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1. No, I do not live in Bell, California.
2. No, I do not know what the cost per pupil is in my local school district; it is a small city quite near Los Angeles, but not the city of L.A. itself.
3. I would say I am getting a reasonable deal on taxes, and yes, I am considering all forms of taxation: state income tax, sales tax, property taxes, fees to register cars and motorcycles. I can't think of any other taxes which would be more than extremely negligible, can you? In fact, offhand I cannot think of any other taxes which I pay, other than the indirect taxes we all pay when we purchase goods and services from a business which itself has to pay taxes. I did not discuss the federal income tax because we were talking about taxes specific to living in the L.A. area.
I would say that your sentiments about 'getting a reasonable deal on taxes' would represent a relatively small proportion of the population. Most people, I believe, feel that their taxes are not well spent, yield low efficiency, and subject their hard earned funds to various forms of corruption along the way (you know, I'll favor you with the contract if you do 'x' for me - whether that is contribute politically in some fashion or slip me back my 'commission'). I brought up Bell, CA hoping you would go 'aaarrrgghhh.' We see what I am descibing above in my immediate area as well. I also see gross government waste, knee deep (or, perhaps more accurately, shoulder deep) in the course of my business day. It is really pervasive. I believe most people don't want to be a part of this.
This is what people 'feel' when they say they want to fight for their rights - they want the freedom to choose how they run their lives - they want to choose how to spend their own earnings, they want freedom from red tape, fees upon fees, taxes upon taxes. With respect to the public schools, many people feel the 'rules' imposed from on high encourage counterproductive behavior in the schools, lead to the development and implementation of classroom content with political slant that some parents find objectionable. Here again, the compliance efforts and the staff required to implement some of this BS is draining finances from the kids (i.e., student-teacher ratio, teacher pay) and diverting it to others not really having anything to do with contributing to a quality education that focuses on the core subjects. I'll never forget my kid being subjected to 'inventive spelling' in PK/K. It took years to get that straightened out!
So, to sum up my meager attempt to address your original question (and I believe it was a real question seeking real answers, not poking anyone in the eye), more and more people have come to realize the raw deal they have been funding - funds that when they leave your individual control are used, in essence, to make your life less free. Less control over your own choices and more control demanded of you accordingly.
Oh, and one last set of questions, zooming out a bit to the national level. How many BTU's of energy does the Dept. of Energy produce annually? How many children does the Dept. of Education teach annually? How many bushels of corn does the Dept. of Agriculture grow annually? And, finally, what is the total expenditure of the the three bureaucracies listed above annually? Do you suppose the citizens of this country would rather have that sum back in their own pockets to fund their own very local choices? That is what some mean by 'freedom.' Fighting to drive choices back to as close to home as possible. Kinda old fashioned.
To Fishinbud: Thank you for your thoughtful reply. Rather to my amazement, we have more areas of agreement than I would have thought possible originally. Among those areas:
1. I agree that the events in Bell, Calif. are disgusting. But I view them as an aberration, not as typical.
2. I agree there is some waste in the use of tax money. Exactly how much is hard to quantify and would vary from state to state and from locality to locality.
3. Perhaps most importantly of all, I agree that more choices ought to be brought closer to home -away from the federal level to the state, county, or city levels. I have felt this way for many, many years.
Overall, we still disagree in our underlying, basic attitude towards taxation. However, my point right now is that I underestimated your degree of thoughtfulness from your first couple of posts on the subject. I am willing to concede that was a rush to judgment on my part.
2. there is some waste in the use of tax money. Exactly how much is hard to quantify and would vary from state to state and from locality to locality.
3. Perhaps ... more choices ought to be brought closer to home -away from the federal level to the state, county, or city levels.
Tax money is wasted in direct relationship with the level at which it is spent.
For example:
One teacher teaches 150 students per day at a cost of $50k/year.
The Superintendent teaches zero students per day at a cost of $150k/year.
The state Education Commissioner teaches zero students at $250k/year.
Tax money is wasted in direct relationship with the level at which it is spent.
For example:
One teacher teaches 150 students per day at a cost of $50k/year.
The Superintendent teaches zero students per day at a cost of $150k/year.
The state Education Commissioner teaches zero students at $250k/year.
The US Department of Education has a typical annual budget of $50 billion and teaches zero students.
Maines' coastline is not a straight line. Maine has many peninsulas and bays.
If you drew a straight line from the border with NH to the coastal border with Canada it might well be only 228 miles. However such a straight line would not be following the coast.
If you are still looking to buy land in a rural area, I have a lot of 35.94 acres of land that I want to sell in Waycross, GA. It's not in the states that you noted your interested, but google the place to see if it would be of your interest. The land is zoned residential in a subdivision about 15 min. away from the town center. You can grow vegetables, fruits but no livestock and built your log cabin home. It can also be subdivided into 5 acres parcel to sell to others. Please post if you are still interested.
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Do you suppose the citizens of this country would rather have that sum back in their own pockets to fund their own very local choices? That is what some mean by 'freedom.' Fighting to drive choices back to as close to home as possible. Kinda old fashioned.
