So, let’s say you need a car. You’re on the lot, considering something that’s really what you need, but at the top of what you want to spend, the salesman is trying to close … and you get cold feet. You start to leave.
The salesman calls out to you — “Wait! We’ve got a great car for the price you want to pay.”
Do you:
A. Kick the tires, take the car for a spin, and otherwise do your homework and due diligence,
or:
B. Say, “Great! I’ll take it,” — sight unseen — and consider yourself clever for not having paid more. Could be a Mercedes, could be a Yugo, doesn’t matter; at least you paid less.
We’ve had an interesting discussion about the politics of taxation. Let’s just remember that when you pay taxes, you’re buying something. Maybe you’re getting well-built roads and honest cops and judges and good schools and a safe country; and maybe you’re buying cushy jobs for political cronies, tunnels that leak, and “shareholder value” for war profiteers and oil companies (who could really use the scratch, after all).
But it seems to me that when a politician — i.e. the salesperson — says you can pay less and not have to suffer for it, doesn’t it behoove one to ask what you’re not going to be buying with your tax dollar? And doesn’t it behoove the pol to have a damn good answer to that?
In our interview with him, Chris Gabrieli candidly invoked the political necessity, not to say expediency, of lowering the tax rate to 5.0%, as the public voted in 2000. But, he said, you’ve got to have a plan for how to do it. Less candidly, he didn’t share with us exactly how to do it; I devoutly hope that he’ll do that soon.
But the onus is on the Free Lunch Four (Gab, Reilly, Mihos and Healey) to tell us specifically what we’re going to forego to pay for that 0.3% cut; just as the onus is on Deval Patrick to explain how we’re actually getting value — or going to get value — for our tax dollar.
And it’s up to us, everyone who posts here, and the media — Jon Keller, this means you — to ask those questions of the candidates, persistently. The idea that it’s just Deval Patrick who “can run but can’t hide” shows how susceptible our political culture is to magical thinking, where the mere awareness of arithmetic is optional — nay, discouraged.
Charley is funny. 🙂
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Seriously though, I’m glad you asked the question (and I asked that same question on the other thread too) It’s not enough to say you’re for the tax roll back, you should explain how you’re going to accomplish it.
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Otherwise, you might as well be handing out ponies.
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People are contradictory. They want a big motor AND fuel efficiency. Flashy style, low price. Big house, good schools, safe streets, low taxes. Unless they are willing to give up local services, their property taxes are going to go through their roofs. The alternative? Income tax which helps provide state aid.
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One Democrat understands that.
I think the pivot point on income taxes versus property taxes is an important one, especially when it comes to public education and local services. But there are other ways the state interacts financially with cities and towns that also influence how people think about the state and their tax bills. Out here in Western Massachusetts where many towns still have an open town meeting style of government, where people can still show up and say “Why are we spending $1 million on a new roof for town hall?” exactly what their income tax money goes to is quite abstract. Especially in small towns where the state is shafting them on PILOT money (payments to towns that have large chunks of tax-exempt, state-owned land) and regional school districts that aren’t being reimbursed for the cost of busing like they were promised. The Big Dig is an enticing metaphor for this. Where does our money go? Well, there’s this huge hole in Boston …
And now for something COMPLETELY different –
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http://capecodporcupine.blogspot.com/2006/04/well-arent-we-special.html
… the “optional” 5.95% rate is nutty.
What will you do with the extra $00.55 cents a day Tom Reilly is offering you???
Will you use the extra cash to fix the Roads and Bridges you use to get to work?
Will you hire private security to protect your home and children?
Will you use it to bring jobs and affordable housing to your Commonwealth?
… or will you Splurge and buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks once a week.
The Republicans and those that would emulate them have us fighting over what amounts to small change to average voter, and at the same time, are awarding millions in Tax Breaks to those that least need it.
From John Keller’s Blog-Reilly Quote
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http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_108200117.html
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“Taxes are way too high here in Massachusetts,” said Attorney General Tom Reilly. On that point, few would disagree, and the way Tom Reilly sees it, flush state revenues mean it’s time to get on board the tax-cut train. “For an average family it’s about $200 that would be in their pockets today. Let them make the choice about how to spend it, not government.” (Tom Reilly)
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Let us elect Leadership that knows how to spend it.