Do you automatically vote "no" on new taxes

[lynn]

or do you research to see what it is suppose to be for?

[Philothea]

Yes, usually. Especially for schools.

 

But I do vote for towns to buy things like new generators for the police station. The ones our old town had were over 30 years old.

 

When it comes to something that benefits everyone in the community, I am more likely to consider voting for it.

[PiCO]

or do you research to see what it is suppose to be for?

 

I do the research. I have voted "yes" for open space and "no" for most other things in the past. We'll probably have a Mill Levy Over-ride and Bond Issue on the ballot this fall for local schools. I don't yet know how I'll vote.

[Karenciavo]

Yes I do. I do research what they are for, but I really can't imagine any reason I would vote yes for.

[Tracey in TX]

I research to make the most informed vote possible. Taxes are a necessary evil, but I don't want hard-earned money wasted on items which I don't value for our family and community as a whole.

[TraceyS/FL]

I research it. I'm apt to vote yes for the school stuff if it makes sense.

 

The one that upset me was in CA - my brother and his fellow firefighters were trying to get the word out to the members of the town that without a YES, they might not like the results. They needed funding for a 3rd person at each station at all times. Why? Because with just 2 fire fighters on a truck, they can't enter a burning building. So every call they had to dispatch 2 engines - from 2 stations, and thankfully no one died inside waiting.

 

That slight tax increase did NOT pass that time. :(

 

But i believe in knowing what it's going for and going from there.

[Melinda in VT]

I think there are legitimate reasons why government might need to create new taxes or raise existing ones. I want to understand what will happen if the tax passes and what will happen if it doesn't before I make my voting decision.

 

But I am not really a "small government" person.

[CLHCO]

I admit when our local school district, whom I feel does not use our money wisely, I give an automatic "no". I have been known to agree with the rare thing though so I can't say it's automatically.

[Jumping In Puddles]

I voted yes for repairs to be done to the schools. It doesn't make much sense to let the building and properties fall to disrepair possibly costing more money in the future and endangering the students who go there.

 

However, I voted no to their first plan (and it didn't pass) and when tightened up, I voted yes on the next vote which did pass.

[clwcain]

I reflexively vote no. No government entity has need of any more of my money.

[teamturner]

I live in a city that already has plenty of revenue, at least imho. I did vote yes for a bond that would improve roads/new road projects and an arts plan. But unfortunately every tax increase or bond proposal that ever comes out gets voted in. I don't understand why the citizens always vote for increases in taxes. My dh and I feel like that cities need to work w/in the budget and spend the money more wisely. That's what we as a family must do. Just recently our town and most of the nearby towns voted yes to bond proposals and it was amazing to see the actual numbers of voters who even voted. It's sad that millions and billions of dollars are spent based on the votes of a "handful" of voters. I wish that it was a law that city governments could not raise taxes or spend millions of dollars with bonds w/o a certain percentage of voters participating. Just my two cents!

[Melinda in VT]

When you say you research it, what exactly do you look at? I would like to be able to make an informed decision, but, for example, how do I know they really need to (or not) spend X amount on the school bus? I just would not even know where to begin.

 

I am spoiled because our school and town distribute a detailed book outlining the proposed budget, as well as the preceding year's budget and what was actually spent for the last several years in each category. And we have a town meeting to discuss the budget before we vote.

 

However, in other areas, I am guessing that there are school board meetings or town committee meetings where the budget is discussed, and you could hear both sides. It might take a call or two to find out when these meetings are and what is on the agenda.

[BamaTanya]

and it REALLY is not because my dh works for them. It's because I feel a responsibility for the future that my dc will live in. It's because, without a good educational system, our community has little hope of maintaining/keeping good jobs (my dc will need someday) and crime and poverty will be worse. When our school system is forced to make budget cuts (which they're doing this year because tax revenues are lower), I think of all the poor kids who will have no access to art or music or whatever they need to enrich their lives.

