What's in it for me?

By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

Would you support an increase in local sales tax if you could get some property tax relief? How about if a few public improvements were thrown in, too? And what if, in all this, Des Moines' wealthiest became wealthier? You might go for it; you might not. At this point, I'm not ready to cast my vote of approval without more facts. And I must not be alone, as the Project Destiny group decided to put their campaign on hold for the time being.

Like many of you, I voted for a sales tax increase here in Polk County in 1999. And at the risk of sounding like John Kerry, I also voted against it. When I voted against it, I did not see what was in it for me. When I voted for it, I clearly did. At the time, I was in support of the construction of a new high school on the Polk County side of the Dallas Center-Grimes School District. Revenue from the sales tax increase helped to secure that construction. Others have similar stories of what the tax revenue was to do for them. And we all trusted that it would happen. Needless to say, some today are disappointed. And they should be.

So what's in it for average tax-paying citizens like us this time around? That is the charge that Project Destiny supporters now have. They must prove that there is a benefit for most of us. I do believe that the vast majority of home owners would like to see some form of property tax relief, and many would be willing to approve a local sales tax increase to get it. But there's more to the story than that. Our cover story this week takes a deeper look at the issues that will affect this campaign. Reporter Brenda Fullick examines the history of regressive taxes and explains their implications. Will the rich get richer? You can decide, but know that this is important stuff. I encourage you to take the time to read this story and to prepare yourself for an onslaught of information from every angle in months to come.

Being a weekly, it is tough to break news. Having said that, we have been able to get the ink on paper first in Civic Skinny during the past few weeks. And it's entertaining to see the daily look to us for leads. But when we hear news like the resignation of Archie Brooks, even our newsroom is abuzz. At deadline, columnist Kent Carlson fired off a revision with his latest take on CIETC scandal. And we are glad to bring it to you.

Thanks for reading.

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