Letter to the Editor: Taxes and the Impoverished Person Argument

To the Editor:

Anti-tax people in Lake Forest Park consistently point to the impoverished person who won’t be able to afford groceries or stay in their home unless the City’s portion of their property tax rate goes down. The problem with this argument is that however low the City’s tax revenues get—and however much the community suffers as a result—there will always be another real or hypothetical person for whom this level of taxation is still too much.

We certainly need candidates who are committed to efficient government with careful financial management, and in Lake Forest Park both Mary Jane Goss and Dwight Thompson make this claim. Furthermore, all people of good will should hope for and work for more jobs, better wages, reasonably priced health care, and well-funded Social Security. This is what will really help people who are suffering economically.

The Impoverished Person argument applied to the City’s tax revenues is a fallacy. Those who own or rent modest homes will save very little. But the loss of revenue hurts Lake Forest Park and threatens services that are important to low-income people.

David K. Farkas

Lake Forest Park