Vote “Against” Trevor’s Tax on November 4
On November 4, 2014, Mecklenburg County voters will be asked to vote “For or Against” a referendum entitled “Mecklenburg County Sales Use Tax”.
The text of the measure is as follows:
“Local sales and use tax at the rate of one-quarter percent (0.25%) in addition to all other State and local sales and use taxes.”
There are a number of reasons I strongly encourage you to vote AGAINST. Here are just a few.
No Guarantees – The sales tax increase is being sold to the public as a way to fund teacher raises, CPCC, libraries, and the arts. There is NO REQUIREMENT that the Board of County Commissioners must use the new revenue for these purposes. It is general revenue.
In fact, and call me cynical if you like, but in order to satisfy their never ending thirst for spending other people’s money, the BOCC needed a ploy by which they could extract more of our money from our pockets. What better way than to use organizations with built in constituencies and activist arms as the pawns?
We already know that the highway trust fund money didn’t go to highways, the education lottery funds didn’t all go to education, social security money was used for other purposes…but somehow we are to believe that just because they “promise” us this money is for teachers it will be? I’m sorry, I don’t buy it. Odds are the money will go to other uses and in just a couple years another “crisis” will be created whereby yet another tax is necessary to fund “teachers, libraries, and the arts”. Those seem to be the big three when it comes to masking true intentions. It’s all a shell game.
The reality is the County already collects more than enough money from the taxpayers to run. It is not the taxpayers fault that the elected board is not more responsible.
State Help Already Coming – The North Carolina budget signed into law on August 7th already includes average pay increases for teachers of 7%. Those new to the profession will see the highest increases.
Frankly, with a budget of nearly a billion and a quarter dollars, CMS seems to carry a very administratively heavy burden. Perhaps if some of the six figure salaried paper pushers who have never taught a day in their lives would take a pay cut, or be better stewards of the resources they already receive, teachers wouldn’t be “underpaid” to begin with.
No Discussion, No Vetting – The small majority of commissioners who voted to put this tax increase on the ballot did so unilaterally. They failed to seek input from community leaders, other elected officials, or even city and county staff. It was poorly thought out, poorly implemented, and shows truly poor leadership.
Other Ideas Ignored – There was a proposal by Commissioners against the sales tax to fund teacher bonuses without raising taxes…while simultaneously providing a property tax decrease. This was voted down by Trevor Fuller and a majority of the Board. This seems to bolster my opinion that this isn’t about teacher raises in the first place…it is simply about the BOCC getting more of our money to spend as they wish.
Hurting Families – Relying on sales taxes can place an unfair burden on people with lower incomes because they spend a greater percentage of their income on basic necessities. True, food, gas, and medicine are exempted from this tax, but the point remains.
In fact, beginning teachers in CMS with no experience earn $35,418 per year. In effect, people who make less money than this will be taxed to provide raises to people who make more than them.
Hurting Local Business – If passed, this sales tax would generate an estimated $34 million per year for the government. That is $34 million that can no longer be spent at local businesses.
The organized campaign that we have seen in support of this is mostly coming from those who think they will benefit from it…and they are crossing many lines in doing so.
This just isn’t right…
CMS is sending home pro sales tax propaganda with students homework folders. The libraries were made to take out pro sales tax posters that were in clear view of early voters at their locations in violation of no campaigning rules. CPCC has posters up around their campuses encouraging Yes votes.
All of these organizations seem to be using taxpayer funds to lobby for additional taxpayer funds. This just isn’t right.
Much of the pro argument also continues to be a naive assumption that the money will be used as promised.
I commented on the pro sales tax Facebook page and received the follwoing answer from one of their moderators.
“While it’s true the money could at a later date be used for another purpose, I truly don’t believe the Commissioners would dare defy the public on this.”
The gentleman who responded seems to trust government a great deal more than I do. I already mentioned other “revenue streams” that were supposed to be used for specific purposes but weren’t. Another example would be the Charlotte Arena referendum in 2001. The public voted down taxpayer funding of the arena, but the City Council voted to build it anyway while citing the referendum was “non-binding”….just like this one.
The final reality is that Charlotte is already one of the highest taxed municipalities in the Southeast. Looking at demographic trends, people are leaving the county for the lower taxes and better schools of surrounding counties. Raising taxes is rarely, if ever, the right answer to solve problems. It certainly does not bode well here.
Vote Against the referendum on Tuesday.
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