After you allow the local givernments to charge you RENT(property tax) on property you OWN... EVERYTHING is downhill after that..
Everything..
There is no bigger anti-tax person than myself (especially living in NJ), but referring to property taxes as “rent” is misleading. I’m all for slashing government expenditures to the bone (and we’ve laid off thousands of gubmint workers here in NJ), but as long as people expect ANY services they should expect to pay for them. Our founding fathers didn’t want anyone voting who wasn’t paying taxes (owning property); they rightly felt others had much less at stake/at risk. One of the breakdowns occurring now (and it is killing the northeast) is that many young people are deciding not to invest in a home here (and who could blame them?); since they aren’t breeding and there are few good jobs nobody would buy here. As a result, we have a de facto amnesty to keep the homes and schools full.
At least with property taxes you have greater control (your vote is less diluted) and the funds are spent locally (instead of in some welfare hive).