How often do you use public services like Transit or Parks?
- Frequently (2 - 3 times a week) (100%, 1 Votes)
- Consistently (Daily) (0%, 0 Votes)
- Often (4-5 times a week) (0%, 0 Votes)
- Occasionally (4 times in a month) (0%, 0 Votes)
- Rarely (Average of 1 time a year) (0%, 0 Votes)
- Never (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 1
Loading ...
I enjoyed listening to the most recent edition of Consider This by local commentator and former Chelan County PUD Commissioner Werner Janssen on KOHO 101.1 FM Leavenworth (streaming online worldwide if you’re interested in some great music). I almost always agree with Mr. Janssen’s positions, and this week is no exception.
Taxes is a subject of great heated debate. No one likes paying taxes, not even I do. It is the interesting part of living in a civilized American Republic, and somewhat of a burden similar to Jury Duty. We must all pay taxes, and when called, we must serve our country on a Jury. In other countries, people don’t have the luxury of trial-by-jury. Also in other countries, people don’t have the other luxuries we have all but taken for granted. I don’t enjoy paying taxes just as much as most people don’t enjoy getting a root canal at the dentists office. However, I have lived in communities with significant taxes and seen the benefits.
Arizona has sales tax, property tax, and an income tax (some call a “State Tax”), which is a percentage of your Federal Income Tax. Sales taxes include state sales tax, county sales tax, and municipal sales tax. Not to mention there are property taxes. While some parts of Arizona are veritable crapholes, and others are havens of upper class white society, I lived in a unique town. Tempe is a suburb of Phoenix, and is completely landlocked, meaning other cities and towns have annexed all the land around the city making it impossible to grow. The city is host to Arizona State University, and is smack in the middle of a giant “interchange” of sorts with five freeways passing through it’s boundaries surrounding most of the city in a big square of freeways. It’s not the wealthiest city by far, that might fall upon Scottsdale to the north. It’s not even the newest and shiniest, which arguably is Chandler to the south. It’s not the State Capitol, which is Phoenix to the West, nor is it the quazi-native reservation town of Guadalupe also to it’s west, and it certainly isn’t Mesa, with all it’s Mesa-ness (if you’ve ever lived or been through there, you know what I’m talking about). It’s Tempe. It’s the blue stain on an otherwise red state. It is one of the only Democratic areas of the state (our Representative to Congress is one of the only Dems from Arizona). It also has some of the higher taxes in the state.
Yet I loved living there. Why?
The streets were for the most part well kept (a few problems here or there). I never felt afraid walking around at night, as there were cops all over the place. For comparison, I now live in a very conservative area of Washington that is a newly forming metropolitan area (they’re up around 100,000 people now), and I can drive through the city at any hour of the day on any day of the week and maybe see 1 patrol car. I couldn’t go 3 miles without seeing one in Tempe. The Police reacted well and fast, as did the Fire Department. They are right on the Light Rail line, the only one in the Phoenix area. Even without that, they have one of the best bus services in the Valley Metro network (Tempe In Motion, the city Transit Authority working with Valley Metro), having both fixed Valley Metro routes, more local routes, and a system of free shuttles. Their library, which they were remodeling when I moved north, is one of the better ones in the area. They also have an Adult Rec Center, an Arts Center, a larger Performing Arts Center on the banks of Tempe Town Lake, an impressive system of parks and trails, the list goes on-and-on of available services. They even have some of the best public schools in the state.
The point I am making is living in this part of Arizona made me realize that taxes, although a part of life that everyone dislikes, are not the problem. My slogan is “Not just taxes, but the right taxes“.
Do Government bodies everywhere need to take a good hard look at their expenditures, separating the priorities from the ‘nice-to-have’ services? Yes, and not just ‘yes’, but HELL YES. Parks are a priority, but commissioning new public art to go there is a ‘nice-to-have’ sort of expenditure, just for an example. Those type of programs can be set aside for sunnier days ahead.
