Federal "grant money" is still tax payer money

There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers’ money. - Margaret Thatcher

I have long decried the local municipality paradigm of looking to the federal government for a source of funding for every pet project.  Not every single "good idea" or even "nice idea" needs to be funded at the public expense.

I remember one local mayor that was praising a US Congressman for constantly helping get road funding for his little town from the national coffers.  I have a better idea.  Instead of extracting the money from local taxpayers to begin with, why not leave the money in the pockets of the populace so that the local governments can finance their own expenditures?

I am so tired of the mentality that keeps people and lower levels of government dependent upon Washington, DC for their monetary needs and desires.  I have seen this here in my little town of Selma, NC.  For years the town has repeatedly looked to the US Government for loans and grants to fund water, sewer, roads, building renovations, and now even a civic center.  Our town only has about 6,000 residents.  We already have a parks and recreation department, a local Lions Club building that the public can rent, and an entire former school complex that is used as a gymnasium, workout center, meeting place, and can be used for civic events.

An old gymnasium has been re-incarnated as a utility contractor's building and was later given to the local American Legion, who in turn sold it to the town under the guise of building a civic center.  OK, this is a nice idea for our little town, but I sure don't want to spend our tax dollars on it.  The town was already hoodwinked into paying $60,000 for the facility.  Well, that facility needs an additional $300,000 in renovations in order to be usable.  The concept was sold to the town that private fundraising could bring in the money necessary, but a couple of years later, no such thing has happened.

The town has applied for and is waiting on the results of the grant application from the USDA.  The USDA?  Why is the US Department of Agriculture involved in any way, shape, form, or fashion in the funding of a small-town civic center?  Of what importance is this to the topic of agriculture?  For that matter, why has it been the USDA that has been involved in our town's loans for sewer line projects?  I fail to see a single provision in the US Constitution that allows for Congress to make provision for any such program or projects.  Why should someone in Montana be paying tax dollars to help renovate a civic center in Podunk, North Carolina?  I commented on this very project on my TV commentary as far back as 2015.

Whenever a town gets money from the federal government, it is still money extracted from the pockets of taxpayers.  When a town borrows money from the feds, it is even worse.  We have to be taxed to supply the funds lent to the town.  Then we have to pay taxes to the town to repay the loan to the feds at interest, so we get doubly taxed on all such subsidies and loans.  The only good thing about a grant is that we pay the tax money once, not twice.

I, for one, am tired of seeing small towns attempting to suckle off the federal government teat and often settling for the crumbs that fall from Caesar's table, instead.  I am tired of seeing our government run money laundering schemes and overtaxing the citizenry for the sake of retaining power over people and local governments.  I am tired of local politicians agreeing to be beholden to the national pork barrel spending projects that are bleeding us taxpayers dry.  And I am tired of seeing the national government spend money upon projects that are wholly unconstitutional.

Federal taxation

From Federalist Paper #31

Revenue is as requisite to the purposes of the local administrations as to those of the Union; and the former are at least of equal importance with the latter to the happiness of the people. It is, therefore, as necessary that the State governments should be able to command the means of supplying their wants, as that the national government should possess the like faculty in respect to the wants of the Union.

But an indefinite power of taxation in the latter might, and probably would in time, deprive the former of the means of providing for their own necessities; and would subject them entirely to the mercy of the national legislature.

– written by Alexander Hamilton and published in the New York Packet on Tuesday, January 1, 1788.

Being fair, giving honor where it is due

I am often critical of Representative Bob Etheridge, my representative to Congress. I often disagree with Bob on many issues. When he does what is right, I also give him his due. In this case, he is doing what is right, but just not quite far enough. I just wish he went a little further and sought to totally eliminate the estate tax. Barring that, this is a good step in the right direction.

From WTSB's news site.

Etheridge Co-Sponors Estate Tax Bill
U .S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) has co-sponsored the Certain Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009. The bill would make permanent the current $3.5 million individual estate tax exemption, providing estate tax certainty for all Americans and will benefit family farmers and small business owners. “This legislation is a fiscally responsible way to protect small business owners and family farmers from the unintended effect of the estate tax,” said Etheridge. “This bill will end the estate tax for 99.7 percent of Americans and, equally as important, provide certainty in estate planning for those few who are affected.” The legislation would reform the nation’s tax code by maintaining the individual estate tax exemption at $3.5 million ($7 million per couple). Less than 0.3% of Americans would be subject to the estate tax with this exemption. Current tax law repeals the estate tax in 2010 for just one year. Under current law, the estate tax returns in 2011 with only a $1 million exemption, which would then affect nearly 50,000 Americans and 3,000 family farms. The Certain Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009 offers a fiscally responsible alternative that allows families the ability to plan for their estates with certainty.

