What's that old saying? Penny-wise, pound foolish?Tax phobia taken to extremes in Arizona:
Call it a sign of desperate times: Legislators are considering selling the House and Senate buildings where they've conducted state business for more than 50 years.
Dozens of other state properties also may be sold as the state government faces its worst financial crisis in a generation, if not ever. The plan isn't to liquidate state assets, though.
Instead, officials hope to sell the properties and then lease them back over several years before assuming ownership again. The complex financial transaction would allow government services to continue without interruption while giving the state a fast infusion of as much as $735 million, according to Capitol projections.
For a nation that prides itself as being the cradle of the philosophy of pragmatism, we sure do twist ourselves into impractical pretzels in order to avoid paying one more cent for the public--and shared, common--good.
Someone really needs to explain that proverb to the anti-tax fucktards.
Okay, this a form of deferred borrowing, at a higher interest rate than ordinary borrowing, with the additional problem that the only circumstances under which you can AFFORD to buy it back (the economy picks up) are also the circumstances under which the property will be worth vastly more than you can possibly sell it for now.
ReplyDeleteThis is dumber than borrowing from loan sharks, but like a lot of political decisions, the people that will pay the price won't see it until the present crop of maniacs have safely moved on.