Rant about Pittsburgh - Sad but true

[Broomhandle]

My wife composed this email as part of a response to a thread going around where she worked. I think she used a magazine article for some of the numbers. It made me laugh so I thought I would share it.

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Subject: RE: Go Pittsburgh!!!

One more tidbit….

Pittsburgh also ranks #1 for the least desirable places to live for taxation. The tax burden in Pittsburgh is greatest out of 163 cities in 50 states, according to “Where to Retire” magazine. The major contributor to this is the real estate taxes, not to mention the $52 “occupation” tax and the 3% city and school wage tax for resident workers. Of course, this was in 2002, but as a resident and taxpayer in the city of Pittsburgh, I can assure you this has not changed.

While hard earned resident tax money goes to large regional projects like baseball and football stadiums, convention centers, upscale department stores, and infrastructure development that serves and employs a regional workforce, Pittsburgh has one of the country’s highest percentages of large institutional nonprofits that contribute no taxes, consume large amounts of police, fire, and emergency services, and pay their managers many hundreds of thousands in salaries. The CEO of the largest, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, received $2.4 million in compensation in 2004. Large institutional nonprofits like Carnegie-Mellon, University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and the massive University of Pittsburgh Medical Center jealously guard their tax-free “nonprofit” status while constantly expanding and absorbing taxable small business and residential property.

Sorry to rain on the parade, but as a resident and tax payer in the city of Pittsburgh, I’m sick of hearing about how wonderful this city is. On the surface, it is a wonderful city with great geographic features and a rich history, but with all the taxes I pay, and all of the free rides given to the real money makers in the city (in the form of TIFs – tax increment financing) it really is a horrible place to live. My husband and I pay the equivalent of a month’s rent in property taxes alone and I can’t even send my children to the public schools because they are so poorly rated. My family is just counting the days until we can leave this city.

[ar15jules]

I am proud of where I was born and raised, but I moved from there almost ten years ago. It is a great place to visit....
Jules

[D-FENS]

I'm absolutely disgusted with this city!

I moved here 3 years ago for a job and I *can't wait* to leave. I can't now because the money is good but it's a tough rationalization to make. Downtown? Little more than bums and gangstaz (one in the same?). Come on down to Market Square; people sleeping, begging, screaming all the time. Thanks to Regan we have a ton of homeless nutjobs running around that scream at people (not at all joking, happens all the time), chasing people around, spitting, etc.

This city is a joke. The public transportation is a horrible mess with the second highest-paid bus drivers in the country. The highest paid almost made 100k with over-time. This public transport over-services wealthy areas that don't utilize the services and under-services high traffic areas (standing room only on my 5:45 bus this AM, WTF?!?!)

FUCKING TAXES!!!!!!! They're astronomical. Allegheny is one of the top 10 highest property tax brackets in the country. I was going to buy a house this year....until I found out my property tax would be over half of what the house payment would be. 3% for just living in this shithole and 7% sales tax. and for what?!?! What do I, a single white upper middle class taxpayer get out of it? nada. I still pay $2 per one way trip on the bus ($20+ to park downtown). The worst and most poorly maintained roads I've ever seen of all the places I live (not at all joking).

I'm sick of this city and the bums that have it taken over. If I had my way we'd raze a few "communities" in this city and save ourselves the trash on the bus and the taxes needed to subsidize their lifestyles (most live better than I do!).

/ARRGGGRGRGHHHHHHH - Howard Dean

[Emptymag]

FUCKING TAXES!!!!!!! They're astronomical. Allegheny is one of the top 10 highest property tax brackets in the country. I was going to buy a house this year....until I found out my property tax would be over half of what the house payment would be. 3% for just living in this shithole and 7% sales tax. and for what?!?! What do I, a single white upper middle class taxpayer get out of it? nada. I still pay $2 per one way trip on the bus ($20+ to park downtown). The worst and most poorly maintained roads I've ever seen of all the places I live (not at all joking).

Yeah,
Perhaps if we could elect some more Democrats this would start to change.

We've been in our home here for about 14 years.
It's not getting any better (taxes, crime, liberals - HA! gotcha!)
It really does suck here. I grew up in the country and would love to leave the Burg one day.
My wife has a saying... "I want to live where we can come to the city, but the city can't come to us!"

[GRoPA]

You need to live outside of the bus lines to stay away from the Welfaloids and Gangbangers.

