Property Tax Revolt?

[Russell Kanning]

Some of the spreadsheet numbers don't make sense to me.? According to the rates Nashua residents are being taxed $84 million for schools, but the budget in 2005 is "only" $82 million.? Is this part of the donor town thing?? Keene residents are taxed $25 million, but the budget is nearly twice that.

We have students from other towns who are in our school district......their taxes are added to ours.
The 'donating' is the 'state' school portion of the property tax......Kat and I aren't paying that anymore

[Dave Ridley]

Kat's protest was apparently discussed on WKBK without any of us hearing it, at some length...don't know when.  That's what one of their talk show hosts told me. 

Eric Scott, the 10AM guy said he didn't think there was much point to the protest but that he admires Kat's courage and conviction.

I mentioned it again this morning on the air there.  However they did not seem interested in me calling them live from the protest. 

[Dave Ridley]

95% chance I"ll be there, and will have 1 ax the tax sign, one honk if you hate taxes sign

[Russell Kanning]

Eric Scott, the 10AM guy said he didn't think there was much point to the protest but that he admires Kat's courage and conviction.

???
uhhhhh.......to keep our money?

[Friday]

I'm going to have a "Why pay for education twice?" sign. 

[Friday]

Check this out: the Declaration of Educational Independence 

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/extras/Declaration.htm

...    WE, therefore, the Families of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL AGREEMENT, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of Sound, Sane Parental Consciousness, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United People are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT FAMILIES, they have full Power to levy Choice in Family Education, consider the Family's Values and Time Needs to choose the extent of participation in and support of the Public Education System, contract Alliances, establish Family Priorities and Values, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT FAMILIES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

[Friday]

I made a flyer; any thoughts?

click

[Dave Ridley]

Got a call a couple hours a go from a lady who saw dave mincin's lte (which listed me as a phone contact).  She was happy that this is happenin but can't make it, however she wants to get involved and i have her number. 

[Kat Kanning]

Friday:  The flyer is wonderful!  Thanks.

Dada:  Cool on the phone call

Here's the handout I made to explain what I'm doing.  It can be printed two to a sheet of paper.


Problem:  Big Government
The US government has grown too big, dangerously so.  A recent Supreme Court decision demonstrates this:  Kelo vs. New London allows states to seize people's homes and give them to private developers to increase the tax base.  Thankfully we live in a state which minimizes such takings.  But property owners everywhere cannot feel entirely safe knowing that they can lose their homes at any time.

How did we get to such a state of affairs, so different from what the framers of our great country envisioned?  One of the significant perpetrators of big government has been the public schools.  The government schools, by their very nature, cannot help but teach that the government is the answer to all our problems.  The coercively-funded government schools, by their very nature, cannot help but teach that it is OK to take from one person to give to another, supporting such ills as Kelo vs. New London.  The coercively-populated public schools, by their very nature, cannot help but teach that it is OK to take away the freedom of individuals, if it is perceived as being done for the greater good, supporting such abominations as the draft.

I cannot in good conscience continue to pay for a government school system which I believe to be causing so many so much harm, therefore, I am refusing to pay the school portion of my property taxes.  That money will be donated to the Liberty Scholarship Fund (lsfund.org) which helps parents who wish to remove their children from the public school system.

--Kathryn Dillon, Keene NH

[FTL_Ian]

Nice tie-in Kat.  Will you call and tell us how it went tonight?  800-259-9231  If you can do it, 8:05p would be best.

[Michael Fisher]

Wow!

Today was an amazing protest with great local support.  You would not believe the stories we have to tell from it.

I'll let Kat tell you the story. 

Thank you very much for doing this Kat.  You are a heroine! 

Kat Dillon:  a TRUE liberty activist!   

[Kat Kanning]

A couple of interesting things happened.  Someone tossed a notebook out of their car window to us with the note:

June 30, 2005
Thanks to All of you who try Dilgently to Reduce Unnecessary Taxes.
May all of heaven + earth help Us Di it Right.

Sincerly Yours
(her name and email)

Also I talked to one man for a quite a while who told me how he believed in self-sufficiency and had raised his children without begging for help from the government.  He put two of them through college by his wife and him working multiple jobs, and now they've retired early after al their hard work.  He certainly believed in the idea that you should pay for what you use, and nothing else.

I had expected to have a lot of people yelling at me over this, but I didn't get anyone doing that.  I handed out 100 copies of that statement (above).

[Kat Kanning]

Oh yeah, Tom Eaton was hanging out in front of city hall.  I talked to him briefly and commended him on the defeat of the minimum wage bill.  He didn't comment on the protest, heh. 

[Lloyd Danforth]

How about the guy who was there with a check for $13,000 plus that he pays twice a year!

[Michael Fisher]

How about the guy who was there with a check for $13,000 plus that he pays twice a year!

Yeah, that guy seemed mad!   

This one lady stopped and showed us her letter of protest against the high property taxes in Keene.  She said her husband lost his job, the property taxes, which are over $3,000 every 6 months, are $500 more than her mortgage (I guess her home is mostly paid for and her mortgage is small?), and she said (paraphrasing) "The only way we can afford to pay this is by not eating."

I tried to convince her that she could refuse to pay for up to three years before they would try to do anything to her.  She said she thought about that but is afraid of what will happen.

When she finally left, she drove by while I was holding a sign and yelled "You're the guy who was arrested for doing a manicure without a license!"