Comments on: High Property Taxes vs. Suburban Car Costs

By: Bookmarks about Weblogs

Bookmarks about Weblogs — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:30:29 +0000

[...] - bookmarked by 6 members originally found by MomomiyaKagome on 2008-08-18 High Property Taxes vs. Suburban Car Costs http://www.baltimoregrows.com/2008/07/22/high-property-taxes-vs-suburban-car-costs/ - bookmarked [...]

By: BePiney

BePiney — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:21:50 +0000

One less car in the city? Yeah right! My commute is only 7 miles - but it’s to AA county. Guess how much longer public transportation would take than private auto. Now, factor that 90 minutes a day in at a modest $15/hr and it pay’s for most of the car all by itself. Losing a car in the city is far more than a small inconvenience, it’s a significant sacrifice in time and money.

By: mgo2000

mgo2000 — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:22:06 +0000

So the cycle goes like this:
high taxes because we need to keep crime down and infrastructure up ==> business will stay away from B City keeping well paid jobs in the burbs ==>
no good jobs means no means to increase the tax base (most folks in the city earn less than a paltry $30K a year….) ==> good schools will forever stay away from the city ==> no graduates capable of getting well paid jobs (which wouldn’t be in the city anyway because of business stays away…see?) ==> gosh we need higher taxes to keep crime down and infrastructure up ’cause we HAVE NO TAX BASE!!

Don’t cut it by 2 cents….cut it to B County levels!

By: JimGreektown

JimGreektown — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:54:53 +0000

yes, we pay higher taxes than the surrounding suburbs, however we have much more infrastructure to maintain and crime to contain. in fact, i don’tt think we should have gotten the 2 cent tax cut this year because that meant nothing to any of us and added up could have made a big impact on the city.

don’t forget that we are getting more house for our dollars in the city and we will also see much more return on our investment than our suburban counterparts, especially now with the housing downturn.

By: I am so wise

I am so wise — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:03:39 +0000

And let us not forget that suburban schools are vastly superior to anything Baltimore City has and the residents of places like Baltimore and Howard counties generally are better behaved.

By: baltimorerowhouse

baltimorerowhouse — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:49:05 +0000

Since Baltimore city is so unfriendly to businesses (high taxes), there aren’t as many jobs in the city as there should be. I wish I worked in the city, but most jobs are out in the burbs.

By: c-fer

c-fer — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:28:30 +0000

I can’t get away with dropping a car because there’s no public transportation from my house to the close suburubs (Towson), where I work. On the other hand, I can buy a house that is very close (6.5 mi) to by job for much less in the city than what I could find within the same distance in the county. Plus those more expensive houses in the county would have a lower tax rate, but a higher net tax bill. Most of my co-workers get caught up in the very long commutes for a cheap house in PA. I think my solution costs less and I don’t spend hours every day sitting in my car.

By: mgo2000

mgo2000 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:04:44 +0000

That assessment naively assumes that you have a job downtown. We are a couple and neither of us has a job “downtown”, but rather outside of the city (30 and 40 miles respectively…) How does living in the city help us? The truth is that many times the jobs are nowadays in the suburbs or even in other neighboring cities. We live here in B City because we like city living. Lower taxes would go a long way to attract people. The car argument is not very bright or useful….