John R. Lee sums up the thoughts of many Portlanders:
Of course [builders] will back the school bond measure(s). I would too if I could invest $10,000 to $25,000 for a chance at a multi-million dollar contract.
What is that, something like a 100 to 1,000 percent gain?
I’m sure they could care less about the schools being upgraded, but they sure care about their own pockets. What about the large increase in my property taxes of approximately $450 before any other bond measures that get passed either in May or November?
Oh, by the way, you renters out there who don’t believe that you pay property taxes – guess again. Your landlord pays taxes and you in turn pay them in your rent. How about a $35 to $50 bump in your monthly rent as soon as the measure(s) pass, which will include a portion of their property tax plus a little extra just to make sure they don’t miss out on their profit?
Ann Friday writes:
In the mid-1990s Portland schools were retrofitted to make them earthquake-resistant at great taxpayer cost. This was supposed to extend the life of these school buildings far beyond a mere 15 years. Now, we are supposed to agree to scrap all of that tax money spent retrofitting the schools and start over on them from the ground up? Crazy, greedy and unnecessary.
Ryan Arditi asks:
A question to ask is: What happens if these measures pass and the tax increase puts people in such debt-ridden holes that they are unable to pay the money on their property taxes?
