Not long ago, I had a conversation with an acquaintance about property taxes in our state. She and I are the same age. Both of us owned homes at the time; but unlike me, she felt that the old woman who lived in her neighborhood should pay the same amount of property taxes as she did. In a state that assesses the value of property at the time of sale, this acquaintance thought it unfair that the elder woman paid little compared to her. In her view, everyone should pay the same amount of taxes, regardless of when they purchased their home.
It was hard for me to argue with the acquaintance because she would not allow herself to empathize with someone on a fixed income. In her mind, it seemed, this elder woman should simply move when the time came, when taxes became too much of a burden on her pension.
This view appears tragic because it takes a narrow view of the community. It also leaves little room for the realization that we may find ourselves in need of the same type of tax law. When we take a broader perspective, we are able to see how something as small as a tax regulation can benefit not just the community we live in, but also how it may benefit ourselves; moreover, we may also see the harm that occurs to everyone.
Suppose the property tax was evaluated every five years and the elderly woman was forced to leave her home because she could no longer afford the tax on her fixed income. She sells her house but can’t afford a new one. This woman now may be forced to move into a group home paid for by community taxes. The community reaps more money from the new valuation of the home but is then forced to pay for her arrangements in the group home indirectly through federal and state taxes.
A broad perspective means to view a situation not only from the standpoint of “me”. It also means to view it from the standpoint of “us”. It’s about the community and the city, and it may involve how a decision unfolds fifty years into the future.
Our well being is not related solely to our houses or our civilization. It is related to how we see the world; the broader our perspective, the broader the benefit.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2010 for Just Moving Along .com
