Tax Extensions

As a resident and tax payer of Long Beach, I was very discouraged to read the Press Telegram Op-Ed by School Superintendent Steinhauser followed a few days later by a letter to the editor from Police Chief McDonnell in support of extending the temporary state taxes that are set to expire.

The temporary state taxes were sold to taxpayers as a solution to the state budget crisis. These temporary taxes did not solve the budget crisis. Extending these taxes will not solve the budget crisis either.

Superintendent Steinhauser claims that unless these taxes are extended, Long Beach will become Detroit. Long Beach may be on its way to becoming Detroit, but not for the reason Superintendent Steinhauser suggests. Property values in Long Beach have already been declining for quite some time. Detroit became Detroit due to excessive taxation, not a lack of taxation. The tax base in Detroit just packed their bags and moved. The same will happen to Long Beach and the rest of California if our leaders don’t learn to live on less just like the taxpayers have had to do and continue to do.

I look forward to a day when our public servants care as much about those paying the bills as they do about those benefitting from the payments.

Update:  Letter to editor in Press Telegram