Doc’s Sunrise Rants

This is my Thinking Parents Wiki Tax Day entry.

Relative to the services that you receive from government, do you think you pay too much in taxes? Explain.

Well, relative to what I receive, in terms of local services, no, I don’t pay too much.

I receive the infrastructure that enables me to maintain a relatively easy way of life. I can get in my car and go where I want, when I want, and feel relatively safe, both security-wise and on fairly well maintained roads. My utilities work when I need them to, and most importantly, my environment is pretty clean (in comparison to some other parts of the country).

I live in a very rural area, yet I enjoy adequate police and fire protection (thanks to volunteers), adequate schools (if you discount the flood destruction), health care if I need it (paid with tobacco tax), and a well stocked local food pantry - again, if I need it. I even have a good local library. Because we (supposedly) use less governmental services, have less roads, and require less services, our property taxes are much lower than those in neighboring counties with high density urban populations. My property tax rate is roughly one third that of a similarly valued home in Washington County. More than 1/2 of the local population travels into Washington county daily for employment - using the resources of that country (roads, utilities, police and fire), yet do not pay for the privilege. Oddly enough, for a presumption that rural folk use less services, 75% of the local population lives below the poverty level and receives some sort of state aid.

And thanks to Mr. Bush, my higher income affords me the right to more tax breaks. I should pay more, I often feel guilty about paying less - but hey, that’s republican math for ya.

In Oregon, two sources - property and income taxes - provide a majority of revenue. Property taxes are collected by local governments to local services (schools, fire, police) - but only for the area in which the property exists. Income taxes are collected into a general fund - these funds are distributed by population to local areas and the rest is used for state services (jails, universities, state government).

When I was researching our tax base, I found this article that sums up the state of affairs in Oregon - big business doesn’t pay squat, and the little people with no income suffer with poor schools and very little health care. The article is a decade old, and the situation is still exactly the same. NIKE goes as far as declaring its property (surrounded by urban development) an unincorporated area - completely within an urban growth boundary. And gets away with it.

Kudos for Oregon for having a state health care program though.

In the early 90’s, a genius by the name of Bill Sizemore decided that local governments in Oregon were taxing its citizens too much and generated support for the now infamous Measure 5. What this measure did, when passed into law, was limit how much local governments could raise personal property taxes in any given year. Yay! Well, except that with inflation, the severe cap restrictions never cover the actual costs of government services - so while we enjoy lower than average taxes, we also enjoy poorly maintained bridges, public buildings such as schools in such bad repair as to be dangerous, and less than adequate police and fire protection in some areas.

But lucky us! In order to raise revenues that can’t be covered with taxes, Oregon legalized gambling! And I think now a portion of our liquor taxes goes to pay for gamble-holics or something equally as pretentious.

As for federal taxes - what am I getting? Isn’t it basically monopoly money? I guess I sort of feel safe when I put one of my kids on a plane, and I’m glad that the dams are maintained so the I receive federally subsidized electricity and flood control. I’m happy that my IRA is insured and that FEMA was here to install cute temporary mobile home cities. However, I’m not real happy that federal funds pay for faith based charities and a loss of basic human rights. I guess it’s a trade off.

I got a $1500 tax credit for driving a hybrid. Why don’t bicyclists get a tax credit?

So, relative to what I personally receive, no, I don’t pay too much. Relative to what the average citizen in my area pays, I don’t pay enough. Yeah, it isn’t fair. I can afford to provide what the government doesn’t - a better education and good health care for my family. For this, I also pay less in taxes than someone making 1/4 my income.

The last republican empire (Reagan/Bush), made me a wealthy person. I just topped off the tank in the last 8 years. Sick, isn’t it?