Welkum too edukashun n da Yoonited Statz uv Amerika

When the Selma Elementary School instituted a dress code, I pretty much supported the idea. Even when I was in elementary and high school, there was an expectation of appropriate attire. As I look back at old school pictures, I marvel at the clothes we wore, although they were not as risque as outfits often are today. They were funky looking clothes, but it was, after all, the 1970's. I still chide my mother for dressing me in such weird clothes whenever we look over a photo album together. In high school, I grew up in an area where flannel button shirts, blue jeans, and work boots were normal attire for a large portion of the school year. We wore Buck knives in leather holsters on our hips (just like in "The Dukes of Hazzard") to school every day and never thought anything of it, nor did the school administrators. A Buck knife was seen as a necessary tool, not a weapon. Anyway, rabbit trail aside, I supported the school dress code until recently.

As I had written previously, I have been active in the life of a boy who is now five and about to enter kindergarten. In a couple of months, this boy will become my step-son, so I have an active interest in his success at school and getting him prepared for it. His grandmother took him shopping for some clothes, but you don't generally find school uniforms at Macy's. I took him and his mother to Target last weekend to buy the requisite school clothes and supplies we would need. After all, the school system was kind enough to post the uniform code and school supply list on the internet for us to find (after hunting down the information by surfing a while).

Like I said, I was all for a school dress code. I believe in modest apparel. What I found, however, was that clothes that should be perfectly acceptable by public standards are not necessarily so for school uniforms. The real trick was finding clothing for winter while still in August, of which we found nothing but a few pairs of pants that met the criteria. We did find some polo or golf type shirts. The real problem was finding them in solid colors with no brand logo on them, and in the appropriate size 5. The boy already had some nice, appropriate shirts in his closet, but they had stripes and a Polo logo. Those shirts are plenty nice for church, but not for sending a tot to kindergarten, apparently. We can buy solid shirts in orange, red, blue, purple, black, white, or whatever color we want, but they can not have logos, pockets, or stripes. If the school REALLY was shooting for a school uniform, one style of shirt of one color should be required, but I digress.

For pants, a good looking pair of corduroys or nice, new blue jeans are taboo. Wow, that would have shot my whole school career attire down, except for the bell bottom hound's tooth or plaid pants my mother used to buy me, along with white patent leather belt. I do find the requirement for cotton twill only to be a bit excessive. We are talking about 5 to 10 year olds, not teenagers. For kindergarteners, we are talking about children who just recently learned to wipe themselves after using the bathroom, may have just learned to tie their shoes, and have recently gotten used to the use of forks. They may still often use "sippy cups". Maybe my future step-son is the "Messy Marvin" of his day (wow, that is dating me a bit), but there is extensive clean up after each meal. He play rough with me, his toys, and my dog, so I am dubious about not putting the lad in denim to go to school.

I am not disturbed so much by the cost of adhering to the dress code, though. I would have to buy him new clothes anyway, since he has grown like a weed just since I first got to know him late last year. We did find some $5 polo shirts and $10 pants. It was the exclusivity without adherence to a true uniform standard that sort of annoyed me.

Here is what DID annoy me...the school supply list. Parents are expected to purchase an entire shopping list of materials and simply turn them over to the school at the time of a parental conference. We are expected to furnish brand name crayons, markers, scissors, baby wipes, paper towels, hand sanitizer, Ziploc bags, tissues, dry erase markers, napkins, highlighter markers, index cards, and more. We are not supposed to put the child's name on anything except his change of clothes and his book bag.

I am sorry, but the last time I looked, we still live in America, not the former USSR. Furthermore, I just got my Johnston County property tax bill this week and I am wondering why I am paying all that money in taxes, the school system keeps asking for more money, we constantly are having school bond referendums, and I am being asked to supply basic classroom materials. Does the school not have a janitor? Do they not have cases of paper towels somewhere in that building? Are the teachers not supplied with dry erase markers to write on their boards? Chalk was used in my day, right through college and that worked fine, but I can understand using dry erase boards now. But still, the school system, with all the millions of dollars we are paying in taxes for their operation, should be furnishing something as basic as paper towels. If the school can not afford the materials, I am sure we can afford enough dry erase markers for the entire school system by cutting Superintendent Parker's salary to a reasonable level for what he does for a living. I will do the same job only better for half of what he makes. That is an official offer to the Johnston County Board of Education, by the way. If not that, then one less assistant principal at the elementary school would furnish all the paper towels we would ever need.

