Growing Government For All The Wrong Reasons
If not angry, one can only be bemused at the lies foisted upon the public by recent claims that a property tax increase this year would only be the third tax hike in 25 years. Tell that to those in the annexed areas, where every two years the city raised taxes on those it annexed. What about storm water fees? They go up regularly. What about CMUD fees? They go up regularly. What about food-and-beverage taxes? What about sales taxes? What about car-rental taxes? The list of taxes going up is seemingly endless. Which further tells us the economic lie foisted on the public about growing cities.
We are led to believe a growing city is vital, that taxes remain low because of the improved economic atmosphere associated with growth. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. The more a city grows, the higher its taxes. There are very simple reasons for this.
One is the cost of the employees of government. As government grows, which it naturally will with the increased amount of people to be harassed (I suppose I should say governed) those in government believe they should make relatively more money. This increases their cost relative to the taxpayers. Toward that end, it would be curious to see what the average wage in Charlotte was 25 years ago compared to the average wage of a city employee then; and compare the two to now.
The second reason has to do with the entertainments – better said, toys – that the city employees and associates purchase themselves. First, notice who gets free tickets. It’s certainly not the stated owners, the taxpayers. You know, we’re all told ‘it belongs to the people.’ Try getting in on that statement. None of them belong to the people; they are just bought by the people. Then those in government and associated friends get free tickets, while the rest of us must pay. If ‘we’ removed all the debt we have incurred through these unnecessary projects, our rulers could lower the tax rate.
The third has to do with profligacy. There the list is endless. Going back to the $60,000 per bus stop spent downtown, to bricks for sidewalks, to excessive buildings, aluminum wheels on buses (steel is cheaper and more durable) to the current $9 million for a police division station. Oh come now. Renovate an empty big box store.
The real question is: with all the annexation that has occurred, giving the city an excess of income over expenditures for years, combined with the actual growth in the city’s tax base due to economic growth that has occurred over the past three decades, combined with all the raised fees and other taxes over the years, why haven’t taxes gone down?
Seriously, why aren’t taxes going down? Give us an explanation for the waste and bloated salaries.
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