Just a few thoughts for the day here. Here is the letter I sent to my local paper regarding the school board's proposal to extend an expiring property tax which will mean a doubling of it. There's a 300 word limit. RM
Dear Editor,
I have received two letters from the San Leandro School
Board in the period of one week. The object of these letters is to produce a
“yes” vote on a proposal to extend a $39 parcel tax that expires next year. The
tax will be extended and doubled to $78.
This proposal will keep the education system in the dismal
state it is already in and they will be back for more. The
proposal is divisive and will weaken our ability to improve education in the
future. The proposal exempts seniors in the hope that we can be encouraged to
pass the tax on to younger homeowners who have scraped enough funds together to
buy a home, get some tax relief and escape the clutches of the landlords. Many
in this group are already strapped for cash.
While higher earners who send their children to public
school as a matter of principle or moral obligation can pay, most people who
send there children to public schools have no alternative, they have to. This
group is more likely to be lower income and renters, and the landlords will
simply pass this tax on to them. Then there are older people and other
low-income folks who will be forced to pay a tax that will not solve the
education crisis and hurt them financially.
The alternative to taxing ourselves, is to build a wider
direct action movement to force changes in society and allocate more resources to
education. We have to be united to do this. School board members could play a
different role and help build a united resistance; instead, their proposal
divides us, harming the battle for decent education for all.
If you are interested in discussing these ideas I can be
reached at: we_know_whats_up@yahoo.com
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