Why I mention the USSR is that by confiscating the materials that we are furnishing for the classroom as a whole, we are teaching communism. When I was in kindergarten, all I had to show up with was my daily lunch and/or snack. The rest was taken care of by the school system, which was much smaller than that of Johnston County with a much smaller budget and much older facilities. Furthermore, we learned. We did not have issues in which we did not pass mandates for performance. As a matter of fact, the state where I grew up used to consistently score in the top of the national SAT averages while having the lowest per capita state expenditure per student for education in the country. Thus, I know that education is not a matter of dollars and materials can be furnished for said education.

Sure, when I got older, I had to furnish my own book covers, but an old paper bag from a shopping trip to the A&P did fine. I furnished my own notebooks eventually, but they were MY notebooks for my use alone. By taking the crayons that I purchase and pooling them with that of others, we are employing a communist system. I was told by the office staff that 60% of the students at Selma Elementary are Hispanic and from families in which English is not the primary language. If Jose and Maria can not afford to buy a 27 cent box of Crayolas, that is their problem. It is not my responsibility to furnish their children with crayons, markers, glue, and paper towels. I bought the crayons, so I know how much they cost. I bought my boy some pencils with his name on them some time ago. I surmise that he will not be able to use them at school, since not all children are so named. We are supposed to protect the self esteem of some illegal immigrant children or even some poor family's kids by furnishing them with Crayolas? All this redistribution of school supply wealth has got to be all one big joke, right? That is liberal academia social engineering with lower educational results for you.

First, I am ticked that the schools are not furnishing these supplies after we are constantly being asked to "pony up" an ever increasing amount of tax dollars for their operation. Then I am extremely annoyed that our children are being taught communisitic principles for politically correct reasons. If you can not afford a trip to Wal-Mart or the dollar store for your child to bring his/her own supplies and not take from others, then I suggest that you forgo that next DVD purchase, 12 pack of beer, tattoo addition, or carton of cigarettes and buy some 22 cent glue sticks and crayons (at least the non big named crayons were 22 cents, but the school specifically requested the five cent higher Crayola brand). Better yet, let the school system slash its over bloated bureaucracy and maybe we could afford to buy the needed supplies instead of double taxing us by demanding a grocery list of supplies before the first day of school. It gets better, though. We were informed that we will be furnished an additional supply list later. Doggone communists of academia. I miss America.

Obama's $1k energy rebate just plain one of the dumbest things I have ever heard of

Barack Obama is merely pandering for votes by playing class envy. He has obviously never studied economics. This has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard of, and I have heard a bunch of idiotic proposals by politicians in the past.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday called for a $1,000 "emergency" rebate to consumers to offset soaring energy costs amid fresh signs of a struggling economy with the nation's unemployment rate climbing to a four-year high.

Obama told a town-hall meeting the rebate would be financed with a windfall profits tax on the oil industry.

Click here for the whole story. There is no need for "emergency" relief. The idea of "windfall" profits is just plain fallacious. Furthermore, to abscond the profits of a legitimate corporation to redistribute the wealth is just plain communism. There is not hiding that concept; Obama is just plain endorsing full on communism.

The hypocritical part is that Obama flat out refuses to support the idea of offshore drilling to increase the supply of energy. You can not have it both ways. We would have lower energy costs and relief for consumers by having an increased supply. Simple economics dictate that increased supply equals lower cost. But Obama is apparently too blind to this by his communistic paradigm or is just too stupid to realize this. Perhaps he does know and is flat out lying for political gain, which is not beyond the scope of possibility, nay is probability.

...and Obama wants to raise their taxes?

the income share earned by the top 1 percent of tax returns and the tax share paid by that top 1 percent have once again reached all-time highs. In 2006, the top 1 percent of tax returns paid 39.9 percent of all federal individual income taxes and earned 22.1 percent of adjusted gross income, both of which are significantly higher than 2004 when the top 1 percent earned 19 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) and paid 36.9 percent of federal individual income taxes.

These are the people who hire workers. More taxation = less money to use to hire workers = layoffs or lower wages for lower income workers. Stupid. Economics 101. Source: The Tax Foundation

Mortgage bail out bothers me as a matter of fairness as well as legality

I have written about this before and I probably will again. I am tremendously bothered by the idea that the federal government is about to bail out mortgage lenders and mortgage payers. I busted my tail to get good enough credit and income to be able to have a house. I did not buy more house than I could afford. I settled for a house that was within my desired price range and within the quality, size, and comfort levels I desired. Overall, I have been happy with that decision and I have never failed to be able to pay my mortgage as a result. As with any older home, there are things I have needed to dump money into for repairs and improvements. I would obviously prefer not to have to pay the money for such, but that is part of home ownership.

Neal Boortz wrote about this very concept this morning on his news page. It echoes my sentiments.

