local government
Want to know the difference between the “LA Ordinance Fee” and “LA Ordinance Tourism Tax”?
My greed-o-meter was pinned to max after finding the link below. The state of California and the city of Los Angeles have 2 identical taxes on hotel occupants. The only difference is whose pocket the money ends up in.... Austin's Proposition Q - A misleading text that really grinds my gears. I've received multiple texts from various groups with this language:
We can debate the merits of Proposition Q separately; what I am worked up about is the absolutely false language about "Trump cuts" to city services like fire, EMS, parks, etc. The federal government doesn't fund municipal services*. The federal government shouldn't fund municipal services, and in fact our fire, EMS, and police being independent of the federal government is a fundamental part of states' rights or how our government is intentionally structured. EVEN if I don't support defunding the police, it was absolutely within Austin's right to do so, and that had nothing to do with federal funding.
*there are grants that impact some of these services, like the transportation grant Trump did cancel that would include parks over the new I-35, but that is not fundamentally a park funding grant.
Did you see this Save Austin Now update? Editorial: We wish we could support Austin’s Prop Q. Here’s why we can’t endorse it. Austin taxpayers deserve accountability and proof of progress before being asked to shoulder another increase.... Austin's Proposition Q - A misleading text that really grinds my gears. I've received multiple texts from various groups with this language:
We can debate the merits of Proposition Q separately; what I am worked up about is the absolutely false language about "Trump cuts" to city services like fire, EMS, parks, etc. The federal government doesn't fund municipal services*. The federal government shouldn't fund municipal services, and in fact our fire, EMS, and police being independent of the federal government is a fundamental part of states' rights or how our government is intentionally structured. EVEN if I don't support defunding the police, it was absolutely within Austin's right to do so, and that had nothing to do with federal funding.
*there are grants that impact some of these services, like the transportation grant Trump did cancel that would include parks over the new I-35, but that is not fundamentally a park funding grant.
I think the TLDR is the campaign having almost anything to do with Trump is misleading: Based on her extensive research, Barbara Cilley concluded, “The City (of Austin) will suffer serious cuts from Trump, but they won’t be replaced by Prop Q.” bc Prop Q is a proposed rise in... Austin City Council is banking on a 16% property tax increase
I think property tax questions are interesting and nuanced, because I really like having city services, and someone has to foot the bill. But the affordability issues of Austin TX are legendary, and the less income an Austinite has, the the more they’re going to feel the negative... Who am I to decide? California General Election is here and once again I’m asked to decide the fate of a few propositions which I believe I’m in no position to make decisions on.
For example, Prop 2 an 4 are asking for $10B of debt each to fund various important things. Who am I to decide whether that’s a good idea or not? I have barely a clue about the inflationary monetary system we live in and no idea where its limits are. What percentage of state budget does debt interest constitute? Is that too much or on par with the state economy?
Then there’s rent control, minimum wage increase, and a few other, highly debatable props, which I’d guess even the experts would be lost trying to predict the effects of.
Do I assume the government has done their due diligence and my vote is simply a measure of trust?
I feel overwhelmed by the lack of data, expert guidance, anything of real value to me, the voter. I’m only given a few cursory meaningless numbers and a bunch of emotional arguments in the official voter guide.
How do you decide on things like that? Do you do your own research? Do you look at endorsements? Do you use your intuition?
I do some google searching, like I am now for prop a in Travis county (which was opaque to me, but now after maybe 10 minutes of research seems like a good idea). I spend maybe an hour total reading overviews and a pro vs con....