I heard overnight from a friend who is livid that Bend city councilors sent a proposed room tax increase – a compromise that probably pleases no one 100 percent, the very definition – to voters in November.
He says the public has no full understanding of such things as tourism economics and that the councilors shirked their duties and should resign. Etc. etc.
Was really surprised by that. First of all, aren’t city councils required to send tax hikes to voters – by state law, city charter or both — and wouldn’t the outcry be much larger if they did this without asking the voters?
And since when is an “educated vote” required? That’s as problematic to make happen (quizzes at the polling place before you get to vote? Oh wait, we don’t have polling places any more) as the notion that only “those who pay” — property owners – should get to vote on property tax hikes. What property owner doesn’t pass on all or part of such taxes to their renters? And whose fault is that?
Life isn’t fair, but so many expect it to be perfectly so. And yes, the odds of this tax hike passing are great, since it’s a tax on someone else – the visitors to our community.
Some have cried “taxation without representation!”
Huh?
How about the notion that visitors to a community by their very visit make use of roads, sewer, water and sometimes emergency services that residents pay for — and thus should shoulder a percentage – the exact amount in never-ending argument — of those costs?
It all reminds me of the favorite line, “Growth should pay it’s own way.” Like “information wants to be free,” it’s nice pablum, but completely impossible in the real world.
Bend is growing again, and that tug of war, wrestling match (grow the city! No, say no to developers! Keep Bend as it is!) will be back, with all the impossible-to-please-all decisions they entail.
A city or county cannot reject a building or a resort, say, because “we don’t want any more” or “we have enough already.” It’s simply … well, illegal, under state land use laws. It’s like saying “I want to do whatever I want with my land – property rights! – but my neighbor shouldn’t be able to do anything that affects me.” Impossible to make happen, impossible to enforce – and totally illogical to request. And yet, some do. Many, in fact.
Why are all the things we “learned in kindergarten” so hard for folks to remember or accept later in life? Ah, because by then, with all our life experiences, we “know better.”
Not;-)
Leave it to Barney 