ANOTHER GUMMIT BAILOUT

This one could cost $25 billion, but what the hell. Actually ... that's a minimum estimate. Some analysts think the mortgage bail-out that Bush is oh-so-eagerly going to sign this week could cost $300 billion. The politicians who curry favor and buy votes with this money don't have to worry about where the money comes from. They're going to be long-gone when the bill comes due. They only have to worry about doing what they need to do to buy votes so they can enjoy the prestige and privileges of power until that time.

Who are these people who are going to be bailed out?

* People who knew they were buying more house than they could afford, and who thought that they would be bailed out by rising equity.
* People who got home loans in spite of bad credit ratings ... loans spurred by media and government anguish over the unavailability of home loans to bad credit risks.
* People who bought the house, took out the loan, and moved on in knowing full well that they wouldn't be able to make the payments when the interest rates went up. But what the hell .. they would just ride the cheap rates until then, and throw in the keys.

Yes...I know that there were some bad actors in the mortgage business. There are bad actors in every business. Me, for instance. But I can remember a dozen or so years ago when almost every major newspaper in the country was running investigative reports on the evils of the mortgage business. These reports told us that these evil mortgage companies were not doing enough to bring the American dream of home ownership to poorer people. The nasty mortgage lenders were actually using criteria such as income, job stability, credit ratings, loan-to-value ratio and other anti-inclusive measurements to intentionally keep minorities, single women and other poor, poor pitiful victims out of the home market. So --- before the feds stepped in and made them do it – the evil mortgage lenders started lending to people that should be renting. And here we are.

Remember...over 95% of the people in this country with home loans are making those payments each and every month. So what kind of crisis is this really? Can't it be said we're weeding out the chaff here?

It is NOT the job of the taxpayers of this nation to bail out those who have taken bad financial decisions in life. It is not my fault that others have taken loans they can not repay. It is not my fault that some people were stupid enough to take variable interest rate loans and are now paying the price for that stupidity. It is not my fault that people got mortgages that they had no intention of being able to repay over the long haul. It is not my fault or the fault of the rest of the tax payers who are or have been faithful in paying for our homes. Not only that, I do not recall any provision in the Constitution that would allow Congress or the President to spend taxpayer money on any such thing.

This is just another boondoggle in which we are getting screwed by our elected officials so that they can look like the knight in shining armor that came to the defense of the average citizen. No, they are the thieves who took from the average citizen and gave the collective wealth to corporations that should never have undertaken such bad business decisions and to other citizens who should never have been allowed to get such risky loans to begin with. Were it not for threats of government action to begin with, the mortgage companies probably would never have underwritten such loans.

We have the largest budget in world history. We have an unfathomable amount of national debt. We have spending on special interest projects that do not benefit the public good. We waste more money than some nations have as a GDP. We have confiscatory taxation levels that would cause a tea party and disgust the Founding Fathers. Quite frankly, I am sick of it all. Unfortunately, I see no end in sight. The world's system is corrupting our government and bankrupting our nation.

Here is a news article on the pending bail out. Bend over, grab ankles.

The measure, regarded as the most significant housing legislation in decades, lets homeowners who cannot afford their payments refinance into more affordable government-backed loans rather than losing their homes.

It offers a temporary financial lifeline to troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- pillars of the home loan market whose losses have sparked investor fears -- and tightens controls over the two government-sponsored businesses.

Furthermore, the article states:

The legislation overhauls the Depression-era FHA. It requires lenders to show how high a borrower's payment could get under the terms of his mortgage. It provides $180 million in pre-foreclosure counseling for struggling homeowners.

The Treasury Department gains unlimited power, until the end of 2009, to lend money to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or buy their stock should they need it. The Federal Reserve takes on a new "consultative" role overseeing the companies.

The measure includes $15 billion in tax cuts, including a significant expansion of the low-income housing tax credit and a credit of up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers for houses purchased between April 9, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

This is just unfair to others who have been faithful in their mortgage payments and the tax payers who have to foot the bill. This sucks royally.

Campaigning for Liberty

It took a while for the local radio station to report it, but here it is

I have written a few times about Selma's tax rate going up. Here is what WTSB reported today.

Selma Tax Rate Jumps 4 Cents
Selma residents will be paying higher property taxes under a budget approved by the town council last week. The $15.4 million spending plan includes a 4 cents property tax increase from 49 to 53 cents per $100 valuation. This means, for a resident with a $100,000 house, they will be paying about $40 more a year in property taxes. Residents will likely be faced with an increase in electrical rates during the next year. Town employees will see a five percent pay increase.

