Houston’s union debt hits $7.7 billion.....sadly too many of these

[Proudlion1]

http://watchdog.org/254202/houston-union-pensions/

stories of late.

Key point....the City of Houston hasn't had a Republican Mayor since.....wait for it...........1981.

 

[bdgan]

http://watchdog.org/254202/houston-union-pensions/

stories of late.

Key point....the City of Houston hasn't had a Republican Mayor since.....wait for it...........1981.

They're a lot further in the hole after the stock market drip the next 2 weeks. Maybe they need a new tax on the rich.

 

[TN Lion]

Gotta pay for all those illegals hanging out in Houston collect tax dollars. I imagine that a 16 year old girl might be more responsible with her budget than any city run by democrats.

 

[indynittany]

Again, not to belittle the mismanagement here, this is mostly due to the fed's manipulation of interest rates. Multiply this disaster across the country and the unfunded liabilities run in the $ trillions.

 

[Tweedbear]

Too bad the illegals are not Cuban. If they were they would be another Washington problem. Over $350million a year worth of problem. Ask Cruz and Rubio of this is one of the entitlements they want to cancel. Oh yes they can legally cross the Texas border by showing a Cuban passport.

 

[CDW3333]

http://watchdog.org/254202/houston-union-pensions/

stories of late.

Key point....the City of Houston hasn't had a Republican Mayor since.....wait for it...........1981.

But Houston also has the third lowest taxes of any city in the country.

Hmmm, city with the the third lowest taxes in the country can't pay its bills. I wonder if there is a connection.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-cities-with-the-highest--and-lowest--taxes-182112538.html

 

[CDW3333]

They're a lot further in the hole after the stock market drip the next 2 weeks. Maybe they need a new tax on the rich.

Taxes on the rich in Texas? You must be freakin' kidding.

The entire tax base in Houston are property taxes and sales taxes (both of which are among the highest in the country and fall predominantly on the poor and middle class).

Taxes on the rich. I gotta remember thaaaat one.

 

[bdgan]

Taxes on the rich in Texas? You must be freakin' kidding.

The entire tax base in Houston are property taxes and sales taxes (both of which are among the highest in the country and fall predominantly on the poor and middle class).

Taxes on the rich. I gotta remember thaaaat one.

Yeah, the poor people are paying through the nose on their low real estate values and homeowner exemptions.

 

[CDW3333]

Yeah, the poor people are paying through the nose on their low real estate values and homeowner exemptions.

Homeowner exemptions? They'll save you maybe ten percent off your taxes.

Give it up. You haven't a clue how Houston operates.

I've lived here for more than thirty years. I understand how this city works. It works to enable the rich.

 

[bdgan]

H

Homeowner exemptions? They'll save you maybe ten percent off your taxes.

Give it up. You haven't a clue how Houston operates.

I've lived here for more than thirty years. I understand how this city works. It works to enable the rich.

I don't think poor people in Houston are paying high (if any) property taxes. Also, the homestead exemption is a fixed $15k so those with expensive homes get a much lower % exemption. No?

 

[CDW3333]

H


I don't think poor people in Houston are paying high (if any) property taxes. Also, the homestead exemption is a fixed $15k so those with expensive homes get a much lower % exemption. No?

No.
And poor people pay property taxes as part of their rent. Obviously the landlord is going to include his taxes in his overhead and charge for that.

Give it up. You're clueless. Houston as nearly the lowest taxes of any city in the US, big or small. And the taxes that do exist fall disproportionately on the poor and middle class as they are designed to do.

 

[CDW3333]

Forbes--Forbes!--observes that while all state tax systems are regressive (i.e. poor and middle class pay a larger part of their incomes in state taxes than the rich), Texas is the third most regressive state in the country.

Yeah, us.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/taxanal...either-new-nor-good/#2715e4857a0b4d5b4ecd2418

 

[bdgan]

No.
And poor people pay property taxes as part of their rent. Obviously the landlord is going to include his taxes in his overhead and charge for that.

Give it up. You're clueless. Houston as nearly the lowest taxes of any city in the US, big or small. And the taxes that do exist fall disproportionately on the poor and middle class as they are designed to do.

