Should Pittsburgh tax non-residents who work in the city? (wealthy, mayor)

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I understood that to be the essence of your proposal--income would be taxed wherever earned, and let the chips fall as they may.

Yes, you understood correctly. Sorry if I was unclear somehow.

I find it strange that you can spend so much time in a city/suburb and not owe them a single dollar in taxes. I certainly wasn't patronizing any businesses when working at RIDC, I was just a drain on their system.

[gg]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I honestly don't get this rhetoric as applied to the specific issue of public education. Every child in a public school is a "have not" by this definition, because they aren't working, and their education is always being paid for by the "haves"--whoever is paying the necessary taxes.

I don't want to put words in your mouth, but the only way this seems to make any sense is if you think the children of parents who are "have nots" deserve less education funding than the children of parents who are "haves". But why should children be punished for the sins of their parents?

Look I have no problem paying for few poor kids lunches or so, which I do everyday because I pay full amount and many kids from Sharpsburg pay a dime. I except that, but don't mess with my son's education. I pay a lot of taxes to be in a good school. I do so for HIS education. If people are concerned about their kid's education then they can do what I did and MOVE to a good school district! I lived in a cheap $450 a month includes all place for several years on the boarder of Highland Park and East Liberty, but I had no child. I saved up enough to move. Anyone CAN do that and certainly ANYONE can move to Sharpsburg. You are always wanting to merge schools so we have all horrible districts. That IS what happens EVERY time. It never works. Fox Chapel has enough money to handle having Sharpsburg in the district. It is a very rare situation.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

So, how would small bedroom communities with little in the way of business survive in this proposal? I'm thinking specifically of towns like Crafton where just about all residents commute elsewhere for work.

Edit: And I know someone earlier mentioned property taxes. Given the removal of the income tax, these local areas would probably need to bump the property tax. Nearly impossible in an area like Crafton where millage rates are already extremely high.

[BrianTH]

h_curtis,

So I gather your answer is yes, children should be rewarded for the virtues of their parents, and punished for the sins of their parents.

But then I don't see why you want there to be public education at all (maybe you don't, in fact). If there was no public education, each child would get exactly the education funding their parents were willing and able to provide, and not one dime more. Justice, as you see it, would be done.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by trlstreet

So, how would small bedroom communities with little in the way of business survive in this proposal? I'm thinking specifically of towns like Crafton where just about all residents commute elsewhere for work.

Edit: And I know someone earlier mentioned property taxes. Given the removal of the income tax, these local areas would probably need to bump the property tax. Nearly impossible in an area like Crafton where millage rates are already extremely high.

This is part of why I think you would need to shift education funding away from local property taxes to make this work.

[gg]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

h_curtis,

So I gather your answer is yes, children should be rewarded for the virtues of their parents, and punished for the sins of their parents.

What world do you live in? Do you actually get out of the house and have a look around. Children ARE punished for the sins of their parents every day. Are you kidding me? Do you think YOU or I have any control over that? Are you God? What ego you must have to think you are going to somehow control sins of people that have children. YOU are not going to do it. No one can. You can volunteer or maybe if you have the money of Andre Agassi, start a boarding school, which I pointed out to you years ago. You always try and make me out to be the bad guy. Nope, just a realist. I remember you freaking out about me telling people the kids should be taken away from the bad drug attic parents and put in boarding schools. You thought that was terrible. REALLY? At least the kids would be safe and learn. The teachers are much better mentors than the sinful parents.

Seriously Brian, you really don't understand real world at all. The best anyone can do is provide for their family. If you are able to do that and have more left over, you help other families. I have been a big brother, helped a family that had a father go to prison for a long time and pay my own way. If people did as much as I did the world would be a better place. I fully understand many people can't do what I did. They may be on the edge of losing their home all the time or what ever. Who knows? Bottom line is you protect your own first. That is our job as a parent. If you have more good, you can help others.

[squarian]

Originally Posted by trlstreet

So, how would small bedroom communities with little in the way of business survive in this proposal?

Presumably they would eventually come under pressure to join with/be merged into a larger municipality. Over time, the map of Allegheny Co might no longer look like this.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by trlstreet

So, how would small bedroom communities with little in the way of business survive in this proposal? I'm thinking specifically of towns like Crafton where just about all residents commute elsewhere for work.

Edit: And I know someone earlier mentioned property taxes. Given the removal of the income tax, these local areas would probably need to bump the property tax. Nearly impossible in an area like Crafton where millage rates are already extremely high.

On the other hand that tells me that despite the protests, perhaps the suburbs do depend on the city after all.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by squarian

Presumably they would eventually come under pressure to join with/be merged into a larger municipality. Over time, the map of Allegheny Co might no longer look like this.

No union between the wealthy and noble Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the impoverished peasants of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin could possibly work.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

On the other hand that tells me that despite the protests, perhaps the suburbs do depend on the city after all.

Yeah, wasn't the theory that employers would just flee the City and start building 40-story office towers in Crafton instead?