David Shove: "I hate ... sales taxes. Regressive, hitting the poor, letting the rich off. Almost impossible ever to repeal. A permanent hand in the poskets of the poor, a permanent bye for the bloated rich, who often get the money squeezed from the sales tax. VERY un-Green. I don't care WHAT the supposed "good" use is - get it from the income tax or DO WITHOUT the service until people are in the streets and sitting in at the Leg."
JM: Yeh, Dave. That's why I DIDN'T start with that as an alternative tax. I just think we've accepted over the years paying for services "for everybody" that not everybody needs. Shifting those to user fees with right-size tht part of government and save money. There are a raft of things managements do when they need draconian cost control, and some of those need to be done soon. But don't solve the problems on the backs of the poor. Let the more well-off pay or do without. After all, this is NOT a case where we're forcing anyone to do anything but choose. Which is what so many of them objected to before. They pay for stuff without a voice in whether they want it. To Jim Graham: I want to recommend caution about lawsuits to "remedy" obvious abuses. I say that because every cent spent on litigation by the city comes out of my pocket and yours. I'm not saying never do it, just don't get in any kind of unconscious habit, don't pick up the court system and start swinging it like a favorite bat. The trouble is that our wonderful CM's don't really mind LOSING them that much. They know it doesn't cost them, personally, a cent. Wish we could make it hurt to lose, but that may be beyond reach in our system. ===== Jim Mork Cooper Neighborhood ------------ Progressive Minnesotans, get together at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MN_progressive_tradition/ __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
