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It costs over $650 to register a car in Delaware.......soooo, these fees are not that bad by direct comparison.........
What I would like to know is where all this money is going exactly? because if were going to pay higher taxes so we can fund more stupid dealerships, then I would be very disappointed.....all this money collected this way SHOULD & MUST go on education since were lacking that in so many ways.
The amount of property taxes that we need to pay doesn't reflect how much the value went down...all taxes that were raised...the county is so smart to make sure they will get the money
First, a government "fee" is a tax. There is absolutely no difference at the end of the day other than the name. The government would have us believe otherwise- but heck, they'd have us believe that Social Security is a "savings plan" as opposed to a tax. Funny, I have a savings plan, it is called a 401K, and I get statements every quarter and I know exactly where I stand with my investments. All I ever get from the Social Security department is a statement showing how much I've paid in taxes over the years.
If you believe that 80% of the homeless are that way because of some uncontrollable mental condition, you've been duped. Most are just salesmen. I see the same people day after day after day on their little street corners with signs. One day they are a Vietnam Vet, the next day they are a businessman who is just out of work. This area is a huge gathering ground for unmotivated bums who have no intention of ever working and only serve to harass innocent people who want to go shopping, out to dinner, or just on a stroll downtown.
We live in a modest middle class home and our property taxes alone are $8,000 a year. And for this, I get F grade schools, ranked a measly 4 or 5 out of 10. I actually think it would be difficult to find a worse deal somewhere in the country. I'm sure I could find worse if I tried, but what I'm getting is in no way a bargain. I know one thing, I could put part of that 8K to good use at a much better private school, if I could get a refund or voucher.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aninaction
tjax,
as mentioned, these are fees, not taxes.
no one is stopping you from panhandling. if you want that under-the-table money, go get it.
also, florida has the cities ranked worst in the nation for homeless. however, in terms of taxes, you may want to do the research to compare our state against others; maybe these comparatively low taxes are one of the reasons that florida education is ranked one of the lowest in the nation.
further, up to 80% of homeless floridians have severe, debilitating mental illnesses, which make it impossible for them to work. they need help, however, because we cannot force them to take meds, situations can become incredibly difficult.
just a little info for those who might not be familiar with any homeless individuals on a personal, conversational level, or who aren't familiar with the statistics and science behind these real life situations.
well they already scared a lot of university students away with 40% set increase in tuition hike and wiping out entire depts at the universities back in may
you cry about f schools, but also insist on lower taxes (again, care to compare our taxes to other states, or are we just going to keep getting your general impressions of how things are?)
newspapers carry a 60-65% typical error rate that is not corrected with time. i dont consider them reliable sources of information. (in tampa bay fox news sued and won for the right to knowingly provide false information on their news shows, just some fyi).
have you looked at the statistics for schizophrenia alone amongst floridas homeless? i doubt you have, but i suggest you do. good information in this complicated issue is always helpful.
notice also that you are complaining about something that you do not have to have anything to do with. you dont have to give anyone any money. or as i mentioned, no one is stopping you from going out and asking for money yourself if you like. personally, i usually try to take the homeless person who asks me for change to a place where i can get them something to eat.
blaming the homeless for our dissatisfaction about some fee raises doesnt seem to make much sense to me.
One of the reasons I moved to Florida was the lack of state and local income tax. Hopefully it stays that way. I don't see too much of a problem with usage fees such as these. You're getting some kind of service in return and unless the fees become so high as to be unreasonable, it is by far not the worst way for the local government to raise some money.
tjax,
you cry about f schools, but also insist on lower taxes (again, care to compare our taxes to other states, or are we just going to keep getting your general impressions of how things are?)
Property taxes for a similarly priced home where we moved from, Hawaii, was around $1750 a year. For this, you get F grade schools....a bargain! it costs me $8000 to get F grade schools in FL. Sales tax in Hawaii is 4.5%, here it is 7%. Hawaii has a state income tax. In the end, worst, case, it balances out... but I felt like I had more money in my pocket when I wasn't spending over $13K on taxes and HO insurance, before I even paid a dime toward my mortgage.
The problem with schools is not with funding, so raising taxes again and again and dumping more money into them is not going to solve the problem. The whole public education system needs a revamp, and somehow more parents have to start caring about their kids and what they're doing in school. This is true of almost every government service- if our government wasn't so bloated and mismanaged, we'd get a heck of a lot more bang for our buck.
Honestly, 10 years ago Florida WAS cheap. Real estate was cheap, homeowners insurance was under control, and taxes weren't bad. I think the rumor stuck around, but prices didn't. If I were just starting my career, I'd sure look at other places before FL. A recent Money magazine listed 100 best places to live, a lot of them were places that have an up and coming economy and affordable housing.
I just don't see how the economy is going to recover around here the way things are currently going. As for St. Pete, I hope the new major is committed to lowering taxes and cleaning this city up. It is unfortunate that our climate apparently attracts such a large homeless population. This creates an unfair burden on the tax base here and also makes it a less desirable place to live. If you really want to put all of the homeless people in a mental ward for rehab, we need to get their original hometowns to help us pay for it... e.g. the cold and undesirable places they probably migrated from that now don't carry the burden.
