Why I Will Vote No Today
Posted by Jason Kearney at 10/6/2007 6:24 AM and is filed under arkansas river,Politics,Tulsa,TAXES,river tax 
The river tax vote is
1. It is bad financial responsibility to continue to spend money on a system that is not working now. Tulsa County gets 8.5% over and above every dollar I spend. Groceries, clothing, appliances, you name it. If I spend $100, it is really going to cost me $108.50. When I purchased a wedding ring for Lisa last year, I had to factor in an additional $350 just to pay the taxes. Instead of going back to the people and asking for more money, why not rearrange the budget to allow for the extra money it will cost to build dams in the river?
2. It is bad financial management to borrow money for a luxury. Cars and homes you need. If you absolutely have to borrow money to purchase these kinds of items, fine. But you don't borrow money to go on a cruise. Or spruce up your house. Those are things that smart people save up for, make room in their budget, and pay for it in cash. Tulsa County wants to borrow money from its citizens--no wait--they are going to TAKE money from its citizens, to pay for something that can only be classified as a luxury. Low water dams on the river is not a necessity.
3. We already approved this measure, four years ago, in Vision 2025. When we voted to raise taxes in 2003 (a measure which I supported, and still do), there was a provision that called for building low water dams in Sand Springs, Tulsa, and Jenks--just like now. Somehow, those dams never got built. We are paying the taxes to pay for them, but now they are asking for more. Their excuse? Federal matching dollars required to build the dams never materialized. Organizers of this tax increase say that it was clear to the voters that matching dollars would be required from the feds to build the dams. I was as close to the Vision 2025 issue as anyone in this city, and I can tell you that it was NOT made clear to the voters. Something is rotten about this, and at some point I suspect it will come out.
4. Randi Miller and the other county commissioners are irresponsible, and I do not trust them. They forced a 50 year tenant off the fair grounds this year, and the reasons make no good sense whatsoever. The connection between Randi Miller's campaign and the Murphy family have yet to be made fully known, but when it comes out, I have a feeling Randi Miller's political aspirations will be over. I refuse to give more money to people I do not trust, because they are simply not trustworthy.
5. The organizers of this measure are misleading at best, lying at worst. They say it will have a multi-billion dollar impact on the city. But the economic impact will happen whether we vote yes or no, because most of the developers will build on the river with or without the dams. They say it will create 10,000 new jobs, but what they don't say is that most of those jobs will be construction jobs, from people building the dams. Once the dams are in place, the jobs go away. Even the jobs that remain will not be high paying positions, but wait staff, busboys, etc. Hardly the makings of a huge economic boon to the city.
6. Because extortion is a crime. I feel like organizers of this tax are extorting money from us. "Pass this tax, or the generous donors will not give us an additional $117 million, young people will leave Tulsa and move to Dallas, and our children will suffer." They are putting artist's renderings of big beautiful bridges designed for pedestrian traffic in different towns--bridges that are NOT included in the package. They act like if they can appeal to the "what's in it for me" part of a person's psyche, the measure will be passed.
7. Smokescreens do not make good government. This whole thing has been one big smokescreen. In 2003, when I supported the Vision 2025 initiative, the facts were all out on the table. We knew exactly what we were getting, and how much it was going to cost. Any uncertainties about the tax--and there were some uncertainties--were openly discussed. With the River Tax, supporters only speak in generalities--this will help out economy (but HOW will it help our economy?). This will benefit the children (but HOW will it benefit the children?). If you don't vote yes, you don't care about Tulsa. If we miss this opportunity, it will be gone forever. WHY will it be gone forever? This whole thing is a product of the Chamber mentality. Don't talk about specifics, talk about generalities, and then, only the generalities that support our position.
8. Because it is being forced down our throats by big business, government, and media. The television and news stations in Tulsa are shamelessly promoting this tax. It seems obvious to me that they have manipulated video tape to make it look like there are many more supporters than there are detractors. Every day there is a new story about another person who has come out in support of the tax. This week, one news station ran a story about a Missouri developer who wants to build a place called "Tulsa Landing," which looked very impressive in the drawings. They built it up to a crescendo, then said that the developer has made it clear that if the river tax fails, he will NOT build Tulsa Landing.
9. Because of the attempts to silence critics of the measure. No one has said anything to me about keeping quiet--I doubt that this blog really makes much of a splash. But hundreds of "No River Tax" signs have been stolen from yards. One lady's sign was set on fire in the middle of the night. City crews were ordered by city hall to gather signs and throw them away. And one business owner put a message on his marquis that he would pay $5 a piece for any anti river tax signs people brought in to him. It is not enough that supporters have forked out millions of dollars to pay for television, radio, and prints ads for the last six weeks. They have to try and suppress the opposition at the same time. It is a shame.
10. Because passing this measure will make Tulsa County the most taxed county in the nation. How many young professionals want to live in a city with a sales tax approaching 10%? People complain about young people moving to Texas. It is not because of the river! Wake up, people. It is because there is no sales tax on groceries. Because there is no state income tax. It is because their roads, ALL of them, are noticeably better than our roads. They pay their teachers more, and tax them less. And maybe it is because of the weather--and no tax can do anything about that. You seem to think that putting water in the river will suddenly fix all that is wrong with us, but you are putting a band aid on a cancer patient. Its just not going to help.
11. Tulsa is asking its taxpayers to bail them out for bad decisions they have made in the past. Several years ago, developers approached Tulsa city and county officials and asked to develop the river. Officials were so fixated on developing downtown that they never considered the river. It was only after the success of the river project in OKC (which doesn't even really have a river), and Jenks that Tulsa woke up and wanted a river project of their own. With the city spending $70 million on a new city hall, it just doesn't have the cash to do the job. So they want to penalize its citizens for their bad judgment. That's not good government.
LOWER taxes. Do away with the tax on groceries, and the state income tax. Fix the roads. But don't overburden citizens with more taxes. That's the wrong idea.
I totaly agree with you
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