As Wake County grows, so grow your taxes

Bond issues have a way of passing votes by the electorate. Tax increases usually lead to tossing the tax collectors (the elected tax collectors such as county commissioners) out with the bath water. The question on the latter will always be: Is the essential your throwing out the increased tax revenue and the non-essential the leaders who raise the tax rates. Or is it the other way around?

Wake County continues to grow. The population here is already more than a million, and estimates are that will double over the next 40 years, if space is available. It’s doubtful space will be available in the Wake County schools system for that increase, but those who control the schools and those who control the money for the schools are going to try to make that space available with the same tired way: Increase property taxes and build more buildings.

Whenever a single group controlled by Democrats has a meeting to discuss money, it smells of trouble for the tax payers. When two groups controlled by Democrats get together, the possibility of proposing a tax increase increases exponentially, if that’s possible. The latter happened Monday. The Wake County Commissioners and the Wake County School Board met to discuss the financial plight of the school system, to figure out how to build more schools. Nearly immediately, with a wink and a nod and a smile and a pat on the back, there was a consensus: Let’s raise taxes!

No doubt that Wake County is one of the more progressive counties in North Carolina, but why does progressive have to mean more taxes? When will it mean better ideas, better than raising taxes? The prospect of a tax increase looks good at this point for several reasons including a General Assembly that has taken payments from the State away from counties and cities. Prediction: Taxes will increase to pay for more buildings, or another bond issue will pass, both of which will call for higher property tax rates which will hit the low and middle income taxpayers harder than the rich, such as some of those in tax-raising positions. Then the school system will need an increase in operating funds to hire more teachers at lower salaries so there can be more complaining about under-funding of the schools so there can be another discussion of increasing taxes to bring pay scales up to higher averages.

As Wake County grows, so grow your taxes. Maybe it again time for new bath water and those who bath in it.

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