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  • LETTER OF THE DAY

    Filed at 5:33 am under by dcobranchi

    Is Econ 101 a requirement in the g-schools? Perhaps it ought to be.

    Renters with children should pay school tax too

    The antiquated system of school taxes needs a major overhaul. This system was instituted when most families with schoolchildren owned property and renters were basically out-of-town visitors. In today’s world, a large share of families with children are renters and do not pay school tax. Property owners pay for the education of children not their own.

    Renters with children should pay a per-child school tax, collected with rent. This system would force women and teenagers to think about birth control, instead of being a burden on society.

    Brett Gofgosky, Georgetown

    7 Responses to “LETTER OF THE DAY”


    Comment by
    speedwell
    February 27th, 2006
    at 8:49 am

    So… I’m an apartment dweller because I refuse to take on mortgage debt and am currently saving to buy property and build a home (I could do it right now, but I want to save a year’s worth of “safety net” too). In Mister Blinkered Middle-Class Twit’s opinion, it’s my duty to Society to use birth control so I can avoid spawning needless small insults to the propertied. And the tax he proposes would force me to think about this, since I would apparently not do so unless my arm was twisted by some government regulation. Presumably, my guy would not be involved in this “decision,” since he is neither a woman nor a teenager. Gotcha.


    Comment by
    HB
    February 27th, 2006
    at 9:29 am

    Rent goes to cover the owners taxes, which include school taxes. So this would be a double tax.


    Comment by
    Rikki
    February 27th, 2006
    at 9:33 am

    There are many people that still believe the world consists of their own environment and nothing else.


    Comment by
    speedwell
    February 27th, 2006
    at 11:43 am

    Oh, double taxation, sure, I got that, and spared it only a sigh. If I got upset at every sign of double taxation in business, they’d have to lock me up.

    What drives me nuts is that twits like Gofgosky (who presumably “owns” a house, even if it’s a tiny old termite-eaten pigsty with a double mortgage and a home equity loan) can vote and influence public policy to discriminate against families who live in apartments (such as mine, in a very desirable complex in an upscale neighborhood a few minutes from the Houston Galleria). He can simply scream “I pay property taxes” and get listened to. Of course, the very legitimacy of the government’s effectively charging people rent to live on their own property is never questioned by people such as that.


    Comment by
    COD
    February 27th, 2006
    at 4:02 pm

    Teen 1: Do you want to do it?

    Teen 2: Do you think we should?

    Teen 1: It’ll feel so good, and I have protection.

    Teen 2: Protection fails, and think of the tax implications.

    Yeah, that’ll make a difference in teen pregnancy.


    Comment by
    Unique
    February 28th, 2006
    at 8:46 pm

    I’ve always thought so, but then, I’m usually in the minority in my opinions. Que sera, sera


    Comment by
    Karen
    March 6th, 2006
    at 11:05 am

    Our local PBS has a “Speak Your Mind” kind of thing they show occassionally. On the topic of local schools, one mom makes the same stupid complaint: it’s not fair that renters don’t pay property taxes. Waah!
    I bet her next complaint will be: it’s not fair that they let me make a fool of myself on tv!