Thursday, April 9th, 2020
I had feedback (in a private chat) on this blog, which I really appreciate. Here is what it said:
All you do is criticize while taking advantage of all of this country has to offer without paying any taxes please don’t say oh I pay property taxes (big deal)
Have you ever asked yourself: what do you offer this great country?
Answer: NOTHING but complaining
Clearly, I am ruffling some feathers here. It is a fair point and I felt it warranted more than a brief text in some messenger app.
Firstly, I reread the posts of the previous days to see if I was of on a mad rant and rave about my host country and its government. The reposts in my daily accounts and my own reflections make it quite clear that I view the current administration critically. If my questions and opinions come across as complaints, that is not the intent. I grew up with a very different social fabric and have a really hard time understanding why universal access to health care, enabling every adult to exercise their right to vote, free education for all or access to clean water would be a bad thing or can even be contested. I am unable to comprehend why gun control is so very controversial. I have as yet not found anyone who can explain this to me beyond my Aikido friend who offered the absence of social casts as a key rational. While it made sense, it still does not necessarily make it right. If that is considered criticism, then, yes I am probably criticizing your great country.
Why do I live here was the other question. Well, I live here because I have been transferred here by my employer, I would have been happy to move to Dubai or Singapore or somewhere else, but at the time there were no other options. The USA seemed as good a place as any, if not better, as I grew up understanding the USA to be our greatest friend and ally. However, the more time I spend here and the more I understand how the system work, the more alien I feel, and that alienation is what I reflect on.
Global nomad that I am, my stay here was designed for either a three or five year period, at least that was the working assumption based on how many years EM had left to complete school and the fact that I firmly believe it is not good to change schools during the final two years of high school. So here we are, one more year to go and then we shall see.
On the question of taking advantage of this great country. I behave exactly like the Jo Doe American who I am so critical of in that I pay for exactly what I use, not more for sure, possibly a little less . I pay both property and sales tax. As per the website of the government of Maryland, "the property tax is primarily a local government revenue. Counties and municipalities depend on the property tax and a portion of the income tax to make up their budgets. The state government is primarily funded by the income tax and the sales tax". So the property tax, being discounted as negligible, is what pays for schools, the local police, fire departments, the government of the county, while the sales tax I contribute pays for Maryland State.
It is correct that I do not pay income tax, so do not contribute a sizeable share to the State Government, but then I also do not get to elect any officials (at any level) either, so maybe given I have no say in how my taxes would be used it is only fair.
Property tax in Montgomery County is one of the highest in the country. In Montgomery County, Maryland, the owner of a 2,000-square-foot home pays the same property tax rate as someone with a home 10 times that size. I have no reason to complain about the taxes levied and the potential inequality the article suggests as in return the county has excellent schools. Do I mind subsidizing millionaires, I do; but I do not mind subsidizing those less well of, I don't. Other charges that included in the Real Property Consolidated Tax Bill are:
• state and county taxes;
• city levies, e.g. Rockville property tax;
• solid waste and recycling charges (which vary, based on services provided);
• stormwater management fee,
• water quality protection charge which provides inspections and maintenance for county stormwater facilities, protecting streams, water supplies, and property by keeping stormwater facilities functioning properly and continually capable of removing pollution, recharging groundwater, protecting stream banks and keeping roads and property from flooding;
• Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) connection charge/front foot benefit charge for sewer and public water;
• all properties in Maryland are levied an annual fee of $60 (included in WSSC charge) dedicated to the Bay Restoration Fund, in order to improve the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.
Like everyone else, I pay vehicle tax, utilities and so on. Funds that should include the respective maintenance of these utilities/ roads. And I do run up a tidy sum of speeding fines, another way to support local budgets.
Beyond that, what do I contribute and what could I contribute are two distinctly different questions.
As a citizen, I would run for public office. I have a track record in having done that. But, alas, I am not a citizen so the public office is not an avenue open to me to affect change. What I can do is engage in dialogues, try to understand, try to convince those I interact with in what I believe. Seeing I live in a bubble of mostly like-minded - as my FB feed reminds me daily - this is likely to have very little effect. And I can support charities I believe in and I do. Oh, and I can choose not to travel to and spend money in certain States, which I do. Granted that may not be enough. I am very open to suggestions however on how else I should contribute to this great country in a way consistent with my beliefs.
The day today is about as stormy as this discussion, at least as far as the weather is concerned. During our daily walk, it at times felt as if we were going to lift off and I am surprised to find the patio cushions haven flown off to scare the neighbors; maybe that is because they were soaked by the unexpected rain shower in the middle of the night.
What is definitely taking off is SDTV which is making the news.
News on the COVID front continues to show rising numbers of cases; globally over 1,5 million have been reported today. While deaths are flattening in Spain and Italy they are climbing ever faster in the USA and the UK, with the USA accounting for nearly a third of all reported deaths.
The FT is no longer showing consolidated numbers for the USA. It features increase by day and numbers by State. CDC is reporting over 427k cases in all States and Territories of the USA. Based on information posted by the State of Maryland on FB testing remains an issue. I found a break down of testing by State. Based on this, the ration of actual tests done versus tested positive is about 4:1. It is unclear how many of the 2.3 million tested were tested more than once.
Experiences from South Korea suggest that wide spread testing is key to containment, so if ever we want to come out of #stayhome, testing will need to increase. There is no other way to isolate carriers of the virus.
Projections are now more optimistic. While this is good news, I do worry it may be overly optimistic. Let’s hope it is not as I cannot wait for this situation to end..
I want my daughter to be able to see her dad and her friends.
I want to be able to visit my mum.
I want life to be like it was
And I know unless the virus is extinct it is unlikely to be like before. And maybe on some levels it should not be like before. And maybe something good will come of this in the end.
Will Europe lead the way on basic universal income?