As expected, The Huntsville Times editorial board supports the county wide half cent sales tax increase for Madison County.  They trotted out the old argument that if you oppose any increased tax for education then you must hate kids and not want them to be educated.

[S]upporters have done little beyond preaching to the choirs of PTAs and those, like local business leaders who understand how vital education is to this area’s continued prosperity, who would support the proposal anyway.

Clearly opponents of the tax hike are trolls who lie in wait under bridges and eat unsuspecting children who pass by.  After all, we don’t “understand how vital education is to this area’s continued prosperity.”  If only we were as enlightened as those who do understand that any time the government school bureaucrats demand money the only response is, “How much?”

The temptation, during a time of high gasoline prices and rumors of recession, is for voters to just say no to another tax. In Alabama, truth be told, that’s an almost unavoidable temptation in boom times.

David Prather - the columnist who penned the endorsement - touched on an interesting point here.  Although Huntsville has been relatively insulated from the broader economic issues facing the country we still remain in an unsteady economy, with prices for many items rising rapidly.  I think it’s worth reading about what is happening in Michigan right now in order to comprehend the consequences of raising taxes in a slow economy.

Prather continues:

The money generated from a sales tax won’t go for additional bureaucrats or swankier offices. It will go, school officials from all three systems promise, for building new buildings and renovating those that need it.

I’m looking into this matter.  When the sales tax was originally proposed that is how it was described.  Various officials drafted resolutions that put the capital improvement requirement in writing.  I remained skeptical because nothing would stop the schools from shifting “other” money away from capital expenses to something else (like salaries) and merely replace it with this money.  The proposal on the ballot does not restrict the revenue to capital projects, however.  I’m not sure if there is a more concrete resolution backing up the ballot wording (I’ve contacted a commissioner for clarification).  But wait!  We have their word; they promised.  Well, that will help me sleep better at night.

I think it is instructive to note, though, that the last county wide half cent sales tax, which was put into effect about 20 years ago, was intended to be for capital projects and now is being used elsewhere.

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This entry was posted by Brian on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 6:07 pm and is filed under Education, Madison County, Taxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.