Every so often, even a Democrat gets it right...sometimes not

Those who follow this blog are aware that I am sometimes a bit hard on Congressman Bob Etheridge, as I should be. I am hard on him when he does things blatantly against the Constitution or against conservative principles. Every once in a while, some things are just plain common sense. Killing the AMT, or Alternative Minimum Tax is just plain common sense. It is enough so that even a Democrat can see that the tax should be eliminated. I am dubious as to the claims of "loopholes", but ending the AMT is a wise idea. I have no problem with ending subsidies to oil companies at all, since I am against corporate welfare programs. From WTSB's news page:

Etheridge Votes For Middle-Class Tax Relief Legislation
U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington), a member of the House Budget Committee, voted Thursday for legislation that provides $50 billion in middle-class tax relief for 25 million families. The AMT Relief Act of 2008 will save 33,083 families in the Second Congressional District from paying higher taxes under the Alternative Minimum Tax. “At a time of economic uncertainty and rising gas and food prices, this legislation will provide tax relief for thousands of North Carolina families who otherwise would see their tax rate rise dramatically due to the Alternative Minimum Tax,” said Etheridge. The Alternative Minimum Tax was originally designed to ensure very wealthy individuals do not avoid paying income tax. The tax now threatens to impact middle-class families and raise taxes on 25 million Americans if Congress fails to take action. The legislation is fiscally responsible and does not require borrowing money or adding to the deficit. To pay for middle-class tax relief the bill closes tax loopholes that allow multi-millionaires on Wall Street to pay a lower tax rate on their income than other working Americans, such as teachers and firefighters, cracks down on tax cheats and ends massive government subsidies for oil companies earning record profits.

Another bill that Etheridge is involved with is about ending "excess speculation" in the energy markets. Personally, this is one area in which the government needs to step out of, not into. It is a free market problem with a free market solution. Government interference kills freedom for those wishing to play in the market. Also from WTSB's news page:

U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge visited Stancil Oil Company in Selma Wednesday afternoon to discuss legislation he has authored that aims to prevent manipulation and excessive speculation in energy markets. Etheridge is Chair of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management of the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC oversees futures trading on US exchanges. The Committee will hold hearings on the issues starting Monday, July 7. “North Carolina’s families are struggling to make ends meet while the cost of energy soars. Congress must ensure that investors are not artificially raising energy costs for their own gain while hard-working Americans are suffering,” Etheridge said on Wednesday. “No one factor is responsible for the current energy prices, but my legislation will attempt to keep our markets free of manipulation and excessive speculation.” Etheridge has thrown his support by the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act, which has been approved by the US House. It is designed to combat record gas prices by authorizing lawsuits against oil cartel members for pricing fixing.

One thing I found out about Bob Etheridge is his occult activities in Freemasonry. Yes, I fully believe that the Masons are a cult, not just a fraternal organization. According to Wikipedia,

He is active in Freemasonry and is currently the Grand Orator for North Carolina Freemasonry.

I can not fault Bob on his dedicated service to his county, his state, and the nation. I can, however, fault him for his stances on issues. It is nothing personal. I give him credit where credit is due. He has supported several bills in the past that I thought were proper. When he does well, I give him praise and have done so on this very blog. When he does poorly, I remark as such.

The bottom line is that it is another tax increase

Don't be fooled. Penalties that are levied for such things are nothing but a tax in disguise. Furthermore, when levied by agencies that are not accountable to the tax payers and not by our legislature, they are taxation without representation. At least this one is a law passed by the NC Legislature rather than a bureaucrat's fiat.

From WTSB's news page:

Vehicle Insurance Coverage Lapses Will Cost More Starting July 1
Starting Tuesday, July 1, the penalties charged to vehicle owners who habitually drop liability insurance coverage will increase. The change, which results in stiffer penalties for repeated offenses, will affect vehicle owners who have numerous insurance lapses within a three-year period. The new law, passed by the General Assembly in 2007, is the first change in the insurance lapse penalty of $50 since 1957. The new rates will be $50 for no previous lapses within three years, $100 for one previous lapse within three years, and $150 for two or more previous lapses within three years. Insurance companies are required to notify DMV within 20 business days after they issue a new or replacement policy, terminate a policy or reinstate a policy. DMV then sends a letter to the vehicle owner requiring his response within 10 days. Resulting actions are based on the vehicle owner’s response and his record of accidents and financial responsibility. Owners may face a combination of penalties or revocation of vehicle registration.

Thoughts on property tax rate hikes

I have been in touch with my elected town officials regarding the proposed budget for Selma. The vote on the budget is today. I highly recommend all citizens getting active enough in their community to take part in their town, as well as county, state, and federal governments. Contact your elected representatives when you have concerns, questions, and comments. It is how you learn and make your voice heard.

