Letter: ND property taxes oppressive to the very poor and to businesses

I am just another one of the citizens in the community of North Dakota that will eventually lose ownership of his home or get evicted from it due to the burden and oppression of property taxes.

So, you know how I’ll be voting on Measure 2. Here is a chance for government to be by the people, instead of always at them.

In an article, Lloyd Omdahl says elderly and very-low income people (like me) will never get thrown out of their homes, but one is as good as there when ownership is lost.

So, control is government’s ultimate goal under the guise of service. Here is a chance to throw out all the smoke and mirrors of the property police’s assessment/valuation.

Property taxes are very oppressive to poor people and business. Who amongst you wants any figment (assessors) of government to intrude upon your personal domicile and tax you (penalize you) for improving it and essentially snooping it out and knowing how you personally live/exist?

As my brother says, “How can a new door put on your house for maintenance purposes be worth more some years later, after extensive use and weathering?”

On May 30, an article appears: “Legislators take on property taxes,” with their proposal to exempt those currently worth $75,000 or less. How timely!

You see? Again, government and its hierarchy wants to have the final say as to how property — paid for or not — is to be assessed and taxed, instead of leaving it done by the “ignorant stupid” people.

If Measure 2 narrowly fails (based on which side is counting the votes), how much do you want to bet that the government will enact a rule whereby the people can’t even bring the issue up again?

If it passes, there will be an economic explosion here of property development. Oh, and teachers, firemen and officers will continue to get paid.

I have frequently seen the button, “Keep it Local.” Well, I couldn’t do that in/with my own property when it was abruptly valued upward more than 30 percent in a day this spring by government (and not me, a private individual).

So, our underwear will really get badly burned again this year if Measure 2 fails. See? There’s more politics to owning property and being free to do what you want on it than you think and should be. No lie or smoke screen about that!

Jay Brausch, Glen Ullin

Tags: glen ullin, opinion, letter, letters