Property taxes for a similarly priced home where we moved from, Hawaii, was around $1750 a year. For this, you get F grade schools....a bargain! it costs me $8000 to get F grade schools in FL. Sales tax in Hawaii is 4.5%, here it is 7%. Hawaii has a state income tax. In the end, worst, case, it balances out... but I felt like I had more money in my pocket when I wasn't spending over $13K on taxes and HO insurance, before I even paid a dime toward my mortgage.
The problem with schools is not with funding, so raising taxes again and again and dumping more money into them is not going to solve the problem. The whole public education system needs a revamp, and somehow more parents have to start caring about their kids and what they're doing in school. This is true of almost every government service- if our government wasn't so bloated and mismanaged, we'd get a heck of a lot more bang for our buck.
Honestly, 10 years ago Florida WAS cheap. Real estate was cheap, homeowners insurance was under control, and taxes weren't bad. I think the rumor stuck around, but prices didn't. If I were just starting my career, I'd sure look at other places before FL. A recent Money magazine listed 100 best places to live, a lot of them were places that have an up and coming economy and affordable housing.
I just don't see how the economy is going to recover around here the way things are currently going. As for St. Pete, I hope the new major is committed to lowering taxes and cleaning this city up. It is unfortunate that our climate apparently attracts such a large homeless population. This creates an unfair burden on the tax base here and also makes it a less desirable place to live. If you really want to put all of the homeless people in a mental ward for rehab, we need to get their original hometowns to help us pay for it... e.g. the cold and undesirable places they probably migrated from that now don't carry the burden.
you seem to havelots of intuitive impressions, not much hard evidence:
you left out that in hawaii, the sales taxes covers everything one needs to buy, unlike in Florida. this significantly changes the way your comment goes over. also, because property is far far more pricey in hawaii, that lower property tax doesn't mean all that much in terms of overall cost of living.
its unfortunate that our climate attracts the homeless? where would you rather them go? again, taxes are higher because of the homeless? id love to see the studies that back that one up. also, despite popular opinion, homeless people, as well as people with severe mental illnesses, are not statistically more likely to commit crime.
we cant just "lock up" homeless people or force them to take meds if they need them, because of american law. the second we did enact some law that allowed this, youd be screaming that they were trying to take *your* liberty away too and trying to pull one over on you. does anyone think we should force people, homeless or not, into involuntary meds? over and again, you seem to like to make statements about homelessness, yet show that you have no knowledge of the issue, scientifically or personally.
the homeless migrated from the north for our sunny beaches? im willing to bet you arent a local. i am, and im also willing to bet you came down here to come to the land of plenty and live the easy life too, like nearly everyone here; your comments show that to be the case.
f schools: as a former educator, this is my topic of specialty. do you know the pay rate for public school teachers in florida and the other states? do you know the average retention rate for new teachers? do you know how much is spent per child during a school year? do you know what sort of training classes can and cannot be funded to train beginning teachers? do you know the average class size in florida, as well as the average square footage for florida classrooms? ill leave pedagogical theory out of this end of the discussion so far.
if i remember correctly, our cost of living in this state is slightly below the national average, perhaps 98 out of 100. they raised a few fees, bout time.
Last edited by aninaction; 09-02-2009 at 02:29 PM..
FWIW, real estate in Hawaii is on par with major cities in the US now and actually a good deal cheaper than in some major US markets. Yes you pay tax on food, some of which is exempt in FL. However, when we bought a new car over there we only paid 4.5% which saved us several hundred dollars, and overall food ends up being a minor part of your budget if you're a smart shopper (Super WalMart, Costco, etc.)
I find it amusing that the liberals always say that money is not the driving factor in people's lives, but when public education comes up they always say we need to pay teachers more. The reality is that private teachers make less than public teachers, but private schools are consistently better. I know a couple of private school teachers. The both say they'd rather work with better kids, and parents who are involved... as opposed to making a few extra bucks teaching kids who don't want to learn and don't have parents that want them to learn.
You can learn a lot about a society just by watching how parents allow their children to behave in public. Just go shopping at the same types of stores in a variety of different neighborhoods. See if you can figure out, based on what you see, which neighborhoods probably have the best schools.
Also, I was born and raised in FL, I have spent 30 years of my life here. I've lived in central, north east , and now southwest FL. However, I never use the word "local", not do I go around bragging about being a "native" as a way to prove I somehow have a better argument than someone else. As far as I'm concerned, a person's opinions on issues in their community are something independent of their birthplace.
FWIW though, I've never led the life you are apparently referring to- the "easy" life- I worked and paid my way though a state university here in FL (which was excellent, unlike the public schools I went to) and have typically worked well beyond a 40 hour week in an effort to improve and open new doors for myself. I've seen people will all levels of disadvantage and handicap working jobs in this state. I've seen people who can barely move doing jobs like taking tickets at a movie theater, and people with severe mental handicaps bagging groceries or helping out at a fast food restaurant. I've seen new immigrants who can't even speak English at first work their way up. These people, in my book, are heros- they are driven by the core of American values, which is to be a producer- not a leech.
If you don't have this drive- e.g. you don't want to work, guess where you end up? You end up on an I-275 off ramp, holding up signs that are full of lies about how bad you are, and apparently even going so far as trying to convince people that you are mentally ill.
Last edited by tjax1000; 09-02-2009 at 08:18 PM..
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