All Opposed? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
For those who voted for this ridiculous extra percentage sales tax (and you know who you are), may I just say bravo. From the Indianapolis Star, note these amusing situations.
The Carmel City Council voted in front of an empty room after it decided to hold an unusual Tuesday night meeting for the vote. Council member Fred Glaser asked in vain to postpone the decision to allow more public input.
"There was not adequate public notice by Carmel," said (John) Livengood, who hurried to attend the meeting after learning of it late Tuesday afternoon.
No kidding. Not adequate public notice? No citizens were actually there!!! Why don't they just meet in the Men's Room at the City Hall? They might have had a bigger local response. "All in Favor?" *Flush*, "The aye's have it!"
Look, I know this was back in June, but not only was my blog not around to publicly chastise them, it's worth noting especially now that we see the ridiculous stadium deal that got us in this mess just made the rest of us look like even bigger saps.
"This is another tax on the citizens of Noblesville, and we can't call it anything else," (Terry) Busby said. "But we're in a financial position where we really need the money. There's no sense in delaying this."
Read: We can't figure a better way to soak our town constituents any other way that they won't scream bloody murder, and we're so inept at handling the books that there's not enough cash for those half dozen pet projects of ours as well as the job for my cousin's daughter's drop-out boyfriend paying $50k a year that we just HAD to tax your dumb hick @sses!
Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear didn't buy it.
"We're talking about 10 cents on 10 bucks," Ditslear said. "Yes, it may be a new tax, but it's not a significant one."
Because at every restaurant up here the food costs less than 10 bucks! A family of three easily spends $40 or $50 for dinner, depending on where you go. In addition to the other 7 cents on the dollar, yes, in fact, Mayor Ditslear, that adds up. On top of that, it's the principle, because you and those like you use this to justify every damn tax you throw at us. Oh, it's just $200 on the property tax, no big deal. It's just $50 on the auto excise tax. It's just another $1 a gallon for gas or $10 a pack for cigarettes. Surely the average citizen doesn't have a problem with THAT!
Amazingly, Mayor, we do, and let me say categorically and for the record, and I think I speak for most everyone, when I say take your tax and stick it where the sun don't shine.
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said the tax would be paid in part by people who don't pay Carmel property taxes but who work there and use city services.
"It's a way for those people to help when they eat lunch here."
And all the families that live in Carmel who don't want to leave Carmel for dinner and lunch, or did you forget them? Oh, I forgot, your version of Carmel doesn't seem to include families does it Mayor Brainard? It seems to focus on turning our beloved town into a bricked-over Castleton. I pay Carmel property taxes, Mayor Brainard. Does that mean I get an exemption from your B.S. tax? It's amazing what people will use to justify their ridiculous proposals, even to the point of either flat out lying or deluding themselves. And you thought only Democrats did that kind of thing!
In Carmel, council member Mark Rattermann was the lone vote against the tax.
In Noblesville, Rowland and Council President Alan Hinds voted against the tax.
God bless you guys, really. I'm always impressed when a politician can just say no.
Mayors Brainard and Ditslear argued passing the tax would help keep property taxes low.
That's why Carmel Council President Kevin Kirby voted for it.
"It's moving away from property taxes and toward user fees," Kirby said. "The food and beverage tax is a user fee. It's a choice whether or not you go out to eat."
I have to give those three that. We do choose whether or not to frequent the restaurants in our own town, and if we don't like their tax, we don't have to economically support the businesses in our own communities. Although, honestly that's sort of a dumb thing to promote if you're a mayor. "Noblesville and Carmel... you can live here, we guess, but for godsake don't patronize our businesses. They're only for people who work or have lunch here!"
And anything to keep property taxes down, which are already an unnecessary burden on the people, but one could also make the point that if the current tax base, which used to work, isn't now, perhaps the Mayors need to look at their fun city budgets and keep them a little more trim and slim. I know that's the last thing government thinks about anymore, but I'm sort of old-fashioned that way.
For those who voted for this ridiculous extra percentage sales tax (and you know who you are), may I just say bravo. From the Indianapolis Star, note these amusing situations.
The Carmel City Council voted in front of an empty room after it decided to hold an unusual Tuesday night meeting for the vote. Council member Fred Glaser asked in vain to postpone the decision to allow more public input.
"There was not adequate public notice by Carmel," said (John) Livengood, who hurried to attend the meeting after learning of it late Tuesday afternoon.
No kidding. Not adequate public notice? No citizens were actually there!!! Why don't they just meet in the Men's Room at the City Hall? They might have had a bigger local response. "All in Favor?" *Flush*, "The aye's have it!"
