A Stitch in Haste

Dear Homeowner:

On July 21, 2004, the City Council voted into law my rebate proposal allowing me to present you with the enclosed property tax rebate check. This rebate honors the sacrifices you made in order to help New York City's recovery during difficult times.

Sincerely,
Michael R. Bloomberg

I hate getting money in the mail like this!

No, I'm not being sarcastic. The problem with Mayor Blooperberg's little publicity stunt is that it's a flat refund -- everybody got the same $400, regardless of how much property tax they actually paid.

Just as a lump-sum bill is a regressive tax (the poor pay a higher percentage of their income), so too is a lump-sum rebate a progressive tax (the poor receive a higher percentage of their income back and the net tax schedule becomes even more progressive).

As the joke goes, you don't have to be a rocket surgeon to figure that out.

I paid $3,048 in property taxes in 2004 and got $400 back. Someone who paid $30,048 would have also gotten $400 back. Someone who paid $448 would have also gotten $400 back.

Is this what Blooperberg considers fair?

Even the most brazen socialists must have some limits. Or do they?

And as a sidebar: The stunt of physically mailing checks (at what cost, incidentally?), with Blooperberg's warm-fuzzy-feeling message certainly has no ulterior motive -- right? Mayor Mike's above that sort of petty politicking just as his re-election campaign is getting underway -- right?

And gee, where could a Republican possibly have gotten such a noxious idea?

Oh, right, from this guy. Silly libertarian me...

Now where did I put those deposit slips?

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