Tuesday, November 29, 2005

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

This is what happens when the people have had enough. We start asking questions. We start demanding answers when we are 'ignored' or told 'don't worry, it's under control' or 'it's not as bad as it looks'. We are not stupid. Fix the problem or get the hell out of the way. It is our money being thrown away due to massive mismanagement. The school districts have to learn to live within a set budget instead of stealing the money from everyone's wallet every time they want a new car, blackberry or paid vacation.

Palmetto Rebellion South Carolina Republicans will cut taxes--or else.
BY BRENDAN MINITER Tuesday, November 29, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST

Over the past several months Glenn McConnell, president pro tem of the South Carolina Senate, held a series of town hall meetings around the state. What he found would be a good lesson for Congress to learn as it fiddles over making tax cuts permanent. As any Palmetto State politician with a set of ears already knows, unless Republicans push through serious tax reform, the party will almost certainly take a pounding next Election Day.

The issue in South Carolina is that rapidly increasing home values--fueled by the well-to-do buying second homes and retirees heading to the coast--have driven property tax bills to a crisis point. Even when tax rates remain unchanged, a dramatic uptick in home values can push tax bills through the roof. The result is today many seniors on fixed incomes can't hold onto homes they've lived in for decades. Steep tax bills also force the poor to forgo homeownership and with it the hope of making it into the middle class. Meanwhile, middle-class homeowners struggle to pay the taxman.

It's not just South Carolina. Residents from Maine to Arizona have seen rapidly rising home values also increase their tax bills. Anger has grown in Virginia as infrastructure improvements have fueled tax assessments. In New Hampshire the taxman has lately taken to collecting a levy on the views some homeowners enjoy. California is actually ahead of the curve on this one, having solved its property tax problem in 1978 with Proposition 13, which ties tax bills to the value of a home when it's sold.

South Carolina taxpayers are incensed for another reason. Higher taxes have dramatically increased education spending while overall student enrollment has risen only slightly. One district in Richland County has seen school tax revenue skyrocket 779% since 1984, while the number of students dropped 11%, according to a study published by the South Carolina Policy Council. Average spending per pupil is now more than $9,100, up about a third from a decade ago and statewide education spending tops $6 billion, with most new dollars going to poorer districts. Voters have figured out that there's no truth to the refrain that schools are underfunded. (emphasis mine.)


Taxpayers might not be so angry if they were actually getting something for their money. But depending on the yardstick used, Palmetto State schools are either dead last or near the bottom in the nation. About half of all high school students drop out. Those who graduate are turning in some of the lowest average SAT and ACT scores for any state. The public schools are so bad that parents of about one in 10 students pay their property tax bills and then pay private school tuition. (emphasis mine.)

The first casualty in the tax revolt is probably Inez Tenenbaum, the state's education superintendent and the only Democrat elected statewide. She announced over the summer that she won't seek a third term and won't run for governor next year. A Rasmussen poll, commissioned by South Carolinians for Responsible Government, tells us why: Her efforts to derail a statewide voucher plan supported by Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, this past year likely would have doomed her. Voters favor school choice by 58% to 21%. And in a head-to-head match-up on the issue the poll found 56% would vote for the governor and only 26% for Ms. Tenenbaum. The real death knell came from self-identified liberals, 53% of whom said they support school choice.

But it was only after stories of the elderly paying more in annual taxes than they paid for their homes decades ago began circulating in the state capital that South Carolina lawmakers realized that if they did nothing, they too would get burned. Several veteran politicos told me they haven't seen this much voter outrage over a single issue in decades. So the state House and Senate now have competing proposals, with the House plan calling for a wholesale repeal of some taxes and the Senate looking to leave in place property taxes paid by some businesses. Each plan calls for making up any "lost" revenue with a two cent sales tax increase.

The compromise will likely be to cut property taxes on homes and apartment buildings, cap the taxes that remain (Ã la Proposition 13) with a constitutional amendment and then make sales tax hikes easier on the poor by eliminating sales taxes on groceries and abolishing the hated property tax on cars.

Regardless of the details, nearly everyone agrees that what will come out of the Legislature after it gavels back into session in January won't be a small rebate, temporary relief, tax credits or even a gradual reduction in taxes. And it will likely be signed by the governor. Across the state there is "strong, strong support to take the cost of schools off the backs of homeowners," Sen. McConnell tells me.


With every member of the House and the governor up for re-election next November and the state expecting a substantial budget surplus, Palmetto State politicians are getting the message that some Washington Republicans refuse to hear: that voters expect the GOP to deliver permanent tax relief.

Mr. Miniter is assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com. His column appears Tuesdays.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I

starting using this oil when I colored my hair at the recommendation of my hairdresser because my hair sometimes felt limp and lifeless. I still use it now that I've let my gray grow out. It makes my hair

feel and smell great. I found that I don't have to wash my hair every day; I just spread some Curl Cream on my hands and scrunch it through my hair and it works out the "bedhead" look. I don't have super

curly hair; in fact, when I wash it, it looks straight. My hairdress is the one who showed me, using the Curl Cream, that my hair is actually naturally curly..not just wavy. I love it and use it nearly every

day.

Anonymous said...

I bought the product after my hairdresser used it on my hair once. It was great. The hair stays smooth and frizz-free until your next wash. Don't have to worry about

doing it again the next day. Love it.

Anonymous said...

My stylist recommended this product for my medium to long hair that tends to have some wave and frizz. I

have never had a flat iron, but I can successfully get the smooth, straight look I want in 7 minutes, and my hair is pretty thick. The iron heats up in one minute, and is easy to use because of its slim

design. I would recommend not starting at anything beyond the 35-40 setting to start with or you may really damage your hair. Other than that, this is a great purchase and I'm happy to have it!

Anonymous said...

I have to say this stuff dries and holds the curls in place for great curl

definition. I dont like that my curls were rather dry though. I'd say you must must must use the oil or some sort of moisturizer w/this product if you have thick (curly hair: type 3C) hair like mine.

Anonymous said...

I have tried every product that is supposed to be great for curly hair. This Moroccan Oil hair line is the best I have ever tried. I have paid for inexpensive

products to very expensive products and this is the VERY BEST I have ever tried in my life, and I am in my 50's. It makes my hair soft, shiny, bouncy, and easy to manage. My hair is shoulder length. No

frizzies or heavyness. I get so many compliments and people just wanting to touch my hair. I am okay with the fragrance.

Anonymous said...

I recenlty had a keratin hair treatment which smoothed and relaxed my hair to a fairly straight style. On days when I want a bit more body and bounce, I add this to my style products

and love the outcome. A great way to change my style with little or no fuss.