Should Voting Be Restricted to Property Owners Only?

[Andara Bledin]

Their "grassroots" campaigning is never really "grassroots", it's multi-million-dollar campaigning with a fake down-home facade glued on, and I think they know quite well that they're not going to do what their Tea Party supporters think they're going to do.

Astroturfing.

Unfortunately, in matters like this, the people who support them will continue to support them even after their shown to be the shills they are because people in general are so terrified of being wrong about anything that they'll cling to every decision made, even the bad ones.

^-.-^

[FArchivist]

That's one of my (many) problems with the tea party. They're so intent on bringing new blood into the political system that they don't check to make sure the blood doesn't have any infections, so to speak.

True. They don't have any real organization (We have 300 competing Tea Parties in GA alone. All of them claiming they are the REAL Tea Party.) and they don't vet their candidates. The infighting alone just drives me away.

[Sleepwalker]

This Tea Party garbage is amazing. Make your rhetoric vague enough, and people will think it's awesome. Meanwhile, actual tea party politicians are vile bigots and fundamentalists.

[gremcint]

everytime I buy something I pay taxes, that's my taxation, voting is my representation.

[Tanasi]

The only reason I would say property owners have exclusive voting rights is when property taxes are being raised. That being said I know of no municipalities that put property tax increases on public referendums. My county commission only has to vote upon it three times the property owners have no recourse except at the ballot box.

[Rapscallion]

Logically, an increase in property taxes would be passed on to renters as well, so I'd suggest that they should also have a say.

Rapscallion

[Andara Bledin]

I imagine an increase in property tax would hit pretty much everybody. Property owners directly, and then passed on to everybody who buys anything or who works.

^-.-^

[AdminAssistant]

And with states slashing education budgets, you can bet that a lot of towns will be raising property taxes so that they can fund their K-12 schools.

[protege]

Logically, an increase in property taxes would be passed on to renters as well, so I'd suggest that they should also have a say.

That's how it should work. But, some areas have rent controls...which prevent increases. Also, some areas have large student populations. For example, Pittsburgh has a huge student population, many of which who live in off-campus apartments. Because many are from areas outside the city, they can't voted on property taxes, or other things that will cause taxes to go up.

[HYHYBT]

And with states slashing education budgets, you can bet that a lot of towns will be raising property taxes so that they can fund their K-12 schools.

Even *before* taking state cuts into account, they're having to raise property tax rates to make up some of the revenue lost by property *values* dropping. Which angers everybody, but it has to be done.