This Just In...

Approximately what kind of an annual increase in tax would you be supportive of Kevin ? What would have been fair over the last 10 years and the next 10 years.(Give us an average annual percentage)  If we all know what you would support it might make the complaining more meaningful because we would all know to what degree government is really out of control based on your beliefs.

HTC,

You are not even a resident of Franklin, correct?  Our school board can't justify the 5.5% they were going to impose on us and they passed 5.9%.  

No, if we all knew what Kevin would support, it wouldn't make the complaining more meaningful.  Why don't you worry about the tax levy in your own city?  

Oh, wait.  You are a New Berlin Resident, that's right.  Actually, you posted this last night there:

had to comment    

It's truly embarrassing that our elected officials represent us this way.

Regarding Keith Huen's point that they identified money within the budget to pay for school renovations, that's true. The problem is a lot of the money they keep identifying is money that used to be or could have been used to maintain programs for the students.

Every year we have less to offer the students and classrooms grow more and more packed. I guess that's Heun's idea of building a quality school system, I just don't see how it will work. The question is how bad will it get before New Berlin residents realize what's happening to our schools. These board members didn't find a pot of hidden money, they are draining it away from the classroom. But it does keep our taxes a little lower. Worse schools, lower taxes, keep electing people like Heun and we can continue to have just that. Heun and his like minded board members think a nice face on a building is quality education. As far as the Newsweek ranking of high school's is concerned, it just means our high schools offer   advanced placement courses and a lot of kids take them. My kids say it's because there aren't a lot of other options.

October 31, 2007 6:10 PM

Betty,If you're going to be a complainer you should have some answers. It's one of the biggest problems with many self proclaimed conservatives. They can never even make an attempt at giving an answer (because that would put them on record) to a problem and then defending it against questions. Franklin, New Berlin, Brookfield, they all have the same conservatives who do the same complaining and either won't provide solutions to the problems they are whining about or won't answer questions about the weak solutions they do bring forward on occasion. Since I repeatedly see cross commenting by conservative bloggers from other communities on each others community sites I think you should scold your buddy bloggers for venturing out of bounds as well.....oh that's right when it's someone YOU agree with you treat them like fine china.

Just what were you doing looking on a New Berlin site anyway Betty ?

Or are you searching through all my entries so you can read them. That would be flattering too.

Maybe you would like to take a shot at an answer about how much should taxes rise each year during the past 10 years and the next 10 years. I will give you my answer, because I'm not afraid to try. I think if government could keep tax hikes at an average of 3% per year they would be doing a decent job of controlling spending and I would probably have to keep my mouth shut about tax hikes. If I truly found waste I would identify what it is and try to eliminate it. But this constant general whining about tax hikes is so tiring and annoying.

(Picture me waving my finger at each of you in the international symbol of "shame on you"

I believe teacher’s unions talk about what is good for students, but they really only care about their members' jobs, not about what is best for children. So since most of the school budget goes to teacher salaries, teachers, including bad teachers, benefit and students do not.

I think it is usually an implied, false threat when school boards say that if referendums aren’t passed, they will have to close down school programs.

I believe the tax system should be transparent and each taxpayer should know what he is  paying.  I want to know what my tax dollars are going for.  What does it cost to provide what is necessary.  Then collect that amount of money, and only that amount of money.

Finally, as a taxpayer, I believe I should not be forced to pay more than 25% of my income in federal, state, and local taxes.

Lastly, I easily clicked on your "name" to see where your last post was.  It didn't have to take a rocket scientist to figure out how to do that.  Of course, I may be one.

Thank you Betty. Your answer of 25% of your income is a real answer one can  target in on.

Now you could start working on creating a tax system that can fairly pull away 25% of the income of the typical American. That might require your rocket scientist skills.

I personally look at redistribution of wealth as the main thing a tax system should do while providing needed and wanted services to the public. I would like to see much more of the super rich's wealth redistributed to the general public to reduce the wealth gap between classes in our country and thus reducing future violence that will probably come to our country when we have virtually no middle class left. I would say a person generating $50,000 per year should not be paying more than 25% as well, someone earning 1 million should pay 50% and someone earning 2 million or more should pay 75%.

We had a similar system like this back in the 50-60's when we had a large middle class. From an economic standpoint those were very good times.

Kevin,

Somehow I don't think you would be doing much chatting.  But I think there would be much SMILING from YOU during that meeting!

Oh my goodness, I am taking a deep breath.  HTC, are you frickin serious?  Did you read what you wrote?  1 million+ should pay 50% tax and $2 million should pay 75%, what about $3 million should they pay 100% of their salary as taxes?  Their reward for hard work and smart decisions is government slavery?  You are living in the wrong country, perhaps you would be more happy in say... China?  North Korea?  

I seriously try, but can't understand people who think like that.  

Now onto the comment I wanted to make earlier today but didn't have time...

Kevin, you are right to get on the people of Franklin, unfortunatly we could substitiute the word Franklin and replace it with Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, West Bend and many others right now.  

Belling had a discussion yesterday in which he said something that I have had in the back of my head for a while now, but didn't want to admit was true.  He said that people like him, true fiscal conservatives, are the minority right now, a large minority, none the less, the minority.

We are surrounded by and out numbered by people like HTC and others that just don't know, don't want to know, don't care or are just plain ignorant as to how taxing beyond a person's means to pay for it has horrible ripple effects all through society.  

