In the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election, Guilford County voters overwhelmingly approved a $300 million bond referendum to fund school construction and repairs, but those same voters also overwhelmingly voted down a quarter-cent sales tax referendum meant to foot the bill for that referendum.
This summer, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners voted to put both items on the 2020 ballot, and the hope of many commissioners was that, if the school bond passed, the sales tax increase would pass as well. Otherwise, the county commissioners warned, a property tax increase would likely be needed to pay back that money.
But, apparently, many people like cute school children but not unattractive tax increases. The voters approved the school bonds by a margin of 73 percent to 27 percent, while they knocked down the sales tax referendum by a slightly smaller margin. That measure only got 33 percent yes votes to 67 percent no votes.
A sales tax option shows up on the county’s ballot every four years or so, and the voters always vote it down by a substantial margin.
In recent months, the school bonds have had a number of groups pushing hard for voters to approve them – everyone from teachers, parents and school administrators to economic development officials and elected officials – but the sales tax referendum hasn’t really been shown any love. Guilford County government did orchestrate an “information” campaign which accentuated the positives, but, once again, the voters weren’t buying.
School officials wanted to see a much larger school bond referendum of a billion dollars or more, however, the Republican-led Board of Commissioners only approved the smaller amount. Democratic commissioners argued that the schools needed much more than $300 million, however, Republican commissioners said that this money could be raised now and another referendum could be put on the ballot in 2022 to raise more money.
We call them LIVRs. Low information voters. How in heavens name can over 70% of the voting population approve $300 MILLION in bonds without knowing how to pay for them? Unfunded Bonds translate to much higher property taxes. An increase of 1/4 of 1% in sales taxes would have spread the burden across Guilford County consumers, not just property owners!
Because they don’t put the items on the ballot correctly. It should have read:
Do you want to fund a $300 Million School Bond with an increased sales tax?
Period. If it had read that way it would have been much more clear for voters. But they didn’t want the two to be correlated with each other because that would have killed the School Bond. So uninformed voters, 70%, voted for it.
When the school board gets rid of Contreras, maybe we can find a way to pay for the bonds. Until then, I would not give this group a nickel as they cannot manage anything.
I’m with you in that!
This is simple: With a sales tax increase everybody pays. This makes the most sense. However, you have a whole lot of entitled voters who don’t pay property taxes and think nothing of leaving the burden to those who do. They believe that $300 million bond is free money. Nevermind us taxpayers who are footing the bill. It’s the same ones that we already pay for free lunches, healthcare, Obama phones, and countless other goods and services for. The same ones driving without licenses, tags or insurance. The same ones clogging up the courts. The same ones that stare at you in line at the grocery store while they’re swiping that EBT card, yet have a $200+ hair-do, $70 fingernails, and a shiny almost new car in the parking lot, but live in a 3 room shanty that John Q. Taxpayer also subsidizes. Living the American Dream! When will the majority wake up and realize that enabling this simply creates and encourages laziness?
I thought about this some more and it really bothers me. I’m sure this will go over well…. but, I have a perfectly clear conscience and speak my mind unfiltered so here goes: Our founding fathers stood up to tyranny and said NO taxation without representation! Shouldn’t that go both ways? No voting for representation unless your a legal tax paying citizen who is not on public assistance.
We are all on public assistance. Guess no one votes.
How do you expect someone on whatever your definition of public assistance is to advocate for themselves if they are not allowed to vote? Your idea is just a new way to bring back Jim Crow laws.
OK, let;s change the rules on local elections only. If you are not a tax paying citizen or are a student who is not a resident of the state in which you are going to school, you are not allowed to vote in local elections to decide who represents the citizens of this state or municipality and if our taxes get raised.
They don’t have to live here and be burdened by the vote they cast at the behest of their (National Socialist) Democrat handlers who use OUR school buses payed for by OUR tax dollars to take them to the polls to vote the way they are told.
No Jim Crow here, not once have I mentioned race, yet the instant liberal trigger reaction is to point to race. I simply have real expectations.
How about working hard to get off that public assistance and become a taxpaying property owner? That’s all anyone can expect from any able bodied individual. We have far too many people working the system today. Far to many receiving benefits for exaggerated or feigned disabilities, far too many who intentionally don’t marry just to work the system and take the money. I applied for food stamps myself at one time, after bouncing around to several appointments I was told “Mr. hardworking white male, you qualify for $14/mo. but we will need all these extra justifications filled out and if you happen to stay an extra 7 minutes one day at work we will have to pull your benefits or may consider it fraud.” Ive watched relatives rake in the $, I watched many able bodied lazy folks come & go in their fancy cars during those appointments, but right is right and wrong is wrong. Having seen how “the system” works 1st hand I will never support this socialist crap, nor the crooked United Way. Grants are not free. Taxpayers pay for those. County, State, and Federal dollars aren’t free, we pay for those too. We pay for far too many that have a hand out and do not contribute! The Fair Tax is the only way things will ever be equitable.
The original rule regarding voting was similar to this in that one had to be a property holder in order to vote (of course there were other rules concerning sex and race). But this one condition was an important distinction because their thought was that being a property owner gave the person “skin in the game” so to speak. They had to pay taxes and fees in one form or another so they should have some say in who was making the decisions about those taxes and fees and how the collected money was spent through their vote.
Eventually, as voting was extended to more citizens, this changed, which changed the focus on what people wanted the focus of money spent on until we got to where we are today. I often think that the idea of people who vote being limited to ones who are at least taxpayers and/or property owners is a legitimate idea since giving the right to vote to people who don’t pay taxes or own property but only benefit from the government tends to lead to more liberal voting persuasion. But there’s no chance of that happening, it’s just thought for discussion.
Hello new Board of Commissioners, translate this: By voting YOU in, and against the sales tax increase, and for the school bonds that means the citizens want to put this in your lap. YOU can now show them how this is done by voting to the sales tax a full penny to pay for this mess and the next round or two of senseless spending. Don’t raise our property taxes, those of us who pay the lions share of those didn’t vote for you anyway, but rest assured we will support your efforts to make sure EVERYONE pays their share!
Here is a novel thought. Just because the bond was approved DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO SPEND THE MONEY!!!
Here’s another novel thought…just drop the bond.
But since there is now a (National Socialist) Democrat majority on the Board they will spend the money, raise property taxes on us and simply go on inventing other ways to redistribute OUR hard earned money.
From each according to his ability to each according to his needs. Karl Marx, Socialist/Communist icon of the Democrat/Left.