No kids-Why do we have to pay school tax (Austin: mortgage, credit)

[winst0n]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

If it was fair the people with no kids should be able to put 2 imaginery kids on their income tax returns as deductions

i like that idea!!!

[winst0n]

Originally Posted by texasdreamin

Not if property owners do not step up to the plate and start making a little noise by contacting people. I have sent emails to newpapers, the governors office and posted in another forum. If no one fights for change, there won't be any change. Start sending emails to your legislators and let them know what is happening and how the appraisals are spiraling out of control, which in turn are causing taxation outside of the norm...most of which goes to the ISDs, which evidently are spending, spending, spending. Appraisals should be on purchase price, not maket price. AND...there should be a cap on the appraisals. I checked one appraisal district and saw that in 2006 somebody's land was appraised at $37,000. In 2007, that same piece of land, with no improvements, was appraised at over $100,000. Does that send a message, or what. That is just ridiculous. It happened to that person and many others that I saw. The majority of the taxes collected went to the ISDs. So, say for example, a property owner has to pay $1,000 in taxes for a year. $700 goes to ISDs. County may get a little over $100 and the rest goes to EMS and others. Unbelievable.

Does this mean that this issue has not reach the legislators yet?

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by dlukej

I have been actively campaigning about this issue for years. The arguments that people are posting here just don't wash. #1-We pay for fire and police protection, but never need it. TRUE. However, isn't this a form of insurance? Wouldn't you rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it? #2-We pay taxes for roads we may not use. TRUE. However, do you have a car? Then you do use roads, and therefore, you may travel on them someday. They need to be maintained.
My wife and I do not have kids. Will NEVER have kids. We don't have to worry about an unexpected pregnancy, I have had a vasectomy. So, I want to hear a GOOD reason why I am paying for your kids to go to school. And the arguement that I went to school so it's my duty to pay for your kids to go is ludacris. My parents paid for my education because they had me. They paid taxes for the schools I went to. Why? Because they chose to have kids. THEY CHOSE TO HAVE KIDS. Understand? I choose not to have kids. If people who choose to have kids are the ones who pay for their education, maybe people will stop and think for a minute about what they are doing. The argument that there will be legions of uneducated people running around because the minority of people who don't have kids didn't pay for them is assinine. WE ALREADY HAVE LEGIONS OF UNEDUCATED PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND. Many don't even speak english!
Here's the skinny:
If you've had kids-pay the taxes.
If you have kids-pay the taxes.
If you plan on having kids-pay the taxes.
Making people pay an exhorbitant amount of money for something they don't have and will never have is criminal. I pay enough taxes and I cetainly don't need to pay more because you chose to reproduce. Also, this country, as well as the world, needs to start seriously considering population control. What is the root cause of all pollution, global warming, epidemics, etc..?
Too many people. Too many people consuming too many resources. If people in this world keep reproducing without any reguard for the total world population, then its all over folks.

I'm sorry, but your argument is totally invalid. It's called the future of America. Consider it an investment in your retirement, because who do you think is going to change your diapers when you're 80? Or cut a brain tumor out of your head? Or work on a cure for cancer? Obviously not your kids, since you aren't having any! Dude, think past next week and beyond your own little realm for just a few minutes.

Population control? Too few resources? Hmmm...sounds a lot like China! Try a year or two there. The government there thinks right along the same lines as you do. My bet is you'll be hauling it right back here and will kiss the ground in appreciation once you do.

[texasdreamin]

Originally Posted by winst0n

Does this mean that this issue has not reach the legislators yet?

You mean as far as appraisals spiraling out of control? I haven't read of anything that the legislation plans to do anything about it. The appraisals is where the most attention is needed. If the appraisals are under control, the taxes will be under control. As far as the school tax, that tax has come down...but then the appraisals are so high that it keeps the taxes high, so the lowering of the school taxes didn't make too much of a dent. What people did save will be ate up in the higher and higher appraisals. It'll be back to square one. Fight to get the appraisals capped and property appraised at purchase price, not market value. Then things will be okay.

[googie2525]

Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs

Population control? Too few resources? Hmmm...sounds a lot like China! Try a year or two there. The government there thinks right along the same lines as you do. My bet is you'll be hauling it right back here and will kiss the ground in appreciation once you do.

