Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Lecture and Retort - Refuse Fee Lawsuit

Toledo City Paper satirist "Hildo" takes issues to task and unfortunately tends to be more concerned with ranting than facts. Regarding the lawsuit against the City over the Refuse fee, the author took me to task and admonished my "ignorance" regarding "taxation without representation". I strongly disagree with the assessment in the article "History for Dummies". Excerpt: "Err, sorry Karen, but your lawsuit seems pretty ridiculous on the face of it. Since when do voters get to approve every fee imposed on us? And you’re mixing your metaphors. Taxation with representation would mean the tax would be imposed by elected representatives, not voters directly. Which it was, since council had to vote to approve it in the final budget."

Now "Spartacus" takes up the cause of the Refuse Fee and defends the cause in a letter to the Toledo City Paper: Hail Carticus and His Disciples. Excerpt: "“We have always understood it to be a grand and fundamental principle of the English constitution that no free man should be subject to any tax to which he has not given his own consent“ -John Adams."

The battle wages on and well it should as this is dangerous legislation granting unlimited access to the taxpayers' wallets and unlimited funding capabilities without voter approval.

Continue to voice your disapproval loudly and relentlessly to our unresponsive City Council and Administration until they are required to respond responsibly in allocating the funds we labor daily to provide.

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