So, yesterday, I pull up to a jobsite. It's a different deal - the entrance is off of the private property of another building's parking lot and/or driveway around the back.
Whatever goes on in the building, there is heavy security. Well, I didn't see the contractor anywhere, made a phone call and was informed that they already left. Okay, buy-bye. I was taking off when I saw a loader and it's operator frantically trying to get my attention.
Long story. I can't get into the site. I can do a lot of things with a semi, but that truck was not going to fit through that space with that kind of turn. The normal truck entrance was blocked. They wanted to unload it in that driveway, fine by me.
I start unstrapping. The foreman comes driving up, telling his workers can't do it there. A security guard comes up and starts grilling me. My name, work, what am I doing, yada yada. Get done with him, the foreman comes walking up. Gets mad. Told the salesman to tell me to come in from the other direction - was mad because I didn't follow his instructions. Gee, if I had KNOWN his instructions, I might have had an opportunity to FOLLOW this instructions. This guy has been getting mad and throwing hissy fits for the 4 plus years I've worked at the company I'm at.
I said okay, I'll go turn the truck around and see if I can make it through there. "Well are you SURE you can?". No, I won't know until I start attempting to make the turn in there, but I certainly can try. This guy is popping a fuse. His circuits are shorting out. The old saying "he has a short fuse" doesn't apply here. He HAS no fuse, just get out the lighter, light it up and kablaam, he blows up. I always try to diffuse a situation, but it wasn't working yesterday. He informed me that I would be leaving and bringing the material back in a smaller truck.
Yes, well our yard has a pickup truck. We are going to transfer the material from the semi to a smaller truck this morning. I went back to our yard and went home - it put me in a bad mood and I wasn't able to shake it. I have no clue about people who are perpetually in a very, very bad mood. I don't understand how those people - enjoy life. Maybe they don't and that's the problem.
Consolation? I don't have to drive the smaller truck back there, someone else does. This guy treats everyone equally - rotten.
Taxes. Phoenix imposed a 2% food sales tax, another 1% sales tax and now they want to hike property taxes. Voters in AZ apparently thought a statewide tax was good, too. Instead of decreasing the size of government - which is what needs to happen anyway (No, I am not a proponent of having huge, excessive, wasteful and very controlling government at ANY level) - they just want to raise taxes. Not withstanding the fact the city has a huge reserve they could draw on.
Whatever. Where does it end? My take-home pay is way down, yet taxes continue to go up? Meaning my take-home pay goes even FURTHER down, or when I visit the grocery store or go to buy something at a retail store, I pay more even though the price never changed. This is a good thing? I think Mesa is the only city left around here that doesn't force you to pay a food sales tax. I'm thinking I should start driving through there on the way home from work - there is a Fry's that IS on the way home, actually.
I really can't dwell on those types of things too long, I start getting mad. Getting mad doesn't do anything, although it will get me to making phone calls to the city council members, I WILL be letting them know what I think about their property tax hike plan and also the fact that they are VOTED in, not assigned to their positions. I think they have already screwed themselves, though, considering the taxes already imposed.
I'm a big fan of doing AWAY with property taxes altogether. Your home should not be put at stake because the government doesn't know how to come up with a budget and stick with it. No-one should ever lose their home because they couldn't afford to pay the property tax that is associated with it forever.
Well, work-day is here and I must be about the company's business.
G'day.
ben
5 comments:
Ben if we could find a workable alternative to the property tax we would do it. I just try to keep our low. BTW the same cost you see rising every where are rising for cities as well. It is tough out there for all of us.
Mayor Larry
You're a MAYOR, too?
Hi Ben!
Well, think of a very real scenario that happens all the time: a person has a house/land paid off. Owes no money on it. The person loses their job/becomes ill (as in disabling illness, not temporary) and can't work/ whatever. Payment time comes around. Can't pay it. City sends a notice. On and on. In Phoenix, it's 3 years and you lose the property.
The person/family loses their property - worth $200k or $100k or whatever for an amount that - around these parts, would be maybe 3k. Is it really fair that a person can lose something that is worth so much? No, not a fan of property taxes. Government is good at thinking up ways of taxing people, dump the tax and get the money some other way. I haven't done much research on the subject. I think there is at least one state where that are no property taxes whatsoever.
I'm not dissing you, your position or the economic problems you face as a mayor, I am saying that property taxes should become a thing of the past.
I called my city council rep today and complained about them considering raise property taxes even more. They JUST added a 2% food sales tax where no food tax existed before. This city has a LOT of people living in it, that's a substantial amount of money - and they want/need more? What about fiscal responsibility? If I can't pay my bills, I lose my house. Or my car, or creditors come after me. I can't "raise taxes" to do away with that kind of pressure. No government entity should be able to simply raise taxes because they think they need to. I'm sorry the economy sucks right now, but government - at all levels - needs to learn how to tighten their belts, not simply say, "gee, we're broke, let's raise taxes!!". If we the people can't live that way, government should not be able to give itself faux pass, either.
Hi Anita!
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