There is a lot of focus on how individuals are feeling the pain at the pump, but I think less thought has been given to the pain state and local governments are feeling. As I was reminded while preparing my report for NBR's upcoming "Pain at the Pump" series, the combination of higher costs and lower property tax revenue is going to end up costing taxpayers either through higher taxes or reduced services. It’s hard enough to make ends meet these days, so that’s not something I’m looking forward to.
My family budget is already tightening. I cringe every time I drive by a gas station, thinking I should fill up before the price goes up again. I already take public transportation (those fares have increased, too). We’ve reduced going out to eat. I plan my routes and don’t take unnecessary trips. It’s getting harder to save. My local government is raising property taxes, and the schools have cut back on planned programs. There was talk of cutting the bus to my daughter’s school, but that didn’t happen this time. The state coffers are running dry too, and the legislature is considering new fees.
Comments
BIG GOVT is way too stagnant and ignorant of business so we need clean house and senate of the 535 guilty folks and tax their incomes at 79 percent and take their obscene autmatic pay and other raises at 100 percent, Get rid of all alphabet govt run strings the liliputians put on the real Govt. LEAN Not FAT. joe
NBR is an excellent program because it is honest and factual, rather than sensationalist. For those reasons you may not get the blog traffic of some other sites, but that should not be cause for disappointment. While reporting on the dismal trends in the economy may not be a cheerful task, but please keep doing what your doing, and know that your kind of reporting is needed and appreciated.