Read on Twitter
Let's be clear:
If gov't is more comfortable slashing $697k from Metrobus or jacking up everyday fees than raising the mil rate at all, that says it is more comfortable taking from the poor than the rich.
Simple as that.
I would have voted against this budget.
#sjpoli
If gov't is more comfortable slashing $697k from Metrobus or jacking up everyday fees than raising the mil rate at all, that says it is more comfortable taking from the poor than the rich.
Simple as that.
I would have voted against this budget.
#sjpoli
The only reason that this doesn't sting as much as it might have is that voices like yours - and like @mmburton's and @ianfroude's - got the Metrobus service reductions reversed. That's genuinely good, and it proves that fighting back against injustice truly makes a difference.
But if I have to hear another councillor say how "tax increases" must be avoided because "people are stretched thin enough as it is", I'm going to explode.
We're stretched thin because our city underfunds essential services and expects us to fill in the gaps ourselves.
We're stretched thin because our city underfunds essential services and expects us to fill in the gaps ourselves.
Keeping the mil rate artificially low makes that problem worse, not better.
Service cuts, fee increases, and bottom-line reductions all make it worse, too.
This budget has actively taken us in the wrong direction. It will make life harder for vulnerable citizens.
Service cuts, fee increases, and bottom-line reductions all make it worse, too.
This budget has actively taken us in the wrong direction. It will make life harder for vulnerable citizens.
And it fails the "no new taxes" pledge, too. Water taxes are going up. But they're doing so equally for everyone.
It feels like we only get upset about "taxes" when they hurt the rich more than the poor.
But hurting the poor more than the rich?
I guess that's meant to be okay.
It feels like we only get upset about "taxes" when they hurt the rich more than the poor.
But hurting the poor more than the rich?
I guess that's meant to be okay.
