Oh my!
Now a reasonably bright person might argue, why? Well, it’s complicated. Did I already make that point? Sorry.
So who exactly is to blame? In my view there are two main reasons for this.
• First, blame us. And I’m part of that “us.” Remember that half-billion-dollar school construction bond not too long ago? Sounds crazy, right? But we approved it. (Full disclosure, I voted for it too.) If you want to play around with your tax bill a little more, check out how much of your money goes to something school-related. And don’t forget that state Supreme Court ruling dealing with school funding. That money will come from someone. Guess who?
• Second, think for a minute about the role of government. Well, it spends money. Now most politicians will tell you their role is to provide services to those who need them. And that’s true. But at its core, government spends money. And politicians have managed to figure out more and more ways to spend more and more of it.
Don’t believe me? Do the research. See what the government was spending money on 50 or 60 years ago. And compare that to what we spend money on now. Government can almost always find a need out there that has to be funded. That’s what they do.
Of course your property taxes are only pieces of the tax puzzle. You’ve got income taxes and sales taxes and gas taxes and hotel taxes and service taxes, shipping and handling fees — oh wait, scratch that last one. I think you get the picture.
I really don’t see a good ending to this picture show. Rotten Tomatoes would not give it a good score. I suspect, eventually, the goose is going to get cooked and that will be that. On my end, I’m not part of the solution. I’ll keep voting yes and hope someone else takes the lead.
It’s too complicated for me.
