20 April 2008
Dear Friends,
In late March, PTCC subscribers and others were asked to send us their real-life stories telling how relentlessly increasing school property taxes are affecting their quality of life. The response to this request was overwhelming; the letters starkly demonstrate the frustration, fear, hopelessness, and anger that are widespread throughout Pennsylvania over the lawmakers’ inaction in addressing the issue. These stories also demonstrate that halfway measures like HB 1600 will not get the job done - ONLY elimination will do.
The Harrisburg politicians who refuse to support elimination MUST be shown that their inaction is jeopardizing the welfare and the lives of many thousands of Pennsylvanians; they MUST understand that what they are doing (or not doing) is destroying the future for good, honest people who only want to live their lives without the fear of financial ruin.
If the lawmakers truly care about the homeowners of this state, they will consider carefully these letters that clearly show them the REAL faces of the property tax issue and how their political games are affecting the lives of REAL people!
You can read these stories in the compilation posted on the PTCC website at http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/stories.htm; they will be submitted to the Harrisburg politicians during the next few weeks.
To all of you who contributed to this compilation, please accept our heartfelt thanks for your efforts. If you have a story that you'd like to share, please send it to pataxpayers@gmail.com and we'll add it to the compilation.
One more note…
Many Harrisburg politicians continue to promote their despicable deception that they have brought homeowners property tax “relief” through gambling revenues.
As you are probably aware, state Budget Secretary Michael J. Masch announced earlier this week that gambling revenues will provide an average $169 property tax rebate in 2008. Mr. Masch also said that this would be a 10% reduction for homeowners and that this event marks the beginning of “historic” property tax relief in Pennsylvania.
On Thursday (4/17/08) the House Democratic Caucus, in an e-mail update, said this:
Homeowners to take home $600 million jackpot.
The House Democrats’ years of effort to provide all Pennsylvania homeowners substantial and sustainable property tax relief will begin paying off this summer. Pennsylvania’s budget secretary this week certified that the state’s slot machine facilities have now produced enough revenue to begin reducing property taxes – more than $600 million for homeowners statewide.
House Democrats led the charge and supplied the majority of votes to launch property tax relief for homeowners through slot machine gaming.
$169? 10%? Substantial and sustainable? Historic? GIVE ME A BREAK!
The statements above from Mr. Masch and the HDC simply emphasize what we already know – that the spineless politicians who do not support school property tax elimination have no respect for the taxpayers, think that we are stupid and ill-informed, and believe they can make us complacent by continually feeding us this propaganda.
Remember that $169 is an average. That means many of you will receive far less than this amount because of the distribution formula. The residents of many districts will receive as little as $80-$90, there are some that will receive about $50, and there is even one school district where the residents receive nothing. And I’ll bet that for most of you that rebate will come nowhere near 10% of your school property tax bill. Yep, that’s historic!
Remember, too, that a big chunk of the ballyhooed $600 million in “relief” comes from one-time casino licensing fees that will not be repeated in future years and that slots revenues have shrunken in recent months because of the failing economy. So much for “substantial and sustainable”!
Finally, if you’re expecting a rebate check, forget it. Your “relief” will come as a deduction on your July school property tax bill, just in time to be eaten away by increased property taxes.
All of this brings us to one conclusion: We must vote out of office all lawmakers of both parties who put the special interests and their own personal welfare ahead of those of their constituents by refusing to support school property tax elimination. The primary election is Tuesday; before deciding who to support, please see how your Representative voted when HB 1275 was debated in January 2008. The link to their voting record called “How They Voted” is on the PTCC home page in the “Latest News” column.
You are also encouraged to please voice your opinion about the taxpayers’ stories and the property tax “relief” announcement here on the PTCC blog.
The PTCC and PCTA thank you for your continuing support.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
http://www.ptcc.us
pataxpayers@gmail.com
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7 comments:
Are they complete idiots? Do they really think we're all imbeciles out here? I'm so angry I can't see straight.
I've been contacting legislators and writing newspapers for years trying to get the SOcial Security Windfall Elimination Provision and Governement Pension Offset provisions abolished. Likewise I have spent many valuable hours doing the same to get property tax reform. Frankly, I'm, getting too old to waste my time any longer on useless appeals. Sometimes it is comforting to lay down the pen and finally accept defeat and move on to enjoy what remains of life. These issues can no longer make mad - I am free.
To Anonymous 2:13 - You have done well. You kept the pressure on as long as you could stand it. I will carry on with the pressure where you leave off. I too have spent many hours writing and calling. But I will never stop. It takes me only about 30 seconds to fire an email to my elected officials (which I do often). Many of their websites have a contact form with a property taxes checkbox right on it. I read these homeowners stories and it has me fuming. I will vote responsibly on Tuesday only for the candidate that is in support of elimination. No other issue is more important then this. The PTCC has been such a great group. I am so thankful for all that are a part of it. Our little local taxpayers group was too small to be heard. The PTCC continues to grow every month and I believe it is effective at getting our voices heard. I know that collectively we will make a difference.
Like anonymous 7:57, I, too, will not give up the fight. These politicians are counting on public fatigue, disappointment, apathy, and short voter memory to get them off the hook. Giving up the battle is exactly what they want and I will not give these leeches the satisfaction of an easy way out.
Despite all of the politicians’ cries about healthcare, smoking bans, and infrastructure improvements, property tax elimination still remains the single most important issue facing Pennsylvanians today. The pols must be made to do the peoples’ will and give us the total relief we want and deserve.
Never give up, never surrender!
Who shall we vote for Tuesday?? Who is going to help us even a little be??
Check the "How They Voted" link on the PTCC website: http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/1275_Amendment_Votes_01-29-08.pdf.
If your Representative voted against the HB 1275 amendment, consider voting against him or her on Tuesday.
You can also research policy positions for your state Representative and Senatorial candidates on the web by using a Google search. Look for the candidates that support school property tax ELIMINATION, not halfway "relief" measures.
Remember, political party is unimportant - you want any candidate who will support our goals.
The perfect storm to wake the apathetic people is upon us. The stock market languishes and the home-equity piggy bank has been closed. There is a bull market in the commodities market and that spells pain for all of us. Pain when we fill our gas tank and pain when we buy groceries. That pain is pale in comparison to the pain that school taxes present to us. People may finally reach a point that the money is not there to pay the outrageous property tax invoice.
Now is the time to make our arrogant politicians take notice, to take heed that we want....no need "REAL" property tax reform. Proudly they say we will get $169 from gambling to help us. My property taxes are $4200 a year and $165 is a gnat on the elephants back.
I am very, very, vrey mad!!!!!!!!!!
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