Proposition 1. Vote "Yes"

There is a local proposition, Proposition 1, that will appear on the ballot in November to try and increase the property tax in order to give teachers a 3% pay increase this next year. The property tax would increase by a mere 3.9 cents per $100. This would mean that an average household would pay an additional $343 annually. This tax increase would not only allow teachers a pay raise it would also allow districts to compensate for the increasing cost of health care costs, fuel to run the busses, and operating costs for the school itself(ex. heat and air conditioning).

We need to support our teachers with Proposition 1. We have a duty to make sure our teachers are taken care of. Our kids will be under the care of these people for most of their formative years and eventually these kids will be the adults of this world. It is a huge job for these teachers to undertake and we want the best for our kids. If we don't take care of our teachers they will find a district that will. If we don't want to lose our good teachers to other schools we need to vote "yes" on proposition1. Our property taxes will go up by about $252 anyways because of increasing property values. So that $91 from each household means a 3% pay increase to each teacher. These teachers are counting on us because our taxes are as high as they can be without the people voting for a tax increase. Everyone wins with this proposition, teachers get their raise and we get to keep our good teachers.

Public Humiliation

I read a post on the blog, Grits For Breakfast, Dallas Using Public Humiliation Tactics For Petty Scofflaws. This article talks about how Dallas County has published a website where people can look up and find people in their area that have as little as a class c misdemeanor. Scott Henson (the writer of this blog) believes this is just the counties way of embarrassing people into paying their fines therefore raising revenue. He believes that it is one thing to provide this kind website for sex offenders because that actually offers a service. The website even offers pictures of the people owing fines and a list of who owes the most. It is horrible that this is even out there but then on top of it, the website put up a disclaimer. The disclaimer states, " The wanted person’s [sic] listed may not be accurate due to the instant ability to satisfy their delinquent accounts and the inability to update this list in a timely fashion. This list may not be current. The case amount is approximate, and can vary." So these people are being embarrassed and in some cases without reason. The article also talks about how the jails are charging inmates a medical screening fee which of course doesn't come from the inmates but rather from their families. The author feels that this is just another ploy on the behalf of the county to produce more revenue by taking from the people on the bottom.

I think this author is justified in his his opinion about the website. It is not the job of Dallas county to air people's dirty laundry. I think most people could understand this argument. I don't have any charges or fines against me but, I can certainly understand people who do, not wanting their business out for all to see. This article was probably written to inform the average citizen who might have these minor charges against them that this site is out there. As far as the medical screening fee for inmates, I can understand what he is saying that it is not the inmate that is actually paying these fees, but i don't think that it is a horrible idea for the people who broke the laws to pick up some of the financial burden they cause. Even if our opinions might differ the author is credible. He has for his adult career served as a volunteer for criminal justice reform and worked in professional politics for a long time. So his opinions are based on being around this arena for much of his life. Government can definitely be greedy so i am glad he wrote this article to inform us whether we agree or not. The more knowledge the better.