I'm sure that the evildoers set it up so that people living in slums are paying higher RE taxes than people living in mansions. And landlords pocket their exemptions / tax breaks without passing any of the savings to renters. Sorry for the confusion but you should know that all of the information published by Harris County is wrong. It seems they're in on the scam to cheat the poor.

 

[CDW3333]

As Bdgan tries to divert attention from the truth, to recap, the facts are:
1. Houston is in a financial hole mostly because of the decline of the oil patch (Houston economy has contracted every month for the last year);

2. Houston is not in a financial hole because taxes are too high; in fact they are among the lowest in the country;

3. Houston is certainly not in a financial hole because the taxes on the rich are too high because the tax system in Texas is highly regressive, meaning that the poor pay more of their income on state taxes than the rich.

Hey, what happened to that Texas miracle?

 

[Proudlion1]

Texas Miracle? Houston run by Dumbs for near 40 years. Deal with it! It's not like Houston is the only city in the U.S. in the s#$tter. Most are and literally all of them run by Dumbs. Costs are too high! Period.

 

[bdgan]

As Bdgan tries to divert attention from the truth, to recap, the facts are:
1. Houston is in a financial hole mostly because of the decline of the oil patch (Houston economy has contracted every month for the last year);

2. Houston is not in a financial hole because taxes are too high; in fact they are among the lowest in the country;

3. Houston is certainly not in a financial hole because the taxes on the rich are too high because the tax system in Texas is highly regressive, meaning that the poor pay more of their income on state taxes than the rich.

Hey, what happened to that Texas miracle?

1. I never argued that the decline in oil prices haven't had an impact. That's just you making stuff up.
2. I never said that taxes were too high in Houston. That's just you making more stuff up.
3. I also never said that Houston is in trouble because taxes on the rich are too high. You're making more stuff up again. You're 0-3.

I implied that more benefits were offered than could be afforded and sarcastically said that libs would claim the problem is not enough taxes on the rich. That turned out to be an easy call. I'm 1-1.

 

[CDW3333]

I wasn't responding to just you but the other idiots as well.

And you didn't say:

They're a lot further in the hole after the stock market drip the next 2 weeks. Maybe they need a new tax on the rich.

Your quote suggests that there are already "taxes on the rich" in Houston when there are, in fact, none, which makes you 0-1.

 

[CDW3333]

Texas Miracle? Houston run by Dumbs for near 40 years. Deal with it! It's not like Houston is the only city in the U.S. in the s#$tter. Most are and literally all of them run by Dumbs. Costs are too high! Period.

Funny, three years ago, Houston was an "unstoppable" job creating juggernaut, by creating more jobs than any other city in the country. Was the place run by the "Dumbs" back then? Why, yes it was. Funny what a two-thirds drop in the price of oil can do to a city dependent on the energy sector.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business...-juggernaut-is-americas-1-job-creator/275927/

 

[Proudlion1]

Interesting what a soft economy exposes on the cost side. Given Houston's dependency on an cyclic oil dependent economy, you would think the city leaders would strike a conservative slant on cost control. Nyet! sayeth the Dumbs who have run the city for near 40 years.

A few interesting comments from my posted article above.............

Houston unions have gotten state lawmakers to block local officials from imposing any reforms.

The traditional way of calculating the pension expense for a year was just to total up the amount going out the door to pensions each year. However, this was a problem, given Houston’s pronounced bad habit of skipping payments and otherwise kicking the can down the road.

Hilariously, the city simply refused to accept the 8.5 percent discount rate the municipal workers fund used, asserting “the assumption is no longer valid.” So the city recalculated the debt at 8 percent, which added $234 million to the total owed.

 

[bdgan]

I wasn't responding to just you but the other idiots as well.

And you didn't say:


Your quote suggests that there are already "taxes on the rich" in Houston when there are, in fact, none, which makes you 0-1.

False. Rich people in Houston pay sales taxes, real estate taxes, etc. just like everybody else. They just pay more because they have bigger houses, fancier cars, eat out more, etc.

 

[Tweedbear]

As percentage of income they get a free ride. It is easy to maintain low taxes when you don't pay your bills.
Underfunded pensions are a prime example.