  Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 710 Registered: 04-2006 |
Some of our leaders and transit advocates propose a one half percent county sales tax for transit operations and a one half percent sales tax for the road commissions. This will result in a total of 7 percent and two taxes instead of one. The county tax is new but is used in other states. The rest of the state will get this choice also. The declining property tax values resulting in city and county cuts in government services including the SMART large buses is making this proposal popular. Next April, our leaders in Lansing will bring to the public choices of how we want to pay for government and to decide what is important. If mass transit is important to you all, then we should all work together to help SMART and DDOT and the city of Detroit instead of fighting each other which could result in more bus service reductions and even train service cuts in the future, if we don’t all work to together to control costs. What are your thoughts on changing the state constitution? What are your thoughts of the one percent tax for transportation above? http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl d/2005/sep/25/france.jasonburk e | ||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 2149 Registered: 12-2005 |
quote: Popular with everyone but those who who will have to pay the higher taxes at the same time they are threatened with the loss of their jobs and having to deal with the significantly reduced values of their property and investments. quote: What is important now is for our leaders in Lansing to be working on restructuring the government and its finances, plus assisting the private sector in turning our shattered economy around, not rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship. If they don't start making some progress soon, it will be the public who will be bringing a message to our leaders in Lansing. To give you a sense of urgency and a taste of the reality that we could face here if our leaders don't recognize the seriousness of our situation and start doing something about it, here are some better links than the one you provided: Dec. 17, 2008: Boisterous protest disrupts Iceland cabinet meeting Jan. 26, 2009: Iceland Government Crumbles Gee, that didn't take long! Jan. 14, 2009: Latvian Police Clash With Rioters in Recession Protests Jan. 27, 2009: Russian stability threatened by anger over economy, in which appears this interesting report: Alarming for the Kremlin, the demonstrations took on a political hue with protesters demanding the entire government's resignation. To deep embarrassment in Moscow, placards urged Japan – where most of Russia's imported cars come from – to colonise Vladivostok. With second hand foreign cars popular among middle class Russians the protests spread. In St Petersburg, one placard called on Mr Putin to "switch to a trolley" – a reference to the fact that the prime minister is ferried around in an imported Mercedes. (Message edited by Mikeg on February 01, 2009) | ||
Jiminnm Member Username: Jiminnm Post Number: 1675 Registered: 02-2005 |
My general obervation is that it is never wise to raise taxes during a recession, especially one as serious as this one, unless your intent is to prolong the recession or make it worse. | ||
Giver108 Member Username: Giver108 Post Number: 40 Registered: 06-2008 |
In this day and age with the economy being in the sorry state it is, there's no chance of this proposal happening. No politician is going to want to hang their hat on a tax increase. | ||
Warrenite84 Member Username: Warrenite84 Post Number: 491 Registered: 01-2007 |
I cannot trust Reps. in Lansing to be a good stewards of my taxes. I can handle a 1 cent Metro sales tax to pay for a transit system that would put us on par with other successful cities in terms of transit, and fix roads. It would also keep the Reps. from,"borrowing", the funds for their own pet projects. It is a shame we have to take back decision making power from our elected representatives, but when they cannot work as a team to do what is right... | ||
Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 713 Registered: 04-2006 |
Quote My general observation is that it is never wise to raise taxes during a recession, especially one as serious as this one, unless your intent is to prolong the recession or make it worse End of Quote. The change is called tax reform but it is a really a tax increase no matter how you look at it without written accords to protect existing money. That’s how SMART got away with slashing bus service throughout the western Detroit suburbs without any protests from transit advocacy groups. The Livonia decision to opt out had nothing to do with the loss of the large line haul buses. It was the Michigan Department of Transportation that slashed funding as documented by the Citizen’s Research Council and the Federal Transit Database. Quote In this day and age with the economy being in the sorry state it is, there's no chance of this proposal happening. No politician is going to want to hang their hat on a tax increase End of Quote Many state representatives are hanging their hats on this by calling it tax reform and not a tax increase. They are actually claiming your overall taxes will decease because everyone will pay including tourists. NEW County Sales taxes are a bad idea for Michigan at this time. So, please support my website or get it well known if you don't want this change without first protecting existing funds. See Trainman’s, save the... in DETROIT LINKS | ||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 2150 Registered: 12-2005 |
