Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
With tax revenue down, do you support a user fee to use the library? How about a doubling of State Park fees, and more toll roads? What do you think about increasing user fees for what were once free government services?
Regressive fee structure will often discourage people, and the revenue may actually decline, unless it is done sensibly. One of my neighborhood lake-part was recently taken over by the city (from the government) and has imposed a $5/single entry day pass at the entrance. What used to be a flourishing picnic/hiking/kayaking spot now looks deserted. I'm not opposed to charging fees, but being more sensible and charging less so it attracts more people rather than only the desperate ones. I see similar issue with libraries. The service should be free (we already pay for it in taxes), but I would be fine with a minimal one-time fee for membership with certain criteria imposed (for example, kids get it for free).
Toll roads make little sense. Federal and State governments charge gasoline/diesel tax for the purpose and they should increase that as opposed to coming up with toll roads (which I find mostly to be nuisance but are become the rage here in Dallas area).
...I am completely opposed to "user fees" for public education. We all benefit from an educated population. Parents get stuck with a lot of fees as it is: band/orchestra fees, athletic fees...
I don't have an issue with paying taxes that provide a solid basic education. These "fees" are for recreational activities, not education. Why should the taxpayer pay for your kids entertainment?
It is only a matter of time before people will have to pay a fee to get a library card, or entrance to a state park will be $20 or more, or that the rec center you go to to lift weights or swim will be $20 or more to visit. User fees started as a good idea about 20 years ago but now they have got out of hand. It is getting to the point that only the rich will be able to do anything other than just sit.
With tax revenue down, do you support a user fee to use the library? How about a doubling of State Park fees, and more toll roads? What do you think about increasing user fees for what were once free government services?
You do understand that the economy is built on debt, right? This is why the politicians and the media want banks to start loaning money again. The dollar bill that you have in your wallet is a loan that a bank gave to a company to build something. That company gave that dollar to your employer for a service and your employer gave the dollar to you to provide the service. When you use that dollar to pay back on one of your own loans, the bank doesn't just invest that dollar back into the economy. It destroys it. Not the physical dollar of course, but the digits in the computer.
If we don't spend, then there is no need for loans. Then there is less money floating around and the economy goes down.
Of course I don't like the way the economy works. It would be better if the government controlled our money supply interest free (as the constitution decrees) but it doesn't. The federal reserve does the government's job and charges us all interest. That interest is what creates inflation.
There are some great videos on youtube explaining how the monetary system works. The easiest one to understand is this one.
I don't have an issue with paying taxes that provide a solid basic education. These "fees" are for recreational activities, not education. Why should the taxpayer pay for your kids entertainment?
Band/Orchestra, art programs, drama, and athletics are hardly just entertainment. They teach a LOT about life to young people. In fact you could say that a child learns MORE about life from after-school programs than he does from in-school education.
Athletics, for example, teaches kids the value of practice, patience, and how to work under pressure. How to do what ever it takes to get the job done. How to sacrifice for the greater good. How to be a team player. You don't learn those things in the classroom. A test doesn't have quite the same effect because the kid doesn't want to take the test. The kid WANTS to play the game.
Keep the libraries and parks free. Reduce the Defense Department to defending the continental US. Let the rest of the world pay to keep the sea lanes free of pirates. Sell off overseas investments and invest the money back here.
Check out my ideas on tariffs, trade and income taxes.
Keep the libraries and parks free. Reduce the Defense Department to defending the continental US. Let the rest of the world pay to keep the sea lanes free of pirates. Sell off overseas investments and invest the money back here.
Or just give the control of the economy back to the governments. Get rid of fractional reserve banking - which is, in effect, theft. Keep the bankers out of politics. We don't need a world bank telling us how to live our lives.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.