I am going to give credit where credit is due. I have always had great interaction with Eric Sellers, who was appointed to fill an open slot on the town council and then beat me last election for that seat. My personal opinions aside as to how he was appointed to the position in his first, partial term, I must say that overall, I have been pleased with how he approaches his job as a council member. Eric has always been pleasant and responsive in my dealings and communications with him. Thank you, Eric, your efforts are appreciated by me if not by anyone else.

I am not going to share my entire conversation with him here, but I did share what I had written previously on this very blog. What I do want to share is some research I did. I have written previously about my best frame of reference, the town where I grew up. I was fairly involved for a teenager in town affairs. I was a stringer reporter for the local radio station, I was involved with youth government programs every year in school, I knew the town manager, and I was in the fire department's youth program. If you search my archives, you may see that I reference Franklin, New Hampshire from time to time. That is my point of reference, since the town is almost comparable to Selma.

I called and spoke to Franklin's town assessor's office after reading the tax rate on their web site. I inquired as to what the tax rate included, and she clued me in that this was the total property tax burden on real estate for all state, county, and town taxation. I ran some numbers. I emailed the following to my town council member.

I wanted to share a bit of info with you regarding tax rates. I grew up in a town about the size of Selma in population. They are now not far off from us, about 8,000 people now. I was researching the tax rate in the town. That town has a property tax rate of $18.04 per thousand valuation. That includes the share for the state and the county as well as the town. I was crunching some numbers. Assuming that my house was suddenly transplanted into that town and had the same tax value of $80,840 (according to the Johnston County appraisal card available online on the county web site), my taxes in NH would be $1458.35 per year. Here in Selma, the taxes are $1.27 per hundred valuation. The equates to $1026.67. You may think that hey, the Selma taxes are a lot less, $431.68 per year less. However, once you take into consideration the fact that in my example, NH has NO state income and NO state sales tax, you can see the disparity in effective tax rates. Do I pay more than $431 in income and sales tax each year? You better believe it. Sure, my home would be higher in appraised tax value in NH, but for the sake of comparison, I am comparing dollar value to same dollar value. That is the inherent evil in property taxation (the ethics of property taxation is a whole discussion for a whole other time). In raising 4 cents, my property taxes would only go up $32.33 per year for Selma. I personally will never miss that money. I spend that on two people at Edelweiss for dinner. However, it is the principle of the thing. When does it stop?

I have known for a long time that we in NC were getting hosed on taxes.

Yet another tax increase coming to Selma

I am going to make this simple. All Selma residents need to remember that if this next tax increase passes, Charles Hester, Jackie Lacy, and Debbie Johnson, 3/5 of the Selma Town Council, have been the ones who have been in office and brought us a nine cents per thousand valuation property tax increase. Their terms of office do not expire until a year from November or so. At least that is the next municipal election. We got a five cent increase two years ago. We are getting another four cent increase this year.

We found out that there are some things we can do without in this town. We found that we can exist sufficiently without some staffing positions. We found that we can cut budgets with no significant change in how the town does business.

I do not mind working to restore some pay increases and retirement benefits for town employees. However, the proposed 5% cost of living increase is far above the average for business, let alone government. When facing a budget shortfall at home, I simply cut spending. I had this discussion with a retiree just yesterday. He argued that we needed the increased taxes, yet at the same time said that in his fixed income situation that he has to cut his spending when the price of things go up. Well, duh! It is no different for government. Rather than reach into my pocket and increase my mortgage cost through higher escrow payments to cover increased taxation, the town simply needs to cut its proposed budget.

Every year, the Johnston County Council on Aging asks for town money. They do a good work, and I personally like Donna Creech. However, during a budget shortfall, I find it inappropriate to ask taxpayers for more money and then give it away. Only about 40% of the residents in this town are taxpayers, since about 60% of the residents are renters. Sure, there are landlords that pay property taxes, but the 60% have no real stake in our tax rate since it is built into their rent fees.

I have read the budget ordinance. It is still not a complete budget. I want to see MORE than a two page summary. If the town hall staff can print out a full line item budget, they can print it into a pdf file and make it available online as well.

Several months ago, Stan Farmer was boasting about how far ahead we were as a town in our revenues versus expenditures. Now we are facing a revenue versus expenditure shortfall? How do we go from a 3/4 of a million dollar surplus to needing another tax increase?

I could not care less what other town are paying in Johnston County. That argument is being used, i.e., that Selma has a lower tax rate than most towns in the county. What pisses me off is that NC is one of the higher taxed states around. We pay property tax on real estate, property tax on automobiles, vehicle registration, sales tax, state income tax, county property tax, federal income tax, excise taxes and fees, federal income tax, and the list goes on. I was told how much cheaper it was to live in North Carolina compared to New England when I was looking to possibly relocate here 20 years ago this summer. What a lie. And it is only getting worse.

