Will people ever get sick of this whole game?

The more money they have, the more they spend. The more they spend, the more they need to make. The more they need to make, the higher the tax needs to be.

Many people are having to shed excess. Many are losing their homes. Their incomes are not sufficient to pay the bills, so they start shedding things – like it or not.

Government works differently, unfortunately. They might shed a little excess, but not much. They do not feel the real pain and threat, like normal people. Taxes are a magic wand. Decree you want more money, and poof! It appears.

You also have the credit to issue bonds, which is another big problem in itself. 2 or 3 years ago, our school district put forth a proposal to issue $900 million in bonds. I read the proposal. The pro forma had a built-in assumption that real estate values (our way of funding schools) will always go up. So, indirectly, the assumption was that taxes will always go up.

Here’s the kicker. Real estate has stagnated and/or gone done (Texas has been lucky). So, we have to wait and wonder when they will increase the tax RATE, because we know that “tax creep” (increases in values of land being taxed) is not going to happen. We also know that bonds are long term (temporary or not).

So, the point is, whenever and however you put more money in the hands of government, it will become a new need. Best never to taste the OPM (other people’s money), because it is highly addictive.