[D-FENS]

The problem here and in places like Detroit and other desolate cities is that a very significant portion of the population doesn't have any earned-income. In turn, they vote away the income of others into their own subsidies.

Unfortunately, all you need is >50% of bums and bum sympathizers to vote away the income of people earning an income or taxing the assets of others.

I must say, Danp really put this all into perspective for me. It was a rather long conversation but it boils down to a key point.

Income Tax is wrong!
Why: Any time you give the state, and in turn, the people the power to take money away from other people where do you draw the line? What percentage of y our income is too much? Where's the magical number? If no magical number exists then what's to say that they can't take away 50, 75, 90 percent of your income for redistribution? You should never permit the state, county or any government to take your money. It's theft and the same theory applies to taking any other asset from you. Why not take your car and house, too?

So, while we're out there busting ass to make a living and prosper, bums living on subsidies can easily vote away your income to any level they desire. That's why these bums live better than we do (we being taxpayers). If they desire more subsidized income, they vote in an Al Sharpton to take from earners and give to the bums.

Pretty simple really. When you give the state the power to thieve, you not only enable bums to live off of it, you create a gov't that cannot live without it or the bums' votes to maintain that gov't.

Hope this makes sense.

[LorDiego01]

Income Tax is wrong!
Why: Any time you give the state, and in turn, the people the power to take money away from other people where do you draw the line? What percentage of y our income is too much? Where's the magical number? If no magical number exists then what's to say that they can't take away 50, 75, 90 percent of your income for redistribution? You should never permit the state, county or any government to take your money. It's theft and the same theory applies to taking any other asset from you. Why not take your car and house, too?

They actually do take your car and house if you dont pay into it. They'll kill you while they are at it too.

Also, to get your blood boiling just a tad more..think of it this way..

if you are forced to pay 20% of your income, then you are 20% a slave.
If you pay 50% income tax, then you are 50% a slave.

[D-FENS]

Not only that but a primary foundation of this country was to absolve "debtors prison". So you cannot be imprisoned for any debt except when owed to the Gov't?

Some supreme hypocrisy. Our Founding Fathers must be rolling over in their graves with the Income Tax, Military-Industrial complex, Corporations being treated as persons, Corporate welfare, life subsidies for bums, etc, etc, etc.

[ALS]

And you wonder why 1.4% of the population is leaving each year.
316,000 residents at last count with 82 Voting with their feet each week.
1960 620K residents
2005 316K residents

There's no problem your just imagining it. You would not believe how much Commercial Real Estate is up for sale in Allegheny County. The joke is everything but nobody is buying. Remember Commercial is the first to dump before residential. I heard from two real estate agents that I know that most of the property in Allegheny county is priced at least 25% over it's real value.
How long can the prices stay up with 8K to 10K residents leaving every year?
If you think your RE taxes are bad now wait until the correction hits in a few years.
Ever wonder why Danny Boy is in such a panic over property taxes in Allegheny county. Danny Onorato is Chief Executive of Allegheny County.

[Jersey Ron]

Not only that but a primary foundation of this country was to absolve "debtors prison". So you cannot be imprisoned for any debt except when owed to the Gov't?

Some supreme hypocrisy. Our Founding Fathers must be rolling over in their graves with the Income Tax, Military-Industrial complex, Corporations being treated as persons, Corporate welfare, life subsidies for bums, etc, etc, etc.

While I agree with MUCH of what many of you are saying, I still think you are missing the REAL problem with this country. Our Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves primarily because of the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, in which we turned this ENTIRE country over to "International Bankers" for lack of a better word. Rather, if I told the truth I would be labled something ridiculous. Anyway, the Federal Reserve, is A PUBLIC ENTITY and is owned by shareholders, who I need not mention. George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson (Attempted assasination on his life), Abraham Lincoln (Assasinated), James Garfield (Assasinated) & JFK (Assasinated), all had one thing in common!!! They ALL stood against THE MONEY CHANGERS, who ARE responsible for Income Tax, the Military-Industrial complex, subsidies, etc, etc. These same "International Bankers" have BANKRUPTED many great nations; Rome, France, Russia, Germany and now the United States. It's right there in our faces and I can tell you right now that Islam and Arabs aren't our problem at all!!! They are being used as a smokescreen IMHO! And this is coming from a Conservative Episcopalian!!!


Jersey