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Ah, the day after voting...how many new and renewed taxes just passed?
An 83-year-old retired engineer in Michigan underpaid his property taxes by $8.41. In response, Oakland County seized his property, auctioned it off to settle the debt, and pocketed nearly $24,500 in excess revenue from the sale.
Under Michigan law, it was all legal. And hardly uncommon.
Just so you know, you voted to have someone else's home taken from them, by force, over the smallest sums of cash. #Merica #MAGA
Which means there will be more people like Uri Rafeali, who lost a home over an $8.41 mistake. His property, bought as an investment, is valued at an estimated $136,000. The penalty imposed by Oakland County was more than 8,000 percent greater than the underlying debt.
But today, while the legal battle over its fate plays out, the house sits empty. It generates no tax revenue for the city or county. It earns no money for Rafaeli or his wife in their retirement.
"The Constitution was written to prevent the government from violating a right that preexists the Constitution," says Martin. "If this can happen to multimillionaires and to the poor, to the elderly….If this can happen to Mr. Rafaeli, it can happen to anyone."
“It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.”–G.K. Chesterton-Illustrated London News, 3-14-1908
Republicans.Hate.You. See2020.
"Avarice, ambition, revenge and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams to Mass Militia 10-11-1798
I didn't vote for the levies, but 5 out of 6 that were on our ballot passed. I not only get to pay a property tax to the local school system but an Income tax now as well. It's getting very expensive to live in this rural township.
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them."
- Thomas Paine
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem."
I’ve routinely been a thorn in the side of my local school boards. Want to pass a levy? Prove to me that you are spending the money you have wisely. Buying computers and iPads for EVERY staff member, not a wise expense. Sending a bus to pickup the superintendents friends kid from a couple district away, not a wise use.
Apply same logic to fire and police levies
Same logic for career city council members. Shouldn’t be a full time job in a small or even medium size city. Probably not in a large city.