The Bungling of the BID Tax

by

As I expected, a bunch of the same old loud mouths in our community flapping their traps and throwing anything at the wall to see what will stick;

But former City Council member Jim Entenman says the City could do more with a “venture fund” to help organizations which bring events, such as the Summit League Basketball tournament to town.

First off, as I have said in the past, I didn’t think we needed this advisory board, this isn’t about the status quo or keeping up with the Jones. The BID Tax programming is not broken, in fact it is working just the way it was suppose to by putting more bodies in Hotel Rooms.

Of course, Jim, who doesn’t even sit on the city council anymore (and actually helped create the BID Tax) can’t resist to do the Mayor’s bidding. Venture Fund, that sounds like something out of one of Huether’s goofy salesman books.

“We are an advisory board only and we shouldn’t pretend to be otherwise. There’s nothing wrong with throwing out in each of those categories, ‘Here’s some good ideas,'” Randall Beck said.

Here’s a better idea Randy, admitting that these entire proceedings have been a gigantic waste of time and tax dollars, which committee member Knobe proves with this vague non-statement;

“There’s a lot of collaboration going on and that’s good, but the concern I have is that I would like to see a more formalized system for collaboration,” Knobe said.

Huh?

NO NEW SALES TAXES!

by

It seems the state’s largest municipal government lobbying group is at it again, trying to squeeze water out of a rock;

Taylor said she’ll likely propose a bill in 2016 that would allow cities and towns to collect a penny sales tax to finance infrastructure projects.

Under the proposal, each city’s officials could choose what projects need public funding and at what cost. Voters would then decide whether to increase the city’s sales tax by one cent temporarily to fund a bond for those projects. Once the project was fully funded, the sales tax would cease.

What part don’t they understand? Not only has the state legislature and voters rejected sales tax hikes, they really aren’t necessary to begin with. First off, ending the sales tax after a project is completed is one of the most hilarious things I have ever heard of. Just look at the 7th penny tax we have in Sioux Falls, used to pay down the Pavilion bonds. Well, the Pavilion has been paid off for quite awhile, guess what, we are still paying the tax (basically because the contractors did such a piss poor job on the building, we are spending millions each year in maintenance costs).

As for the whining about 100 year old pipes, I would suggest that the citizens of these towns elect intelligent people to lead them through creative prioritizing when it comes to budgeting, instead sticking their hands out while burying their heads in the sand. There are several Federal and State programs that can assist in these projects, in fact, the city of Sioux Falls borrows millions from the state each year for projects.

Just like funding education, this is about putting together a reasonable budget that takes care of the actual needs of citizenry instead of corporate welfare.

I don’t believe for a second this is about 100 year old pipes, this is about another money grab. The Municipal League needs to knock this shit off and drop the matter once and for all, and get back to finding ways municipal government can actually serve us prudently instead of bleeding us recklessly.

A View on Regressive Sales Taxes from Bread for the World

by

A statement showing up in the news lately is misleading, in that “Sales tax has not been raised since 1969” is only a small peek into our sales tax history since 1969.

Consider food. In 2003 we paid 5% on groceries. Now we pay 6%. This is equivalent to 3 weeks worth of food out of a year. The tax on food went up at the city level, but the customer feels the whole 6%. State tax law changes brought this on. (Thankfully, SNAP purchases, aka food stamps, are not taxed. However, most low-income households with SNAP receive only partial allotments. They must pay the sales tax to buy the rest of their food. Some, especially seniors, receive SNAP benefits as low as $16 a month.)

Another way to raise sales tax is to expand the tax base. Many more items, mostly services, have become subject to SD’s sales tax in years 1969, 1978, 1979, 1995, and 1996. For examples: newspaper subscriptions, haircuts, taxi fares, snow removal, tree trimming, pest control, cell phone bills, cable TV, internet access, funeral services, music lessons and sports coaching, auto repair parts and labor, services of lawyers, architects, personal trainers, and plumbers, . . .  The list goes on.

Sales tax is inherently regressive and is a large factor in SD’s ranking among the “Terrible Ten” states for regressive taxes.*  I think it’s a cryin’ shame and a failure of creativity that sales tax is being considered for funds for teacher pay. Higher sales tax would raise the tax on some basic necessities and make South Dakota’s taxes more regressive!

That being said, I sincerely hope anyone possibly supporting any form of a sales tax hike would insist that the proposal include taking tax off food and heating bills. There is no tax on food in any of South Dakota’s bordering states. Only 2 of our 6 neighbor states  (NE, WY) tax home heating bills.

