Tuesday, September 04, 2007

U$er Fee - Here We Go Again!

According to the Daily Mail, City Manager David Molgaard's office is busy analyzing the city's finances to see if it's feasible to double the $1-a-week user fee. Dave, if you're reading, here's a tool you can use. Anyone who has ever experimented with Sim City knows that one of the fundamental rules of the Sims universe is that when you raise taxes too much you lose business and population. Maybe Mayor Jones should play, too.

I don't want the user fee to go up, but I also despise straw man arguments so I have to speak out: The reason it's not right to raise the user fees is not because it will be a hardship on low income families. four dollars isn't going to make or break anyone. If you are down to your last four dollars at the end of the month you have other problems. It sounds compassionate, but it's not real.

The real reason the user fee shouldn't go up is the same reason I give my kids an allowance: They need to learn to live on what they have because life isn't such that you can just reach out pluck more money off of the mythical money tree in the backyard anytime you have overspent your budget or lived beyond your means.

Of course, Mayor Jones might have really had a money tree in his backyard. Or at least a big trust fund!

1 comment:

clear eyes said...

Why doesn't the tax and spend mayor just admit he's a Democrat already? I know it took Richie Robb a long time to do that, but I think he feels better about it now that he's "out."