Bonds and Lies
As you probably heard, the Omaha City Government is going to propose bond issues on the November ballot (https://www.cityofomaha.org/latest-news/1117-november-ballot-to-include-bond-issues). No matter what government officials tell you, tax bonds are an increase in property taxes. Pay close attention to the language. They are not raising the levy, but…..
…they are asking voters to add another item to your property tax bill. Go look at your latest property tax bill. Did you really look at the details of your property tax bill? Get smart and keep them to compare and contrast them. The images below are from a real property tax bill with some editing for clarification.
In my area, tax bonds make up about 20 percent of the property tax bill, with or without the measly, and pathetically small state tax credit.
This is not to flat-out condemn the use of bonds. This is to condemn the practice of making property owners pay for such bonds when the rest of the population gets a free lunch out of it. I will always vote “no” on these bond issues. For the majority of people to vote to tax a minority is morally wrong. I advise you to vote “no” as well.
By the way, did you know Omaha used bonds to fund a streetcar system operated by horses? This beats the current plan to me! See https://steppingintothemap.com/anthropocene/items/show/32
The lie that bonds do not raise taxes is just that. The is being added, but in some cases one bond is retired and they roll a new one in.