Why do taxes keep
going up? There's the “$64,000 question!” Recently I commented on
a Norwich Bulletin article regarding the City of Norwich budget
proposal which they are currently delaying until they have an idea of
what the State is going to cough up (the basically broke state, I
might add). The proposal in the works does, of course, include a
6+ % increase.
Naturally, as is
usually the case with any matter involving politics and especially
money, someone posted comments about the issue, sticking up for the
council and insisting that they don't indiscriminately spend the
taxpayer's dollar. Really? I have to wonder if the budget process
they use to arrive at their conclusion of the need for more money is
the same as they would use with their personal household finances?
Sorry, but it is much easier to be generous with someone else's money
than your own.
Unlike some
commenters, who seize the opportunity to “take it out” on folks
using their keyboard, the comment of the person defending the council
was civil and, in many ways, well thought-out. I understand that
there are factors that must be taken into account when budgeting that
are impossible or, at least, hard to control and predict.
Someone else brought
up an interesting point that I shall pose in the form of a question:
how is it fair that renters who have children in the school district
(education being a huge part of the budget) contribute far less than
homeowners do toward the education of their children? How is right
that property owners must bear the brunt of the expense, even if they
have no children? It hardly seems right that someone with one or more
children in the public school system that has an adequate income (but
happens to rent vs. own) pays a fraction of what someone who owns
even a modest house does? In fact, if the renting parent [or parents]
does not own a vehicle, they pay even less into the local community.
How is that fair if they have the means to pay? I have no issue with
contributing to provide a decent quality education to the children of
our community. I only ask that people with the children that are
actually benefiting from our schools pay an appropriate share of the
cost.
If the the tax
structure was more fair towards the property owner and the business
owner, perhaps the city could attract something we have seen very
little of in the past several years: employers. I believe they would
come if they were treated fairly and the taxes were reasonable-- not
going up and up every year.
What are your
thoughts?
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