Publisher’s Positions
In The City: Here A Tax, There A Tax, Everywhere A Tax
Residents of the City of Knoxville need to make a point to vote in the coming election. Not only are five seats on the city council up for election but perhaps the most important thing on the ballot is a proposed increase in the sales tax. The sales tax inside the city limits is already creeping up to just under 10%. That means Knoxvillians are paying ten cents on every dollar they spend for groceries, entertainment, clothing and every other necessity of life. The proposed 22% increase in the city’s portion of the sales tax comes after Mayor Indya Kincannon convinced the city council to raise property taxes by 40%.
The city council people who voted for it, and that was quite nearly all of them, and Kincannon try to justify their tax increases by blabbering about “affordable housing.” The question is affordable for WHO? If Knoxville is supposed to continue building apartments on every parcel of scrub left within the city limits, all of which are intended to be subsidized by the taxpayers for others who pay little or no taxes, that is not a sustainable model. Eventually, it will drive out the elderly and middle-class residents of the city, which is exactly what has happened in “blue” cities all across the country. If anyone has ever accused Indya Kincannon of being smart, I am unaware of it and would question their own intelligence. When governments increase property taxes, it increases rents and mortgages for everyone. Except, perhaps, those living in subsidized housing. That makes housing less affordable for working families and seniors.
Most of the members of the city council and Kincannon herself have shown zero interest in working families like the great majority of their fellow Democrats. If any readers have ever watched any of the budget hearings, all you’ll hear is the need for more spending. What you will never hear is any council member or Kincannon worry about trimming back spending. The city government operates no school system, no libraries and its services are pretty much limited to police and fire protection, as well as garbage pickup. Following the 40% property tax increase, the first thing Kincannon did was cut back services by ordering the Knoxville Police Department to no longer go to the scenes of accidents unless an ambulance is called. That raises insurance rates for most drivers.
Yet they have a constant need for money because the City of Knoxville has gotten into spending on woke initiatives like violence interrupters, social workers armed with fly swats. Unlike the county employees, except those of the sheriff, retired city employees enjoy a defined benefit package, which is where the second tax increase went under Kincannon’s mentor, Madeline Rogero. The city government is seeking to raise taxes about every two or three years. Knox County, which does operate the school system and provides a much bigger array of services, hasn’t raised property taxes in nearly 30 years.
Councilman Andrew Roberto, who has always been delighted to follow Kincannon’s lead and voted to raise property taxes 40%, was the first to jump ship on the proposed sales tax increase. Roberto said the Kincannon administration was sketchy on the details of how the resulting revenue would be spent. That seemed to never have bothered him before. Most likely, Roberto, who would very much like to be elected mayor after Kincannon is term-limited, has finally come to what remains of his senses and wants one less hurdle to jump.
As council member Debbie Helsley jumped ship on Kincannon’s plan for Chilhowee Park, it gives hope that the city council will come to life and exhibit a mind of its own. That, of course, would be a minor miracle.
If you like paying more in taxes and having the cost of everything go up even more, stay on your couch and complain after the election is over. If, on the other hand, you want to send a message to city hall, march to the polls just to vote “NO” and tell them to stop giving your money to other people who didn’t work for it. That’s worth 30 minutes of your time any day of the week.
Democrats And The Deep State Need To Be Held Accountable
News that Jack Smith, the special prosecutor for the Biden Department of Justice, allegedly spied on nine Republicans in Congress, including both of Tennessee’s US senators, can’t really surprise anyone who watched his “investigation.” Smith evidently had ordered tracking of the telephone calls and private communications of nine congressional Republicans, including Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty. Supposedly, Smith ordered the surveillance as part of his January 6 investigation. A released document shows Smith and his “Arctic Frost” team were allegedly tracking the telephone calls of Senators Blackburn, Hagerty, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, as well as Congressman Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.
The Obama administration authorized spying on then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016. The corporate media laughed at the very idea and treated the accusation as nothing less than abject nuttery, just like they did over the issue with Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Officials who misuse the law to harass and persecute their political opponents need to be held accountable. It is past time to prosecute these people, including Jack Smith, if he has abused his power. The Democrats who are squalling about the weaponization of the Justice Department loved it when it was directed at Republicans, conservatives, and Donald Trump. They chanted over and over again, no one is above the law. They have also amply demonstrated they believe nobody is above the law except themselves and anybody who hates Trump.
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, it is especially heinous to hear any candidate for public office – specifically a candidate for attorney general for the state of Virginia, Jay Jones – say he would rather kill a political opponent rather than Hitler or Pol Pot, two of the most evil people in history. Were that not bad enough, to raise the vision of then wishing that same man’s small children dead so their mother could see it is nothing less than sickly twisted. Yet, not a single Democrat has called for Jay Jones to quit or drop out. Imagine for a moment if any Republican candidate had said that about any member of the other party. It would cause corporate media to lose their collective minds, and you can bet your bottom dollar the media would consider the statements disqualifying. Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor of Virginia, said she gave Jones a “stern” talking to. Would that suffice for any Republican who had made such terrible and disqualifying statements? Of course not. Spanberger has been campaigning, telling her audiences to let “your rage fuel you.” Then we wonder why there is political violence in our country.
These are the same people who claim words are violence. Once again, they have proven that misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and words are violent only when they don’t like who spoke them. They can say any hellish thing they want and it is justifiable because it is spoken about a political opponent or someone they deem dispensable because they don’t share the same beliefs. It is well for all of us to remember the old adage about living by the sword.
