This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
That's not insane, that's the way it should work everywhere. What's insane is that you could own some property, work hard to pay it off, and then be unable to keep it because property taxes went up/your income went down and you can't afford the taxes. That's insane.
Most states let a resident stay in the property and just put the taxes into a lien on the house, to be paid off by the estate after the death of the owner. (Sometimes via a forced sale if the estate can't cover the debt by other means.)
That is good to know, and I think a reasonable solution that addresses my concern. I was under the impression that the property would be seized if you fall behind on your taxes, but if I'm in error there then I'm glad to hear it.
It takes a long time but you can definitely lose your property in most states if you don't pay the taxes. In New Jersey the municipality will sell a lien on the property. The lienholder can then foreclose if the property owner doesn't pay it off within 2 years. If the lien doesn't sell, the municipality itself can foreclose if the property owner doesn't pay it off within 6 months.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
Why should new landowners subsidize lower property taxes for incumbent landowners who had some good luck in where they bought a few decades ago?
If somebody is truly worried about high property taxes, they should either accept that's the price for living where they want, or want more building to lower their property values. You can have high property values or low property taxees - not both, unless you want the current housing issues that California has.
If anything, one of the positives of Texas's tax laws that helps incentivize more building is a decent chunk of their income comes from property taxees.
Texas property tax rates are not set by the same organizations that make zoning laws. In general, an absolute majority of Texas property taxes go to the local school district, which has the right to set its own tax rates, within certain limits. It doesn’t take much imagination or specific knowledge to know why this tends to push Texas property taxes up very high in comparison to other states, but school districts do not set zoning or construction rules in Texas- that’s largely municipal governments, which earn the vast majority of their revenue through sales taxes and are more likely to cut their(generally much smaller- my itemized property tax bill from last year gave 23% of my total tax bill to the city versus 53% to the local school district. The rest was divided between county administration, community colleges, and hospitals in case you were wondering) property tax rate than raise it.
More options
Context Copy link
I don't think anyone has the right to demand high property values, so I think you're putting words in my mouth there. I simply think it's a travesty that people can lose their property that they worked hard for, through no fault of their own.
It is, but the better way to deal with it seems to be through targeted property tax relief. For example, give credits to people who are above a certain age and below a certain income who have used the home as their primary residence for a minimum number of years. Yeah, some people can't afford it, and it's a shame, but it shouldn't be an excuse for people who can afford the taxes to pay below what's necessary.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link