them right now, but it is how any expenditure should work.

Scarcity is real. Priorities need to be funded first.  

We don’t have the same priorities as Chicago, which must prioritize snow removal lest the city be buried in many feet of snow for months. Chicago doesn’t have to prepare for the occasional hurricane. We have different needs, and our budgets reflect that.

We’ve had a couple of days in the 50’s and one in the 60’s since the snow.  Some is still here, still melting.  

Our roads are again open and safe. The anxiety from a lingering weather event has subsided.

People will move on to other problems they demand to be solved “right now.” Politicians have the burden of deciding how many of these demands are just vocalized angst, and how many need real attention. They then have to sharpen their budget pencils, and prioritize according to their decisions.