Woman who voted for every Austin, TX tax increase discovers that now she can’t afford to live there

Instapundit citing American-Statesman ^ | June 4, 2014

[GeronL]

Yep... she still wants the freebies and she wants them to be free.

[GeronL]

I totally believe it

[TADSLOS]

Liberals don't get it. They think there is an endless pot of money to tax and spend...until reality slaps them hard at tax time.

Their version of fair share is always someone elses share. I agree with your view on property taxes and service fees. Makes sense to me. Unfortunately, libs aren't the only ones who play the tax and spend tune.

FTA: Home values also rose in Williamson and Hays counties for 2014. In Williamson, the market value is up 10.6 percent, to $214,682 on average, and the taxable value jumped 11.5 percent, to $209,402 on average.

I live in Williamson County, Texas. It is known for its social and political conservatism juxtaposed against nearby Travis County and Austin, yet we still endure the same mentality of floating wasteful bond issues for schools that sit half filled, police department goodies that aren't warranted and city services that don't match the costs. These always get voted in. A big part of that is because our retirement community of Sun City, Texas is a large voting block that have substantial turnouts at the polls compared to other communities in the county. Most of these residents have their property tax rates frozen due to their age (65+), so there is no negative impact on them to vote yes to every bond proposal that comes along. The local/ state and federal pols spend alot of time/money and effort cultivating this particular group for their large vote share.

[GeronL]

Come shop at Super Mart... now right outside the city limits sign...

[hal ogen]

This woman is clearly mentally disturbed and of insignificant intelligence. What a complete, utter idiot and an embarrassment to the human race. That said...reap what you sow, you freak. Have a nice day.

[GeronL]

They will soon be building light-rail that will cost tens of millions or more and be used by a tiny fraction of people that is supposedly to “reduce the vehicle traffic”. They’d be better off buying a fleet of public limousines

[GeronL]

the apartments that go section-8 know they can over-charge

[DocJhn]

Cali ppl do the same thing leave Cali to new fields because they have screwed things os bad and then want to change the local Gov to what they had that they left for! Gov was never meant to be this intrusive in ppl’s lives!

[kearnyirish2]

“Frankly, taxing a homeowner with no children in the school system is blatantly unfair.”

No doubt; I wish they would go back to when teachers were acknowledged as part-time workers and paid as such. Unions changed education into a massive industry that could only be sustained by taxing EVERYONE. Here in NJ our lottery is supposed to fund schools, and we still have among the highest school taxes in the country.

“Taxing businesses to pay for schools is simply laying an expense that will drive them away.”

At this point the Red (Bolshevik) conclaves will pass on the costs of quartering and schooling welfare and illegal populations on to taxpayers as well (individual and corporate).

[Milton Miteybad]

I wonder if the folks in Austin have figured out that a lot of their current transportation problems can be traced to the fact that they have already exhausted their supply of space for rights-of-way in the places where it's now needed most. Light rail isn't going to help that situation; in fact, it will exacerbate it, since light rail, by definition, travels at grade level, usually occupying some portion of the existing right-of-way...which Austin ran out of years ago.

It really is true about Austin: It was a much better place to live before everybody figured out it was such a great place to live.

[Myrddin]

Yup. People tend to support taxes when they get the benefits and don't have to pay. There was an attempt to lay a $40 million bond on residents of my city and the one adjacent to fund refurbishment of a sports stadium. The big businesses (hotels, restaurants, construction labor and banks) that would benefit pushed hard for passage. The burden to pay would fall on private homeowners who get zero benefit. There was a BIG revolt. It was placed on the ballot and failed with a 75% NO in both cities. Voter turnout was well over 60%. During the days before the vote, many students who rent in town were agitating for a yes vote because "they don't pay taxes". I made it clear that if the bond passes, the first thing I'm doing is adding a bond surcharge to the rent. Ooops. They got the message. No free ride.

[READINABLUESTATE]

We have met the enemy and he is us.

[Myrddin]

As a former CA resident and native born Californian, I got tired of voting against all the tax increases while the east coast liberal imports voted for the increases. It was obvious that my vote no longer counted. I left for Idaho. I'm happy with the move. I'm more conservative than most in Idaho.

[Trod Upon]

I actually think that these liberal cesspools should be walled off and turned into holding pens for the people who voted to ruin them. They shat in their beds, so they should have to lie in it or clean up the mess themselves. Don’t let them out to spread their ideological AIDS into healthy communities.

[Jedidah]

Of course escrow costs are passed on to renters, but only if the market allows it. Same for businesses, again if the market allows. You can’t always raise rent or cost of goods.

Moreover, take into account population density in rentals, particularly as our “undocumented” population balloons.

Per capita cost of government services is in no way proportional to per capita use of such services. Businesses and homeowners carry a disproportionate share of the burden in Texas.

[Jedidah]

Bubba, this ain’t a female problem.

Plenty of us vote right.

The reason our country is in such trouble is that the majority of voters in the country, of both genders, are unable to think critically and are fatally self-centered.

Blame it on whom you will. Parents? Media? Perhaps a couple of generations who have had a blessedly easy life?

But don’t pin it on us gals. That kind of talk is what the Dems use to push the “war on women” garbage.

[Trod Upon]

Frankly, taxing a homeowner with no children in the school system is blatantly unfair. Taxes for police, fire, ambulance, municipal courts and street maintenance are perfectly reasonable for shared services. Parks should be a fee for use item.

I agree in part, but I think the only fair taxes for services would be based on a subscription model rather than the gun to the head, forced "benefit" model we currently use. We have the technology to allow only paying subscribers to summon police, fire, etc. I'd subscribe for firefighting service, but not police or government school, for example.

[DocJhn]

I left LA 35 years ago never looked back!

[Secret Agent Man]

Priceless. Apparently for her, too.

[lowbridge]

“Someone needs to step in and address the big picture”

What she means is that someone else needs to pay her taxes for her now.