 

JMH and Professional Opinion

 

I try to research each tax referendum to see if I think it is something that is best for our community . . . not just something that *I* personally will use. For instance, I think $$$ should be used to repair residential roads, enabling school buses and emergency vehicles to pass, even though *I* don't live there. And some of our tax bases on are a temporary basis -- if we don't pass the new one, the old one expires and there's NO funding for some necessary services.

 

My fil ALWAYS votes "no" for school taxes because he doesn't "have any kids in school" -- even though he has 17 grandchildren who are and lives in a RITZY neighborhood and plays golf all the time. (He doesn't feel any responsibility to them? Huh?)

[MomofSeven]

vote no. But I'm all for re-distribution of the current tax income. If I can do this with my own budget, I see no reason why small or even big government can't.

[nmoira]

I live (happily) in a city/county that habitually votes "yes" for things library funding (our county has the highest per capita library circulation in the U.S.). We also instituted a temporary three year county tax a few years back to provide stopgap funding for local schools (our state taxation system is seriously messed up). Since I'm not a citizen, I cannot vote, but I would vote for some tax increases if I were.

[RoughCollie]

I vote against school taxes unless there is a darned good reason the schools in my town need more than the $11K they spend per pupil every year. We have very few poor kids here and the ones we have are well taken care of, educationally speaking. This is a middle-class town (not upper middle class), and some of the people here think we must have schools that are equal to the ritziest private schools in the land.

 

I do find out where the money goes. This year, if we didn't vote for a permanent tax increase for the schools, the parents will have to pay higher bus and sports fees, plus they closed the libraries in all but the high school. What a joke! This was blatant manipulation of the voters, and the majority of us saw through it.

 

Now the school system refuses to let volunteers staff the libraries because it will show the voters that they could have done without the tax increase to keep the libraries open and by closing them, they are more likely to get the tax increase passed next time. Plus, the unions are "uncomfortable" with the idea. I kid you not.

 

Every year, at least once, they make us vote on increasing the taxes on behalf of the schools, which already get 84% of the tax revenue. Last week, the school tax was voted down again. Meanwhile, we can't get a tax increase for necessary town services because those are always linked to outrageous increases in the school tax.

 

RC

[LG Gone Wild]

I am a limited gov. person.

[Soph the vet]

Depends on which taxes you are referring to. I always vote no for school referendums in our district. They already spend an enormous amount of money per student and studies have shown increasing school funds does not necessarily increase academic scores.

 

I am not for bigger government or increased spending by the government but if there is a legitimate tax increase for crucial services I am all for it. In my opinion, the government is extremely wasteful and inefficient in its operation which gets passed on to my bottom line.

 

I would like to see Congress pay every tax that we are required to pay (rather exempting themselves) and to earn salaries that reflect the average salaries of their constituents. Do you realize that the average legislator makes more than the average worker in this country? What happened to a government of the people, by the people, and for the people? Instead we are grooming a two class system of the aristocratic politicians and the rest of us. I live in one of the highest taxed states and frankly I am quite fed up with both sides of the aisle, so to speak.

:rant: Obviously, this touches a nerve with me right now:D.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I've voted for tax increases if I feel they have merit.

[Holly IN]

I would vote no and recommend a tax reform/restructering instead of adding new taxes.

 

Holly

[Diana in OR]

As I have become more involved in govt., I have learned some things about taxes that have made me look at them differently (sometimes).

 

First, I could never say that I would always vote "no". Who knows what the future holds?

 

This year, between the spring and fall elections, our city will be voting on 4 different tax levys.

 

One that just passed, is the local community college. They provide a great service to our community, including to homeschoolers, and they were in desperate need of the funds they were asking for.

 

The school district has a bond measure. I'm torn on that one, but it doesn't even meet the current needs the school district has.

 

In both the above cases, passing the tax levy will not increase my taxes at all--it just replaces a bond that is expiring. I believe the new community college bond is actually less than their expiring bond, making my taxes less. I didn't understand that principle until recently, and the govt. doesn't do a very good job of explaining how that process works, imo.

 

Our city is asking for a bond to repair streets and bridges. It is desperately needed.

 

The agency dh works for (transit) will be going out for a tax levy as well. Because dh works there, I know exactly why they need it. They have been operating on a deficit for many years. They are not being mismanaged and they spend their money wisely.