Here is The Selma News article.

Property tax increase of 4 cents likely for Selma
By Rick Stewart, Publisher

Working feverishly right up to Tuesday night’s public hearing on the town of Selma’s proposed 2008-09 budget, town officials recommended a four cents tax increase and a $2 per month garbage collection fee hike.

It also appears likely that electrical rates will go up during the next fiscal year, said Town Manager C. L. Gobble, but he said until the town is given the new rate it cannot be passed along to the town’s electric customers.

Following a public hearing Tuesday night at which only Donna Creech, executive director of the Johnston County Council on Aging spoke, Town Council members voted to delay adopting the budget until next Thursday at 4 p.m.

Because the actual numbers in the budget were not publicly known until Tuesday night, Council decided to delay adoption to give Selma residents a chance to talk with Council members about the tax increase or any other items in the budget.
The budget adds a full-time planner to the town’s staff and adds the position of deputy town clerk to the budget. It also adds two new trucks in the electrical department and two new police cars.

Following up on the recommendation of the town’s strategic planning committee, the budget contains $8,000 funding to revitalize the town’s appearance committee.
Council members, meeting one-on-one Monday with Gobble, stressed to him, said Gobble, that they wanted to bring pay ranges back up to a higher level after two years of small or no pay increases.

With that in mind, Gobble presented a budget with a five percent across the board cost of living increase for all employees and a three percent town contribution to employees’ retirement program.

“It is imperative that the Town keep its pay plan up to day and stay competitive in the market place,” Gobble said in his budget message to Council.

The property tax rate will increase from 49 cents per $100 valuation to 53 cents per $100 valuation. The new fees and rates will go into effect on July 1 if Council approves the budget next Thursday.

A $2 increase in garbage collection I can comprehend, since the cost of fuel is increasing and I am sure that our contracted garbage collection company is passing some cost onto the customer, meaning the Town of Selma. Still, $18 a month for trash collection does almost seem high. I will compare with private contracted services that my friends in the country use for a point of reference.

One pitfall of being a town utility customer is that Electricities is a wholesale customer, not a retail customer of Progress Energy. Therefore, Progress Energy does not need a Public Utilities Commission (or whatever NC calls their regulatory agency) approval for a rate hike. That rate hike hits us whenever Progress Energy decides to make it happen, whereas direct retail customer rate hikes require agency approval. Thus, we get hit when the town gets hit and we already pay higher rates by the time the general public gets an increase.

We are getting hosed with a property tax increase, then will be paying a trash collection fee increase, and then get hit with a utility rate hike. There are many things about Selma that make me want to relocate. The same with North Carolina, for that matter.

Here is the blurb from WTSB's web site.

Selma Town Council Considering Raising Property Taxes
Selma residents could be paying higher property taxes. The town council is considering raising taxes 4 cents to balance their 2008-09 fiscal year budget. Residents could also pay higher electrical rates and garbage collection fees. The council could approve the budget when they meet again on June 26. The spending plan does include a 5 percent cost of living increase for employees. If the tax hike is approved, the property tax rate would go from 49 to 53 cents per $100 valuation.

And I hope they KEEP blocking the bill!

The Senate bill sponsored by Joe Lieberman to control non-existent global warming has been blocked by some Republicans. Thankfully, they have not allowed the bill to come to the floor. This cap-and-trade bill would have amounted to the largest tax increase in US history. Compliance would kill the economy and household incomes. Of course, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the ignorant fool, said "There is no tax increase." Sorry, but any government mandate and restructuring of economy will in essence be a tax increase. Both Presidential candidates are for action to stem the fallacious "global warming", having been hoodwinked by the myth. We will eventually be screwed, either way.

I wonder if we will ever see this concept again in Selma

I am a firm believer in the idea that with any budget much larger than the average household, there is wasteful spending. I find areas that I could trim in my own spending. When it comes to government, I find it especially true. I have seen wasteful spending in corporate America as well as in government.

What I find interesting is how budgets are handled in different locations. I found a news article about the town where my mother resides, Bow, NH. The town had a meeting and they actually trimmed the town budget by $400,000. Bow is about the same size as Selma. There is about a $50,000 median income difference between the two towns, however.

Anyway, here is an excerpt from the article.

Bow finally took care of business last night, as residents gathered to finish voting on the annual town meeting warrant. Last night's meeting was a continuation from two weeks ago, when long debate over the annual budget delayed action on the rest of the warrant.

At that meeting, residents voted to trim the proposed budget by about $400,000, from $8.3 million to $7.9 million. Last night's meeting held little such drama, with the votes moving along efficiently and swiftly.

