Economic Sensitivity

A referendum rumble next door in Evanston. Liberals there want a yes vote on another tax increase. Saw a lone sign across the border from me. Evanston Review. Tribune:

The measure on the ballot Tuesday will ask voters to approve a $1 increase in the transfer tax, earmarked for affordable housing. The seller of a $300,000 house, for instance, would pay $1,800 instead of $1,500 in transfer taxes, an increase of $300. The proposal has irked some homeowners and real estate agents who say that Evanston's taxes are already high and that it could make housing more expensive, not less.

Up until now the city has relied on developers, but it's not enough for them. Evanston has started down the path of fooling around in the housing market and the economics can't work without extra money from somewhere. They already have a $10,000 demolition tax on the nest egg of little old ladies. For those who fool themselves into thinking it will always be someone else who pays the tax for "affordable" housing, this is the message from the city fathers and mothers---you're next:

"It's just such an unstable method [of collecting revenue]," Rainey said of the fund's reliance on developers. "It's not a steady stream."

Taxing homeowners, on the other hand, is likely to provide a constant flow of funds that could be used to help first-time homeowners make a down payment or to build lower-cost housing, Rainey said.

So let's recap. The City of Evanston is taxing homeowners, thereby raising the cost to own a home and forcing some fixed-income seniors out to "help first-time homeowners make a down payment or to build lower-cost housing".

Who gains? A very few lucky new homeowners. And those profitable non-profits that even Alderman Rainey raised questions about, but that was then, this is now.

North-Shore Barrington Realtors:

"It sounds like one dollar," said Terry Penza, president and chief executive officer of the association. "It's a 20 percent increase."

Want affordable housing? Keep taxes low. And vote no on this one.

Perhaps also a little economic sensitivity training is in order for some aldermen and State Rep. Julie Hamos (D-18th), (who paid for the "yes" signs and is one of the major proponents of this idiocy at the state level)---an Econ 101 class at a major educational institution nearby.