However, we in this land need to really stop the “I’m taxed enough and mad as hell!” attitude. Most people don’t even pay their fair share of taxes, instead looking for whatever loophole or credit will allow them to shave off a few bucks. People complain about paying taxes to support a mass transit that, and I paraphrase from many people ‘run empty all the time and I never use’. Why don’t you ever use it? Ever wanted to go downtown window shopping for the day? Take the bus, it’s cheaper and safer than finding a place to park. Going to the game? Take the bus and don’t worry about only having just one brew (although don’t over do it).
Tax payers are always pissed off about taxes because THEY don’t see value in it for THEM. What does a well staffed fire department do for me? I never have a fire! Why should I pay to have a county sheriff? I have my trusty guns! I don’t have children, so why do I have to pay school taxes? I’m not dead, why do I have to pay cemetery taxes? Don’t hospital bills cover all the cost of running the hospital? What is this Hospital District bull?
- The Fire District helps you because a well trained group of individuals stands ready not because you may be a fire waiting to happen, but because accidents happen: electrical wires short out, ovens stay on, candles get knocked over, or, your idiot neighbor IS a fire hazard and you want some one to put it out before it takes down your home too. Not to mention most, if not all, are also EMS.
- Police/Sheriff should be a no brainier here. Honestly.
- Everyone pays taxes to the School District because the pool of educated individuals pumped out by Public Schools keeps the community with someone to fill jobs, open new businesses, or after a lot of education, return to be doctors, lawyers, or teachers. Get over the fact you don’t have children and accept the fact that you are investing in the sustainability of your community.
- Cemetery districts pay to keep the public cemetery from being a weed infested fire hazard. This should be simple to understand as well.
- Parks beautify the city, create open spaces to promote a stable environment, provide places for citizens recreate, and break up the otherwise bland landscape of homes and buildings. Parks attract businesses, which create jobs, which creates prosperity.
- Public Transit ensures that low-income individuals as well as students and commuters can get to and from work and their shopping. Without Public Transit, some people would not be able to patronize businesses, which means lost revenue. There would be increased traffic congestion from more people commuting by car.
I could try to explain every single thing most Governments do and how they benefit everyone not just those that use the services, but I really don’t have the time. If you honestly cannot see how something benefits you, you’re looking at the situation very plainly, black and white instead of colors. The world isn’t monochrome.
I encourage people to look at government services and ask: why am I not using something I’m paying for? It is there for you to use, so go ahead! Besides, a trip to the park would do the belt sizes of some Americans (mine included) some good. Remember, it is not how much you pay in taxes you should be worried about, but instead how best those are being used.
Just my opinion, and thankfully I can have one.
Death and Taxes
How often do you use public services like Transit or Parks?
Total Voters: 1
I enjoyed listening to the most recent edition of Consider This by local commentator and former Chelan County PUD Commissioner Werner Janssen on KOHO 101.1 FM Leavenworth (streaming online worldwide if you’re interested in some great music). I almost always agree with Mr. Janssen’s positions, and this week is no exception.
Taxes is a subject of great heated debate. No one likes paying taxes, not even I do. It is the interesting part of living in a civilized American Republic, and somewhat of a burden similar to Jury Duty. We must all pay taxes, and when called, we must serve our country on a Jury. In other countries, people don’t have the luxury of trial-by-jury. Also in other countries, people don’t have the other luxuries we have all but taken for granted. I don’t enjoy paying taxes just as much as most people don’t enjoy getting a root canal at the dentists office. However, I have lived in communities with significant taxes and seen the benefits.