I could give a ton of examples, but I'll just give one.  The media is making such a fuss about all of the people who are in forclosure for not being able to pay their mortgages.  Never mind the fact that they were dumb to buy a home on an interest only mortgage, and never mind the fact that they bought a home they couldn't afford, but perhaps maybe the increase in the amount that they are paying for property tax, income tax, cigarette tax, gas tax, etc, etc. was more than the pay increase at their job and that might have something to do with their money woes???

Ok, I'm done.  

Kevin, you don't have a clue as to what communism is apparently. I don't know how old you are but I'm sure redistribution of wealth has been going on in the U.S. your whole lifetime. Have you been living in a communistic nation ?

The rich use to pay high taxes. It helped everyone else pay less tax. Now that the rich pay less tax the middle class pays more. The truly rich have convinced the vast majority of us who will never be truly rich that we should lighten the load for them in the name of fairness or in the event we all become rich. I must admit they are good sales people because most of us bought the argument. And then we complain about high taxes.

I believe the top marginal income tax rates in the 60-70's for Federal Income Tax was about 75%. Add all the other taxes in and you probably had 85-90%. We still had rich people. We just had fewer kings and queens taking over the nation for perpetuity.

As for Karen, if you read my comment I said 2 million and ABOVE should have no more than 75% of there income go for taxes. That would be less than in the past and more than now. You should frickin read more carefully if your going to get all worked up.

You can tell all your close friends and family who make more than 2 million a year they are safe for now(Got any, doubt if any of us do)

Most of the time people who make 100 million don't work any harder than those making 1 million or 30 thousand. The number of dollars you make have nothing to do with how hard you work. Farm workers probably work far harder than Bill Gates.

HTC

You cannot be serious.

Your comment is so ludicrous that I am speechless (or should I say textless?).

HTC:

When all wealth is owned collectively and shared equally among all members of society, that is a form of Communism.  Look at China!

O.K., HTC.  Time the take that antidepressant and turn on Oprah now.

HTC, you have a 4th grader's level of understanding of capitalist economic principles.  This isn't the first time you've attempted to explain how taxes impact our economy.  I'm asking you nicely to please refrain from teaching Econ. 101 in fear that someone might actually think that you know what you are talking about.  I'm not trying to make trouble here but your "redistribution of wealth" rant is extremely generalized, simplistic and error-ridden.  I'm not an expert but you don't need to be an expert to see that you are stumbling through your argument and about to cause yourself a great deal of ridicule from a few people who know a bit more than you one this subject, including the person who started this topic in the first place.  

Wow, just wow, I better stop shaking my head, I might get dizzy and write something as foolish as that.  

Do they teach civics and economics in school anymore?

Teach me J. Strupp in a quick paragraph so I don't get bored reading one of your long lessons. I have a business degree from UW System. I think I will be able to comprehend your great lesson. Teach me all about taxes and capitalism, but fast like you want me too.

I don't think my call for returning to a tax system similar to what we use to have is all that odd. I think it's kind of conservative. Now your system of not having taxes because every tax is an evil tax strikes me as rather off the wall.

J-RDR said:

HTC:

When all wealth is owned collectively and shared equally among all members of society, that is a form of Communism.  Look at China!

O.K., HTC.  Time the take that antidepressant and turn on Oprah now.

I say: Show me where I said that. (You need to join Karen T. someplace and talk about reading comprehension.)

HTC,

(I used a comma this time instead of a colon as you do in business writing).  You truly ARE on something.  I didn't use quotes, I was speaking to you.  That was MY statement.  You are so ignorant.  Give it up for the sake of all of us, PLEASE!

P.S.

This type of colon :

Not the body part

J-RDR:  I used a colon because I really don't care. I'm not writing a textbook here. Grammer Girl said it's O.K.

I don't think you would have made your Communism statement unless you were implying I was saying it or wanting it. You have a rather large interest in drugs, what's that all about.

Well once again you have little to say other than to belittle someone else. Since you like the name calling thing I will think of you as the Little Belittler.

Try and come up with some original thoughts.  

The following is one of your most recent comments. This is kind of typical of what you write.

"O.K., HTC.  Time the take that antidepressant and turn on Oprah now."

I gotta ask ya.....whose on something ? Ba Da Bump !

HTC,

Ridiculous, I don't have time for the likes of you.  By the way my reading comprehension is just fine, it's understanding the whirlwind of pure nonsense inside your head that is difficult for a normal person.  I'm done with you.  

A half dozen econ. professors just jumped into Lake Mendota.  

HTC let    me   try   to  talk  slowly   so   you  will understand.   Then  I   am  done    with  you   to.

I   was  the   one   who   used   the colon

I  mentioned   Communism  because you   mentioned  it first.  I gave  a   statement  explaining a form  of Communism.

And the   last  statement, I am not on anything.  But again,   after   today   I   really   believe   you    are.  

Now  go   away.

The real horror here is that HTC votes.

And with that Kevin and his apostles depart from his basement and the great bank of computers they work from all day long. Another hard day tearing apart someone they disagree with under their belts. Remember folks don't drink and drive. DWI is illegal.

HTC:

You said you have a business degree from UW (omg!?!?!) , didn't they teach you how to spell "GRAMMER" ?

Getting back to the subject Kevin wrote about.

Don't forget the School Board has promised us this kind of increase for the next 15 to 20 years due to the growth of the City of Franklin.

More McMansions = More Franklin Tax Payer's Share of the school taxes.

On top of this, they are all but promising additional increases after a referendum is passed.

Is everyone going to sit on their ass with these yearly increases until they can't afford that family trip to Disneyland?

Since I'm still not allowed to post any comments underneath Kevin Fischer's blog entries - effectively