Everything is Awesome…
February 17, 2014 — pwceducationreformEverything is cool when you’re part of a team.
Everything is awesome,
When you’re living the dream!
I just saw the Lego movie with my children, and that song was an integral part of the movie. As a Mom with two children, I spend a lot of time at movies like this and, as so often happens in these types of movies, my mind wanders a bit.
See, if you listen to the reports about Prince William County, everything here is Awesome. We have the lowest taxes in the area and are one of the wealthiest counties in the nation!
Everything is Awesome and PWC, we are Living the Dream!
Except where we aren’t. Our taxes may be among the lowest in the region, but our tax rate is among the highest. Our household income may be among the highest in the nation, but it’s one of the lowest in the region.
Which statistic people cite depends largely on what argument they want to make. People who think our taxes need to go up to increase money for schools and government programs tend to argue that PWC is one of the richest counties in the nation and our taxes are among the lowest in the region. People who think our taxes are too high and PWC and PWCS need to live within their budgets tend to argue that our household income has decreased and is now among the lowest in the area, but our tax rate is among the highest in the area.
They’re all telling the truth; they’re just cherry picking the statistic that they think best supports their argument. The amazing part is that neither household income, taxes, nor tax rates are a good measure of whether a tax increase is affordable. A