Just check no on the Property Tax Question!

Reprinted from the Indianapolis Star Oct 19:

On Nov. 2, Hoosiers will vote on making property tax caps a part of our state constitution. The Star, the governor and most state-level politicians support the caps. I will vote no.
First, the state legislature understood that property tax caps would reduce local government revenues. Some think this will force localities to become more efficient. Instead, we are more likely to face deteriorating public services.
To meet the potential catastrophe, localities have been given toxic remedies. The local option income tax has been forced upon our communities by the General Assembly. This tax is levied on households only. The state did not give localities the power to tax local corporations. Therefore, a reduction in property taxes is enjoyed by all property owners, but paid for exclusively by households.
In addition, there are now referendum opportunities for local initiatives. These are expensive options that deny the benefits of representative government in favor of emotional campaigns in opposition to progress.
Second, I believe in the potential of local representative government. A constitutional amendment for property caps puts concrete shoes on a struggling institution already in deep water.
Local governments struggle to support police, fire, parks and sanitation services. Winter weather can devastate local budgets. Local schools are the essential tools for economic development; they attract responsible citizens and send forth well-prepared students. Local libraries serve people of all ages with information, connections to the Internet world, and inexpensive entertainment.
As far back as the property tax reforms of 1973, Indiana degraded local government and shifted power to state government. The legislature has increased its control of our schools. Cities and towns have become prisoners of the state in the tax wars. Libraries have been forced to defend their very existence.
Yes, some local governments have built attractive city halls and some school corporations have modernized their facilities while beset by local opposition. In retrospect, those objections often prove to be ill-informed attempts to prevent our communities from moving into modern times.
Third, homeowners think they are going to realize benefits from the caps, but that is not likely for the vast majority. A study by the Legislative Services Agency showed that only 4 percent of the tax reductions from the existing caps went to homeowners. Farmers got virtually nothing from the caps. Nearly 60 percent of the caps benefitted the owners of small rental housing units, commercial apartments and second homes, with about 36 percent going to commercial and industrial properties.
If you believe in making local decisions locally, then vote against the tax caps.
If you believe that all property ought to be treated alike and taxes should not be shifted to households from businesses, vote no on caps.
If you believe that local government services are the foundation of your community's well-being, defeat the property tax caps proposition.
Marcus is an economist formerly with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

2010 Putnam County Ballot

Minus the School Board elections, trustees, or other township candidates.

United States Senator
Dan Coats (R)
Brad Ellsworth (D)
Rebecca Sink-Burris (L)
United States Representative District 8
Larry D Bucshon (R)
W Trent Van Haaften (D)
John Cunningham (L)
State Representative District 44
James (Jim) Baird (R)
Nancy A Michael (D)
Dennis Beatty (L)
Secretary of state
Charlie White (R)
VOP Osili (D)
Mike Wherry (L)
Treasurer of State
Richard E Mourdock (R)
Pete Buttigieg (D)
Auditor of the State
Tim Berry (R)
Sam Locke (D)
Eric Knipe (L)
Putnam County Clerk
Marty Watts (R)
Putnam County Assessor
Nancy R Dennis (R)
Putnam County Commissioner District #2
Nancy E Fogle (R)
Putnam County Council District #2
Roger L Deck (R)
Putnam County Recorder
Opal J Sutherlin (R)
Putnam County Sheriff
Steve Fenwick (R)
Garry A Clark (D)
Joseph B Tesmer (I)
Putnam County Surveyor
David E Penturf (R)
Judge of the Circuit Court - Putnam Co.
Matthew L Headley (R)
Prosecuting Attorney - 64th Judicial Circuit
Tim Bookwalter (R)
Robert Perry (I)
Searching Judges by name will give you some background on the judges
Court of Appeals Judge Retention 5th District
Judge Elaine B Brown
Court of Appeals Judge Retention 5th District
Judge Margret G. Robb
Court of Appeals Judge Retention 1st District
Judge Lloyd Mark Bailey
Court of Appeals Judge Retention 4th District
Judge Melissa S. May
Public Question #1
Shall property taxes be limited for all classes of property by amending the Constitution of the State of Indiana to do the following: (1) Limit a taxpayer's annual property tax bill to the following percentages of gross assessed value: (A) 1% for an owner-occupied primary residence (homestead); (B) 2% for residential property, other than an owner-occupied primary residence, including apartments; (C) 2% for agricultural land; (D) 3% for other real property; and (E) 3% for personal property. The above percentages exclude any property taxes imposed after being approved by the voters in a referendum. (2) Specify that the General Assembly may grant a property tax exemption in the form of a deduction or credit and exempt a mobile home used as a primary residence to the same extent as real property?
Please research the pros and cons to passing this public question..............
Putnam County Farm Bureau opposes the Public Question as this contradicts the goal of a fair and equal taxation of the people of Indiana.

Mark Legan speaks out!!

Hoosier Pork Producer Voices Concern over GIPSA Proposal
10/03/2010NAFB News Service

In an open letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak, Mark Legan, pork producer from Coatesville, Indiana, and chairman of NPPC's Competitive Markets Committee, has a suggestion for the Secretary. Legan writes: if you really want to entice people back to the rural lifestyle and increase competition in the livestock industry, scrap the Grain, Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Administration’s proposed rule and start over. Legan says the regulations - will result in government, not producers, deciding how livestock are bought and sold in this country.Legan’s letter continues: - if the goal is to limit packer contracts, the new rules will certainly succeed. They will force hog farmers like me into the smaller ‘cash market,’ where risks can be greater. With fewer contracts, producers will find it more difficult to get financing. Some will simply not survive. That will eliminate desperately needed rural jobs and, once again, lead to decreased – not increased – competition in livestock farming. It will also drive up costs, leading to higher retail meat prices and fewer choices for consumers.Legan said, - packers will likely pay just one price – almost certainly the lowest – to all producers, regardless of quality of their animals or any other special circumstances. This will not only lower prices, it will take away any incentive we have to innovate or produce higher quality animals. Legan emphasized: - there’s no way I could start out in farming today if these rules were in effect.