Saturday, September 01, 2007

For 50 years, Urban Renewal has been called by city officials as "just a tool". Entire wealthy districts, the recipients of the most Public Subsidy (watch out for the weasel-phrase "public investment"), can, with the always-willing approval of governmnet, apply their taxes directly to their own purposes.

The City wants to raise the spending for Urban Renewal by $40 million, to give it to a Portland developer. This is money that can be used for schools, public health, public safety, roads ... anything else.

City officials say "It won't raise your taxes". Of course it will: imagine that citizens could apply all current taxes to their own properties, which is what a fully-enabled Urban Renewal district does. Where would money for public services come from? Taxes would rise. Every specific act of spending taxes on something new, raises taxes.

In normal speech, the direct consequence of an action, are included in descriptions of an action. Urban Renewal boosters and City Planners have become so removed from reality, that they insist taxes only rise if they pass a "raise taxes" act. And yet, somehow, these acts are rarely passed, and our taxes keep raising, and services decline.

City officials are not only disconnected from reality. They are not only lying. They have destroyed their own ability to think and speak.