Listen to me, Trainman, you are the worst possible advocate for mass transit funding and your posts are a waste of electrons and photons. Your arguments are poorly referenced, illogical and often times damn near incomprehensible. I've repeatedly voted for the SMART property tax and the Mich Dept of Treasury knows that I've paid my fair share of income and sales taxes over the years, but I'll be damned if I'll pay one more nickle in increased taxes for anything until our Governor and Legislature come to the realization that they must restructure and bring spending in line with revenues. The best way to insure a brighter future for Michigan is for them to make the necessary and painful budget cuts such that next year's budget spending is equal to 90% of the most recent 5-year average of revenues collected. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 6087 Registered: 08-2004 |
quote: Trainman... do you even own a house? If so you would know that most people who have owned their same house for more than just a few years are paying the lower "Headlee rate"... and not the higher State Equalized Value (SEV) rate. Even though most home values went down in the last year... property taxes for most homeowners have gone up... because the Headlee taxable rate is still significantly lower than the SEV taxable rate, especially for folks who have lived in the same house since the Headlee Amendment passed in the mid 1990's. These same folks will get property tax increases for years, even if home prices don't rise at all. | ||
Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 714 Registered: 04-2006 |
Gistok, Do you read the newspaper? use the internet? watch TV? Or, do you live in a cave? The quote above is used many times to get the public to believe that we need tax reform. Tax reform is really just another name for tax increase in the case of our current Lansing leaders. This is especially true when it comes to mass transit at this time concerning the plan for a new regional transit authority next April. The constitution change without protecting state funds first is coming whether we want it or not. Unless, my website or similar efforts are taken VERY seriously in DETROIT LINKS | ||
Detroitchef Member Username: Detroitchef Post Number: 58 Registered: 09-2008 |
Yeah, it's everyone else's fault for not taking you seriously enough, dude. I'm with everyone else Trainman. You simply don't make sense in any way, shape or form with your rambling diatribes. While I think your points are valid, (very few of them) they get lost in the spinsterish handwringing, overblown rhetoric and selse of self-aggrandizing drama your posts are rife with. Linking the transit plans to a property tax increase, at a time the housing market and general economy are dead is pretty dumb. Trusting our elected dopes in MI to steward the funds is even worse. Just wait till someone comes past my house with another petition for a unicameral State Legislature. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 4440 Registered: 02-2004 |
Trainman, You're fighting to lobby mass transit, but you have been flip flopping on how property taxes should be used properly on mass transit. Our Michigan Legislature is doing fine ensuring checks and balances within our tax structure, even of ecomony is turning to "George Bush" crud. Our capitalist system is not perfect. It's not suppose to be enternal. It's a temporary tactic to get people to work, spend money from mass produced goods and services and be competitive, including democracy. This state is not the Soviet Union Communist Party destined to be flawed and collapsed with a coup d'etat. In order for our government to reform, our leaders must reform themselves and gain the trust of the public. In the Meantime our state constitution doesn't need any more changing. Last time this state change its constition was back in mid 1960s When Gov. Romney participated the state constitional convention. Our state is doing just fine managing mass transit and other properties with representation. If our government became crooked up to 90% that was being reported both local and national media, then we lobby for reform. | ||
Detourdetroit Member Username: Detourdetroit Post Number: 341 Registered: 10-2003 |
what needs to happen as far as the constitutional convention goes is to a move toward holistic regional governance and a turn away from our draconian and divisive brand of home rule. |