 

In all cases, the property taxes collected are not able to keep up with the rate of inflation, because of a voter imposed limitation 16 or so years ago.

 

Also, in all of these cases, there are no extra social service programs or many of the things people get upset for the govt. wasting our tax dollars on.

 

I think I said all of the above to say that when new taxes are proposed, it is worth the time to find out more about it without giving a blanket "no" response.

[Nestof3]

I tend to vote "no" only because I am convinced they should be forced to manage the money they do have better -- so much is wasted on useless programs.

 

Also, the gov't never lowers taxes once ___________ has been paid for.

 

It's always easier to spend someone else's money.

[Josie]

I would vote no and recommend a tax reform/restructering instead of adding new taxes.

 

Holly

 

This is usually what I do. I do research though. There is usually so much waste that if someone really sat down and restructured things the higher/new tax wouldn't be an issue.

[Elaine]

or do you research to see what it is suppose to be for?

 

Well, I do research to see what they want to do, but I usually vote "no." The government should manage their money better, IMO. They need to sit through a Dave Ramsey course.;)

[Omma]

Lately, we have been voting NO, unless it is a zero-percent tax increase! :001_smile:

 

Brenda

[Kay in Cal]

No. I tend to vote for measure that I think will to the most good for the most people. I am more than willing to support public schools and other public services.

[Bee]

I'll vote yes for things that will benefit the whole community-supporting the local public libraries is the one thing that comes to mind.I always vote no on the school budget.Per pupil spending by my district is absurdly high; well over $10,000/pupil/year.As a tax payer I don't feel like I am getting my money's worth.I feel like my local ps isn't trying to educate children;it's trying to raise them.

[LisaKinVA]

I do research the issues -- in our area, historic preservation, environmental protections and population growth create a very complex situation.

 

One intersection desperately needs to be fixed. But an historic church is right in the path of the proposed "fix." It's been on hold for I don't even know how long, as people debate "solutions."

 

A proposed bridge across the Rappahannock was also tabled due to potential environmental disturbance (currently, there are three small bridges -- usually backed up with traffic -- the proposed bridge was supposed to ease congestion for locals needing to get to stores, etc.) Instead of a bridge, we now have numerous concrete jungles being built to ease congestion to the highway. I miss the trees and the rolling hillsides.

 

A western by-pass (to take truck traffic away from local roads) also failed because of NIMBY (would have gone right through my parents' house). So the truck-traffic keeps growing and building congestion.

 

We have many, many dangerous intersections (lots of accidents, deaths, etc.), that were on the ballot to get fixed last election. Everyone I knew that voted "no" did so because, "I don't use that intersection." Public safety be hanged. Parks fail... roads fail... public services fail (libraries, fire & rescue).

 

Taxes (other than for building new schools) almost always seem to fail.

 

On the flip side -- to "slow growth" if you move into my county, get prepared to drive. Minimum lot sizes are 3 acres (unless you are in a development approved prior to 2003/04). So, houses get further and further away from services. Great way to encourage public transportation and bicycle usage :confused:

 

Each state government funds things differently. If I were in Arkansas, I probably voted "no" every time a tax came up -- because of the waste, fraud and abuse of that state legislature.

 

Here in VA... so much is run locally the state income tax has gone up .5% in the last 15+ years. So, I can't complain that much.

 

I'll definitely continue to vote FOR fixing our roads & bridges, fixing our parks (tons of injuries to children from holes, poorly maintained fields, etc.), and public services.

 

My vote probably won't be enough though...

[Nestof3]

I feel like my local ps isn't trying to educate children;it's trying to raise them.

 

You are so right!

[Crissy]

If I haven't researched a topic or a candidate, I won't vote.

I've voted both for and against various taxes.

[Jennifer in MI]

Nope. I have recently voted yes on various new taxes - library, zoo, school (we live in an area with old buildings and needed updates to the structures), and community colleges. I think we pay a LOT for our local taxes, but I LOVE where we live and I proudly support it, most of the time.

 

If I need to be selfish here - all of these things benefit me in some way too! My property values increase!!