Look, I know this was back in June, but not only was my blog not around to publicly chastise them, it's worth noting especially now that we see the ridiculous stadium deal that got us in this mess just made the rest of us look like even bigger saps.
"This is another tax on the citizens of Noblesville, and we can't call it anything else," (Terry) Busby said. "But we're in a financial position where we really need the money. There's no sense in delaying this."
Read: We can't figure a better way to soak our town constituents any other way that they won't scream bloody murder, and we're so inept at handling the books that there's not enough cash for those half dozen pet projects of ours as well as the job for my cousin's daughter's drop-out boyfriend paying $50k a year that we just HAD to tax your dumb hick @sses!
Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear didn't buy it.
"We're talking about 10 cents on 10 bucks," Ditslear said. "Yes, it may be a new tax, but it's not a significant one."
Because at every restaurant up here the food costs less than 10 bucks! A family of three easily spends $40 or $50 for dinner, depending on where you go. In addition to the other 7 cents on the dollar, yes, in fact, Mayor Ditslear, that adds up. On top of that, it's the principle, because you and those like you use this to justify every damn tax you throw at us. Oh, it's just $200 on the property tax, no big deal. It's just $50 on the auto excise tax. It's just another $1 a gallon for gas or $10 a pack for cigarettes. Surely the average citizen doesn't have a problem with THAT!
Amazingly, Mayor, we do, and let me say categorically and for the record, and I think I speak for most everyone, when I say take your tax and stick it where the sun don't shine.
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said the tax would be paid in part by people who don't pay Carmel property taxes but who work there and use city services.
"It's a way for those people to help when they eat lunch here."
And all the families that live in Carmel who don't want to leave Carmel for dinner and lunch, or did you forget them? Oh, I forgot, your version of Carmel doesn't seem to include families does it Mayor Brainard? It seems to focus on turning our beloved town into a bricked-over Castleton. I pay Carmel property taxes, Mayor Brainard. Does that mean I get an exemption from your B.S. tax? It's amazing what people will use to justify their ridiculous proposals, even to the point of either flat out lying or deluding themselves. And you thought only Democrats did that kind of thing!
In Carmel, council member Mark Rattermann was the lone vote against the tax.
In Noblesville, Rowland and Council President Alan Hinds voted against the tax.
God bless you guys, really. I'm always impressed when a politician can just say no.
Mayors Brainard and Ditslear argued passing the tax would help keep property taxes low.
That's why Carmel Council President Kevin Kirby voted for it.
"It's moving away from property taxes and toward user fees," Kirby said. "The food and beverage tax is a user fee. It's a choice whether or not you go out to eat."
I have to give those three that. We do choose whether or not to frequent the restaurants in our own town, and if we don't like their tax, we don't have to economically support the businesses in our own communities. Although, honestly that's sort of a dumb thing to promote if you're a mayor. "Noblesville and Carmel... you can live here, we guess, but for godsake don't patronize our businesses. They're only for people who work or have lunch here!"
And anything to keep property taxes down, which are already an unnecessary burden on the people, but one could also make the point that if the current tax base, which used to work, isn't now, perhaps the Mayors need to look at their fun city budgets and keep them a little more trim and slim. I know that's the last thing government thinks about anymore, but I'm sort of old-fashioned that way.
posted by Rob Beck | 6:58 PM
3 Comments:
Rob, the farce of these targeted taxes is the premise that you don't have to worry, some large measure of the revenues collected by a restaurant tax, hotel tax, rental car tax, are picked up by some visitor.
It completely ignores the fact that just about every government in the USA takes this tack. We all travel, even if only within our regions, so we all end up paying the taxes we weren't supposed to worry about.
In fact, all dollars being equal, I'd rather pay a straight property tax than a a restaurant tax when I'm in Cleveland. At least my property tax money will stay here and benefit me and the community I live in.
All you had to do was read the conceited statements of the Twin Mayors to feel that, didn't you? They seem so out of touch with the average citizen even in their own town, it's not a wonder to me that they pursued these taxes as heavily as they did.
All things being equal, I'd rather they didn't charge me property tax. :) I know that's not going to change with the current party system, though. These taxes are all bogus anyway. It all exists on the premise that the government never has enough money to accomplish all the things its "citizens", read the ones with influence, want it to do.
In the olden days, government tried to do without on a lot of those little porker projects. Now the pigs run the Animal Farm.
Indeed. In fact, governing and budgets has become an axiomatic ploy anymore. It goes a little like this:
This program is failing. Therefore, we need more funding to make it work.
This program is working. Therefore, we should reward it with more funding so that it keeps working.
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