Many people are getting screwed with their property taxes this year, and they're right to cry foul. The government cannot expect to double people's taxes in one fell swoop with impunity; they are going to have to find a workaround until saner heads occupy the White House and repeal the Bush tax cuts, after which the federal government can start giving adequate funding to the states again.
That being said, it appears from here that the issue is not that Jackie Walorski and her supporters have some intellectual or even ideological argument against the concept of the property tax; they just want free stuff. They want the same services they've always enjoyed without having to pay for them.
Why do I say that? Because excitement about ditching the property tax tends to cool when you mention that, in order to do so, we'd have to double the sales tax (to 13.2%), TRIPLE the income tax (to 9%), or add another 50% to both (9.5% and 6%). Still look like a sweet solution to you?
As one would expect, these upstanding Christians have suggested that we recoup some of the money by raising taxes on charities, and by "cutting spending," which the politically-minded recognize immediately as Republican fundiespeak for "screw the poor" (because raising the sales tax, which disproportionately hits the poor, isn't screwing them enough, I guess).
It appears that not enough high school teachers taught the concept of "TINSTAAFL" to their kids. Looks like Sunday school's been forgetting a couple of lessons, too.
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