On Feb. 22 the Texas House leadership announced “the largest property tax decrease ever.” “Ever” must mean longer than the 22 years I’ve lived here since I don’t remember a significant one, “ever.” They go on to crow that the owner of a $350,000 home will get a $461 tax break next year.
The U.S. Census Bureau states that the median value of a home in HidalgoCounty is $94,000. Doing the math shows the “average” property taxpayer, not the rich ones owning $350,000 homes, should get a reduction of about $123. What does this mean to these two different breeds of Texas taxpayers or to those in $50,000 homes? Frankly, it means the rich can buy another flat-screen for the kids’ room, the middle class may be able to save a little more for the future, and the poor can buy a little more food each week. It appears politicians believe that want outweighs need, and that they are entirely disconnected from anyone in Texas who is less affluent than they are.
Again, the politicians in Austin prove that they don’t care about those needing relief by directing the vast majority of the relief to those who don’t need it, just want it. Add that to the demand-driven HidalgoCounty tax assessor’s office and the wasteful bond-issuing ISDs and you have a lose-lose situation. Already the ISD boards are demanding an increase in their tax cap while still unwilling to increase their efficiency or close underutilized schools.
When you couple the politics of Austin with the demand-driven Hidalgo County Tax Assessor’s Office and the wasteful bond-issuing ISDs,
The solution: Freeze property tax and assessed values to the construction cost of the property at one fixed percentage rate, then provide one fixed percent to schools based solely on their number of students. Make up the difference with a stiff luxury tax on non-essentials.
Ned Sheats
Mission
The public
overruled
A downstate Illinois judge has overturned the mandate of the people of Illinois to curb civilian ownership and use of military weapons.
Militant Christians are pushing the far-out, far-right Second Amendment idea that they can buy and sell whatever weapon they want.
Jesus’ whole teaching opposed what evangelicals are doing today. Evangelical lawyers are like Pharisee lawyers who made contorted legal arguments that subverted legislative intent and corrupted the plain meaning of foundational laws. Jesus summarized those constitutional principles as “judgment, mercy, and faith.” That meant enforcement of justice, providing for domestic tranquility and forgiveness of transgressions, and allowing for contracts made in good faith.
Evangelicals today have fixated on the “faith” part of the law and forgotten how to curb lawlessness and secure the happiness of the people. Those things cannot happen with high-powered weapons in the hands of unstable Americans.
The American “right” has gone off the rails on Jesus’ teachings on creditor/debtor relations as well. Christianity kept legal interest rates below double digits for nearly 2,000 years in Europe and America, until the Pharisee-style de-regulation craze of the ’70s and ’80s paved the way for triple-digit interest rates charged on the working poor today.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
LETTERS — Limit letters to 300 words; all letters are subject to editing. Mail: P.O. Box 3267, McAllen, TX78502-3267; Email: [email protected]