Note that I recommend “food and heat,” not “food and clothing”. Here’s why: Low-income people tend to spend little on clothing. Between the poor and the wealthy, there is a much narrower range of spending on food or heat than there is on clothing. I believe taking tax off clothing is more a gift to the wealthy than a help to the poor. You cannot buy used food. You cannot buy used heat.

*Some argue that being regressive isn’t so important because overall taxes are lower in SD. However, for the lowest-income 20% of the non-elderly population, state and local taxes in SD average higher than the national average.

Thank you for reading this and considering it for the sake of people burdened by our tax structure, which is stacked in favor of the well-off and against the lower-incomes. Please share this information with people who may not be informed or may not be remembering all this, especially if you see or hear the sentence about sales tax not being raised.

The BID tax is not broken

by

The mayor often likes to pat himself on the back calling himself a ‘progressive’ person who ‘gets things done’. I guess I could argue with him on a couple of his ventures, but for the most part he has gotten things done, but sometimes in spite of something else. That is where it is no longer classified as ‘progressive’.

The hotel tax (BID) is a great example of this. When I think of progress I think of two things, either fixing something that is stagnant or counterproductive and needs to be fixed or creating a whole new project that improves the community. The hotel tax review doesn’t fit into either category. Since it’s inception, it has proven to be working because it brings in more revenue each year, which shouldn’t take a 14 member task force and a consultant to tell us, the money being spent by BID to market the city is bringing more business to the city. In other words, progress is not described as fixing something that is NOT broken. The BID tax is working fantastically, let it continue to market our city.

Of course greedy cookie jar boy (and last year his wife with the tennis center) want that money for other play things;

“Families, businesses, nonprofits, churches, sports teams, organizations and even governments that challenge the status quo have much greater success rates than those that fight to maintain the status quo,” Huether told a packed Oak View Branch library meeting room. Before today, he hasn’t said much on the topic.

“You know and I know, and our fellow citizens know, we are capable of more,” Huether said.

More then what? First off, as I pointed out above, when it comes to the BID tax, the status quo is working swimmingly, and secondly the proven growth in the tax tells me it is in very capable hands.

But of course, this wasn’t the only bullshit spewing from Mike’s mouth at the meeting, he ended with this tidbit;

“This will be the last time you hear from me until your work is completed.”

Yeah, just like you never hear from anyone talking about the Events Center siding. The task force (that he appointed) is a stacked deck of friends he talks to frequently (partial list);

Randell Beck, Jim Entenman, Tracy Turbak, City councilors Rick Kiley and Rex Rolfing. And then there is the hiring of a consultant firm that stuck us with an indoor aquatic center in the wrong part of town.

All this is is a money grab for the administration. Nothing is broken, let the BID tax continue to market our city.

Let’s raise the ENTIRE tide in this state

by

teacher3

Are you as sick of hearing about it as I am? WE NEED TO RAISE TEACHER PAY! And we need to do it with an increase in taxes.

No we don’t.

First off, the money exists to increase education funding, it’s about priorities that our governor and state legislators make when it comes to funding education. Elect more socially conscious representatives that understand an educated society is a better society, and we can fix the education funding problem in Pierre. Keep electing backwoods hillbillies that are more concerned about shooting critters and unborn children (instead of educating the children that are already born) and there will never be more teacher pay.

Secondly, even if it was about raising taxes to increase teacher pay, why would any worker in this state support a tax increase to pay teachers more while their wages remain stagnant?

They won’t. This notion that somehow we are going to convince the hardworking citizens of South Dakota of another unnecessary tax increase to benefit one sector of our workforce (public teachers) just won’t fly.

So you ask, what is the solution? Don’t get me wrong, I think teachers should get paid better. A LOT BETTER! But I also think nurses, welders, plumbers, construction workers and hospitality workers should get paid better also in our state. This is why teachers will never have the support of other working South Dakotans for a salary hike, because we get tired of you whining about a pay increase when you won’t go to bat for the rest of us. Many workers in South Dakota in multiple fields are leaving the state in droves for better pay, we are all in this together, not just the teacher. Heck the state with the help T. Denny had to create an indentured servant program to keep welders here (Dakota scholarships).

My point is simple, when the teachers advocating for higher pay realize this just isn’t about them, but about all South Dakota workers, we will advocate for them, but they need to advocate for us to, you know, the ones paying their salaries.

I’m all for higher teacher pay, but are teachers for higher pay in other fields also? I’m guessing they are. Share the love.