In Bow, the town residents are much more involved in the town decision taking than here in Selma. Perhaps that is why they were able to cut the budget so much. Food for thought.

They may be "grants", but still our tax dollars.

From the WTSB web site:

$850,000 Grant Will Help Rehabilitate Selma Homes, Streets
Selma town officials learned Thursday they were the recipients of a $850,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Selma was one of 18 communities across the state Governor Mike Easley said would share more than $13.7 million for community revitalization, infrastructure improvements and the construction of affordable housing. In Selma, Town Manager Stan Farmer said their funds would be used for rehabilitation of housing and paving on South Sharpe and South Webb Streets. Work in the area should be completed in no more than 30 months, Farmer said. Other grants went to the cities of Oxford, Lumberton, Tabor City, Lexington, Rockingham, Raeford, Washington, and Conover. CDBG funding is allocated to the state from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Assistance administers the program for the state.

Here is my commentary. First, perhaps we would have more ability to do things locally if the federal and state governments did not siphon off so much money into Washington, DC. Second, even though these are "grants", they are still coming from tax dollars. Furthermore, the purpose of the grants are to be for "rehabilitation of housing" and the construction of "affordable housing". The term affordable is subjective. The idea of my tax dollars being taken from me, a man who works a full time, skilled labor job, on the threat of force if I do not comply voluntarily to dole out my hard earned money, and having those dollars inefficiently laundered through the world's largest bureaucracy only to be filtered down to another bureaucracy, then to another, then to private citizens for them to pay minimal money for housing or to renovate their existing homes is just plain repugnant. It is insulting. It is unfair. It is a disincentive to succeed. It is anti-Biblical. It is communistic and evil.

The article from WTSB listed a few other towns that also got grants. Multiply this times hundreds or thousands of towns across the country and you can see how our tax dollars are being wasted on programs that are not even supposed to exist. Take this program and multiply it by the countless such programs that some communistic or ignorant fools have pushed through Congress, and some well meaning but selfish President who wants to get re-elected and play politics with our tax money have passed, and the amount of money is mind boggling.

I just got this in an email today. It puts things into perspective. Government waste like this costs us billions of dollars every year.

This is too true to be very funny.

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the politicians spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division...

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the
Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans.

Interesting number. What does it mean?

A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.

B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787 for repairs.

C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington , D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??

Tax his land,
Tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirts,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze,
Tax his beers,
If he cries,
Tax his tears.
Tax his bills,
Tax his gas,
Tax his notes,
Tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.
If he hollers,
Tax him more,
Tax him until he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me to my doom!'
And when he's gone,
We won't relax,
We'll still be after the inheritance TAX!!

We have:
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Perm it Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? Can you spell "politicians!" And I still have to 'press 1' for English.

How about this one, from the same day's news, the same source:

Pine Level Fire Department Receives $38,000 From FEMA
The US Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that the Pine Level Fire Department will receive $38,000 for operations and safety. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), administered through FEMA, funds local fire departments and emergency medical service organizations. The Dunn and Henderson Fire Departments were awarded $261,250 each for vehicle acquisition.

Like I said, multiply the dollar figures found here times thousands of towns across the nation. Can you see where we as a nation are over taxing, wasting, then over spending?

I just had this conversation with someone today via email. We were discussing this picture. My female friend said:

My point is that was 1955 & this is 2008. A lot of things have changed since then, like women don’t do things like that now.

I said:

In 1955, most women did stay at home and take care of the kids and do the house work. Unfortunately, our tax burden increased substantially necessitating a dual income family. Also, the women's liberation movement only hurt the family structure. The 1960's forward really hurt with the hedonism, atheistic, and hyper libertine agendas. That led to a decline in the family unit, an emphasis on self reliance instead of family reliance, a rise in births out of wedlock, single parent families, divorce, and the need for women to work outside the home.

I value women highly, contrary to the accusations of my critics. I value them so highly, in fact, that I desire for them to do exactly what they were created and given the instinct to do. That is their high calling in the Kingdom. And nothing is more sexy or lovely to see than a woman doing exactly what she was created to do.

What part of NO FREAKIN' WAY don't these jackasses understand???

Of no surprise to me is that money hungry politicians want to find more ways to get into our wallets. The land transfer tax was soundly defeated across the state in a referendum on Tuesday, but governments are scheming to find a way to make it happen anyway. We have to keep saying NO time and time again. It only takes ONE yes and we are screwed.

From WRAL.com (click on the link for the full story)

A day after voters in 16 North Carolina counties soundly defeated a controversial tax on home sales, state and local officials said Wednesday they would continue pursuing the tax to help pay for growth-related needs.