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I was foolish enough to vote for one bond issue in my life. Same lie, it will keep property taxes low! Yea right. What keeps property taxes low, is controlled spending!
In Caswell County we have a bond issue, to build a new jail, seems our prisoners are not comfortable enough!
At the same time, we cannot afford tennis courts for our schools!
Jail cost to make prisoners comfortable 11.2 million dollars!
Tennis courts for our schools 200,000 dollars.

I agree with the Biting Dog

If this sales tax is such a sweet deal, why wasn't it touted as the primary scam back in May and property taxes used as a supplement?

We all know the answer.

The first sentence is a lie, anytime a politician asks you to pay more taxes so you'll pay less taxes....don't believe it.

"A majority of Guilford County commissioners here voted to devote this revenue to pay for......(the children)."

What about the minority? This vote for the kids is non-binding, they don't have to spend the money on the kids.

Vote no, the last thing we need is a another tax increase in such bad economic times.

I'm with Dog, James, NeoCon and Dan.
Did we not already vote on this once? Why is it on the ballot again?
My wife and I say NO.

Im loathe to vote for a tax hike but I did. Someone's gonna pay as time goes forward might as well be everybody. You know ... redistrubute the "wealth".

I can't believe all of you are so unpatriotic.

I will vote Yes if Kay votes Yes to get Mitch out of office.
Anybody else?

Mitch doesn't work for Kay.

One thing of note is the level of cynicism we have nationally and on local levels. Anxiety, distrust, state of the economy, and many other elements breed disgust for higher taxes, lack of representation, and accentuate emotions. Many prefer to hunker down and wait for this mess to recover or wash out to sea. All anyone wants to do is say NO!

Frankly, I am burned out! Many of the bloggers are screaming. There appears to be more emotion than logic. Citing news articles and information is not logic. Who are we trying to persuade, readers or our own ego. The boggers are venting their frustrations, but where else do we get a reply. There is a healthy element to the discourse.

I was recently privy to a local citizen survey. The people of Greensboro are concerned with the economy but just as much with the lack of trust with the Greensboro and Guilford County government. We should not torch our back yard. American families are spending tens of thousands of dollars on the Iraq war and now the bail out, and we all are suffering the loss in income, investments, and real estate. Unfortunately, our children and grandchildren will be paying the toll out of this mess.

Let us not throw the baby out with the bath water. Everything is not tainted, and there are some local politicians who have the interest of the city and county in mind. Some of the city investment proposals forwarded by citizens are worthy of strong consideration. I applaud the mayor and hope decisions can be made that are not mere placation of those who yell the most.

It is always easier to give up and retreat to a hole with a lap top, a blog site and opinion, but let us move on but not soil our back yard.

What an eloquent way to tell us you support a sales tax increase Molly. Are you confident this this money will only be used to pay for school bonds? Do you honestly think this tax will provide any kind of relief to property tax payers?

My answer to both is no. Yes you are correct, I am cynical regarding govt.

BTW, this tax increase will not harm most of us, but it will hurt those with the least ability to pay. What ever happened to sticking up for the little guy?

I do not consider my reluctance to support additional spending as cynicism. I am reluctant to replace my car, but I am not cynical about it. The same logic governs my choice here and now: we cannot afford to spend extra money right now.

"Some of the city investment proposals forwarded by citizens are worthy of strong consideration."
While that may be true, the sad fact is that the proposals are structured to include plain old pork projects and a tax proposal that is regressive. I am consistently opposed to sales tax increases...I do not want to end up like Europe.
You see the problem is that the proposal is always to trade one tax for another. Then a couple of years later someone complains about the lost "revenue" from the tax previously traded, it returns and now we have both.

I will vote no. Every single ballot should not include a new round of bonds.

Agreed, we cannot afford to spend extra money right now.

"You see the problem is that the proposal is always to trade one tax for another."

Yeah right, who buys that? They don't trade one for another, they just add one to another.

I will vote no as well.

All the best and many prayers for your son.

Dan,

Your assumption is not correct. I hope all will consider some of the local bond efforts, not all, without a broad stroke of no.

Which assumption Molly? I've made several on this thread. If it is not correct then please tell me why.

I'll ask you again:

Are you confident this this money will only be used to pay for school bonds? Do you honestly think this tax will provide any kind of relief to property tax payers?

So, if the latest sales tax increase is approved we'll get our property taxes lowered! What a joke.

Does anyone still remember all of the hype concerning the "education lottery?" Whne do we get improved education? When do we get to stop having to hear that we need to more funding for our, nearly worthless, government sponsored, moopolistic, left-wing indoctrination camps, our public schools, which are nothing more than a jobs program for corrupt teacher unions that have fought any, and all new innovation to improve the apparently "unimprovable" no matter how much of our tax money is wasted or stolen!

Did you all miss the "fact" that 40% will be paid by visitors.
That means you only have to cough up a measley 60% to have property taxe relief .
Come on, politcians wouldn't lie, would they?

Ronald Reagan said "Trust, but verify." Since there is no way to verify that more taxes will mean lower taxes, I choose not to trust those who have promised that it will be "for the children."