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- Age 46 years old
- Birthday May 28, 1977
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Overton, then Monticello, now expat in OC, CA
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In Topic: DT: Mixed Used Development on Lancaster Ave. in the Works
16 June 2011 - 09:01 PM
Yeah, that was going to be my point. The property taxes in TX are much higher, but GA and MN residents have to pay a personal income tax. This is in part because we rely on our local governments a lot more and they rely more on their state governments. In fact, MN is one of the more restrictive states with regard to local government powers. The Texan way is much better.
In Topic: Texas Gov Rick Perry for President!
30 May 2011 - 01:08 PM
If he won it would be good for Texas because at least he wouldn't be governor anymore.
In Topic: Tax Abatements: Can they be justified?
19 May 2011 - 08:00 AM
Can they be justified? Sure. But like Brian says, they are poor tools. If we got rid of all the tax abatements, everybody's taxes could be a little bit lower. And that would attract business and development, too.
One other problem with tax abatements is that you are publicly subsidizing one company, but not others (like their competition). So a good rule of thumb when doling out tax abatements is to give them only to "unique" properties like headquarters or manufacturing facilities. This is as opposed to retail where an abatement recipient likely has many non-abated competitors in the same city. At least the GE deal follows this rule. The same can't be said of other deals, like the Montgomery Plaza retail on 7th.
One other problem with tax abatements is that you are publicly subsidizing one company, but not others (like their competition). So a good rule of thumb when doling out tax abatements is to give them only to "unique" properties like headquarters or manufacturing facilities. This is as opposed to retail where an abatement recipient likely has many non-abated competitors in the same city. At least the GE deal follows this rule. The same can't be said of other deals, like the Montgomery Plaza retail on 7th.
In Topic: Trader Joe's Coming to DFW!
10 May 2011 - 11:04 AM
This would be fantastic.
Sparq: I wouldn't say that Trader Joes is a direct competitor of Central Market or Whole Foods. TJ is a much smaller store with a narrower variety of products.
Sparq: I wouldn't say that Trader Joes is a direct competitor of Central Market or Whole Foods. TJ is a much smaller store with a narrower variety of products.
In Topic: Who should be our next Mayor?
01 May 2011 - 11:00 AM
Not that my opinion matters, but. . .
I like Dan Barrett for mayor. He seems to be the most pro-streetcar of the bunch and the most aggressive at dealing with the pension issue. Unfortunately, the front runners seem to be Lane and Price.
I think all of the candidates except for the filmmaker are qualified to serve as mayor. Also, I found Cathy Hirt's answers to the Fortworthology interview to be condescending. And why is she bringing up education issues when the Fort Worth ISD is an independent entity? Not to mention that FW is served by quite a few other ISDs.
I like Dan Barrett for mayor. He seems to be the most pro-streetcar of the bunch and the most aggressive at dealing with the pension issue. Unfortunately, the front runners seem to be Lane and Price.
I think all of the candidates except for the filmmaker are qualified to serve as mayor. Also, I found Cathy Hirt's answers to the Fortworthology interview to be condescending. And why is she bringing up education issues when the Fort Worth ISD is an independent entity? Not to mention that FW is served by quite a few other ISDs.
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