I think one of the points he's trying to make is that we'll be in the same boat as China (i.e., extreme overpopulation, depletion of resources, dire poverty) one of these days if folks' don't start keeping their zippers' up and start taking responsibilty for their children. I mean, look at all these clueless nuts with five kids and minimum wage jobs, if they actually had to pay for their kids' education (and food, healthcare, etc., etc., etc.), they'd certainly think twice about further burdening the system. Basically, in a nutshell, why make childless people pay for their children? Anyway, at least childless-by-choice folks deserve a tax discount (and folks with over a certain amount of kids a higher tax burden). It just makes sense. For example, for every car I own, I pay extra insurance, same concept...and yeah, yeah, these will be the future doctors (and future criminals and deadbeats) and all that (like, what? One percent?), so do doctors give some sort of tax-payer appreciation discount that I'm unaware of?

[PopsGuysRule]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

Me and a couple of friends were sitting around watching Monday Football and wondered why we have to pay school tax since none of our kids went to school here in Texas. Is this taxation without representation?

We all agreed that we would not mind paying something for school tax but not the amount we are taxed on. Of course we had a few beers

?????Because those going through this school system could potentially one day be administering your social security and medicare benefits??????

[imaterry78259]

Check out the spending on the other thread for NEISD. and then we will discuss what going on

[imaterry78259]

Is there going to be a new elem and middle school built near the new LBJ Hisgh School

[Woodsy1]

Your are right on the mark here. Don't budge an inch. Key word: accountable. If you or I ran our business this way we would either be fired or bankrupt. Tax-payer largesse is taken for granted throughout the various levels of government. Need more money, no problem...the tax-payers have deep pockets, and it is ours for the taking. We just have to
present it to them in a way they will understand....Do it for the kids!

Really..... what's the point if we put them so far in debt with our buy-now-pay-later mentality that they will never get out? In that scenario, ignorance will be bliss.

Originally Posted by banker

Private schools - the ones that have to be accountable to an actual budget find ways to do it cheaper...how is that?

I firmly believe that construction costs on schools has spiralled out of control. To the point of being excessive.

[Woodsy1]

Think about social security, and think about the massive numbers of baby boomers who are about to get into the system. While you're at it, consider that there is no money in the social security fund...just a government IOU. They spent that too.

Now think about how many workers there were per retiree when the system started. Then look at how many workers there will be per retiree in the near future. Do you think the system can perpetuate itself? One can make a really good case that we are not over-populated, but that we may well indeed be drastically under-populated.

The fact that so many Americans failed to reproduce may be the reason we are seeing government dragging their feet to limit immigration. (The fact that we have sent our best breeding stock every generation for the last hundred years to fight other peoples' wars probably hasn't helped either.) They may know that unless we get a whole slew of young workers into the system damn fast, it will implode, and there will be a lot of pissed-off grey-haired people wondering what the heck happened.

I'm thinking that if we need to populate a little, there are probably some
good ole boys and girls already here who could make that happen, but given your medical situation, I reckon you'll have to miss that party.

By the way....we haven't even scratched the surface of the resources
that are available, we will find ways to use those we have better if we need to, the United States is sparsley populated, and there ain't no man-made global warming. (I can have an opinion on that too.)

Originally Posted by dlukej

I have been actively campaigning about this issue for years. The arguments that people are posting here just don't wash. #1-We pay for fire and police protection, but never need it. TRUE. However, isn't this a form of insurance? Wouldn't you rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it? #2-We pay taxes for roads we may not use. TRUE. However, do you have a car? Then you do use roads, and therefore, you may travel on them someday. They need to be maintained.
My wife and I do not have kids. Will NEVER have kids. We don't have to worry about an unexpected pregnancy, I have had a vasectomy. So, I want to hear a GOOD reason why I am paying for your kids to go to school. And the arguement that I went to school so it's my duty to pay for your kids to go is ludacris. My parents paid for my education because they had me. They paid taxes for the schools I went to. Why? Because they chose to have kids. THEY CHOSE TO HAVE KIDS. Understand? I choose not to have kids. If people who choose to have kids are the ones who pay for their education, maybe people will stop and think for a minute about what they are doing. The argument that there will be legions of uneducated people running around because the minority of people who don't have kids didn't pay for them is assinine. WE ALREADY HAVE LEGIONS OF UNEDUCATED PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND. Many don't even speak english!
Here's the skinny:
If you've had kids-pay the taxes.
If you have kids-pay the taxes.
If you plan on having kids-pay the taxes.
Making people pay an exhorbitant amount of money for something they don't have and will never have is criminal. I pay enough taxes and I cetainly don't need to pay more because you chose to reproduce. Also, this country, as well as the world, needs to start seriously considering population control. What is the root cause of all pollution, global warming, epidemics, etc..?
Too many people. Too many people consuming too many resources. If people in this world keep reproducing without any reguard for the total world population, then its all over folks.