This year, 2005, pay particularly close attention to your elected officials? taxing actions.
I mean on all levels: village, city, township, county, state and national. Many are saying they’ve cut spending to the bone, that services are going to have to be cut, more layoffs are imminent, tsunami is hitting Michigan followed by the end of the world.
Of course it isn’t so, but the elected need to keep spending at a high level in order to get reelected. ‘Can’t cut welfare, we’ll lose their votes. Have to continue grants to assure votes. Got to build more public buildings to fill them with voters. Can’t leave a child behind by cutting even fringe programs or we lose all parent, teacher, bus driver and custodian votes.?
Governor Jennifer says she has cut state spending by $3 million. That’s a pittance compared to the total budget. By the way, have you witnessed any suffering from these cuts?
Maybe you would if you were an elected official. The ‘deep? cuts were in travel allowances and vehicle usage.
While she moaned about having to make these cuts, she was able to get fellow spenders to approve a fee and tax increases on cigarettes and other things and moved taxpaying dates ahead for some purpose yet to be made clear.
This year after having ‘slashed? spending, look for pushes for adding sales tax on hair cuts, lawn cutting, legal work and every other service currently un-sales-taxable.
Let’s not forget raising property taxes back to levels voters took away from state and local coffers by passing Proposal A tell years ago. This has been a craw in the throat of the spenders ever since.
We expect heavy campaigning for these moneys that they say rightfully belong to schools. etc. The Headlee Amendment was a victory for taxpayers which must be overturned, the elected believe.
Give the elected the money and they’ll spend it.
Through my half century of paying close attention to local governments in particular, I’m bemused over the changes that come over people shortly, after the swearing in ceremony.
People with moderate means get elected, take a seat alongside a gaveled person and almost immediately suffer a change in attitude about spending.
It’s like taking an oath removes certain memory cells. They go from opposing practically every spending action to becoming a cheerleader for spending.
They go from, ‘How dare they do that with my money?? to, ‘What the heck? It ain’t my money.?
In Washington we get approval for airports where there are no planes. Highways to nowhere and grants to study manure by people who would shout down such things prior to getting elected.
If there is one place to cut spending it’s in grants. In Oxford there’s a $1 million plus grant to build a bridge over a state highway. If it was a needed thing, private money would have built it, and probably for $4.60.
‘Grants? is just another word for seeking votes and building portfolios.
So, in 2005 look for a rash of tax increases, though hopefully not to the level as around Metro Airport where we pay 30 percent tax to park a car within five miles of the complex.
And our elected promoters will work hard to make it appear to be a gift to us because we’re tired of hearing of all the programs that have a been cut.
Nowhere have we read of subcommittees of subcommunities being cut, study committees of’ study committees being lopped off, agencies of agencies being suspended or assistants to assistants to assistants of officer holders being eliminated.