Pamela Watch: Renters Edition

OK, I tried to restrain myself but I just can't take it. I said I was going to try to be nicer to WMAY's Pamela Furr because she, for some reason, generates a lot of search engine traffic that winds up here. But she's gone and dunnit again.

I caught the last five minutes of her show yesterday as she was wrapping up an interview with a state legislator (sorry, I've forgotten who). She asks him about raising taxes to reduce State budget deficits. The lawmaker indicates he is generally opposed to tax increases, blah, blah, blah, but he might support an increase in the state income tax for education if property taxes are lowered.

Well, Pandemonium Pam gets riled and says such a plan would do nothing for her because she rents and pays no property tax. This is where I begin beating my poor car radio. Fortunately, Mr. Lawmaker has the presence not to laugh and points out that the property taxes on her rental unit is passed onto her by her landlord.

WELL F-ING, DUH!

I guess this gets to me because I hear this nonsense from time to time.

My favorite example is from about ten years ago when a woman I worked with was bitching that her sister, who was a renter, got to send her kids to school for FREE while she, my coworker, had no kids and PAID PROPERTY TAXES that supported those same schools. She was outraged. When I pointed out the obvious, she could not understand (or refused to understand) that her sister was every bit the tax payer she was.

In the interest of being nicer to Ms. Furr, I will agree with a point she made in this discussion. If property taxes are lowered, renters will not see the benefits right away. As a long time (but now former) renter I've thought about this too. Landlords will likely see a brief windfall when they don't pass on the tax savings. Eventually market forces will align things again but renters will get screwed in the short run -count on it. I'm not sure what legislation could avoid this. Maybe some provision threatening landlords who don't lower rents? I'm not sure how that would work in practice.