Arizona has sales tax, property tax, and an income tax (some call a “State Tax”), which is a percentage of your Federal Income Tax. Sales taxes include state sales tax, county sales tax, and municipal sales tax. Not to mention there are property taxes. While some parts of Arizona are veritable crapholes, and others are havens of upper class white society, I lived in a unique town. Tempe is a suburb of Phoenix, and is completely landlocked, meaning other cities and towns have annexed all the land around the city making it impossible to grow. The city is host to Arizona State University, and is smack in the middle of a giant “interchange” of sorts with five freeways passing through it’s boundaries surrounding most of the city in a big square of freeways. It’s not the wealthiest city by far, that might fall upon Scottsdale to the north. It’s not even the newest and shiniest, which arguably is Chandler to the south. It’s not the State Capitol, which is Phoenix to the West, nor is it the quazi-native reservation town of Guadalupe also to it’s west, and it certainly isn’t Mesa, with all it’s Mesa-ness (if you’ve ever lived or been through there, you know what I’m talking about). It’s Tempe. It’s the blue stain on an otherwise red state. It is one of the only Democratic areas of the state (our Representative to Congress is one of the only Dems from Arizona). It also has some of the higher taxes in the state.
Yet I loved living there. Why?
The streets were for the most part well kept (a few problems here or there). I never felt afraid walking around at night, as there were cops all over the place. For comparison, I now live in a very conservative area of Washington that is a newly forming metropolitan area (they’re up around 100,000 people now), and I can drive through the city at any hour of the day on any day of the week and maybe see 1 patrol car. I couldn’t go 3 miles without seeing one in Tempe. The Police reacted well and fast, as did the Fire Department. They are right on the Light Rail line, the only one in the Phoenix area. Even without that, they have one of the best bus services in the Valley Metro network (Tempe In Motion, the city Transit Authority working with Valley Metro), having both fixed Valley Metro routes, more local routes, and a system of free shuttles. Their library, which they were remodeling when I moved north, is one of the better ones in the area. They also have an Adult Rec Center, an Arts Center, a larger Performing Arts Center on the banks of Tempe Town Lake, an impressive system of parks and trails, the list goes on-and-on of available services. They even have some of the best public schools in the state.
The point I am making is living in this part of Arizona made me realize that taxes, although a part of life that everyone dislikes, are not the problem. My slogan is “Not just taxes, but the right taxes“.
Do Government bodies everywhere need to take a good hard look at their expenditures, separating the priorities from the ‘nice-to-have’ services? Yes, and not just ‘yes’, but HELL YES. Parks are a priority, but commissioning new public art to go there is a ‘nice-to-have’ sort of expenditure, just for an example. Those type of programs can be set aside for sunnier days ahead.
However, we in this land need to really stop the “I’m taxed enough and mad as hell!” attitude. Most people don’t even pay their fair share of taxes, instead looking for whatever loophole or credit will allow them to shave off a few bucks. People complain about paying taxes to support a mass transit that, and I paraphrase from many people ‘run empty all the time and I never use’. Why don’t you ever use it? Ever wanted to go downtown window shopping for the day? Take the bus, it’s cheaper and safer than finding a place to park. Going to the game? Take the bus and don’t worry about only having just one brew (although don’t over do it).
Tax payers are always pissed off about taxes because THEY don’t see value in it for THEM. What does a well staffed fire department do for me? I never have a fire! Why should I pay to have a county sheriff? I have my trusty guns! I don’t have children, so why do I have to pay school taxes? I’m not dead, why do I have to pay cemetery taxes? Don’t hospital bills cover all the cost of running the hospital? What is this Hospital District bull?
I could try to explain every single thing most Governments do and how they benefit everyone not just those that use the services, but I really don’t have the time. If you honestly cannot see how something benefits you, you’re looking at the situation very plainly, black and white instead of colors. The world isn’t monochrome.
I encourage people to look at government services and ask: why am I not using something I’m paying for? It is there for you to use, so go ahead! Besides, a trip to the park would do the belt sizes of some Americans (mine included) some good. Remember, it is not how much you pay in taxes you should be worried about, but instead how best those are being used.
Just my opinion, and thankfully I can have one.
This entry was posted by Brad on March 5, 2010 at 1:30 am, and is filed under Commentary. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.