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Show PAGE 22 THE ZEPHYR SEPTEMBER 1994 Uncommon Sense but if that's what he prefers, that's what I'll call him. He persists in calling me a I Republican, a label which I find almost as offensive as being called a Democrat. don't mind it when Stiles calls me "irrascible (sic), because being crochety is one of the principal benefits of growing older. I would prefer him to spell '"irascible" we correctly, however. If Stiles and I stopped irritating each other by If fund county government. enough might have a meaningful discussion about how to - let the games begin! said that is of us are civil, civilization possible. Having name-callin- g, TAXING HEALTH INSURANCE As I was going through the unpleasant annual ritual of preparing my tax return, I was surprised to learn how the federal government currently taxes payments for health insurance premiums. If your employer pays for your health insurance, neither you nor your employer are taxed and health insurance comes to you without the federal government taking its customary cut off the top. If your employer does not provide your insurance, or you are unemployed (but not on welfare), the treatment is punishingly different. If you don't itemize deductions, you are entitled to the same standard deduction whether or not you buy health insurance. If you itemize, you are denied any deduction for health insurance premiums unless your medical expenses exceed 75 of your adusted gross income. That rarely happens unless you have major the health problems which are not covered by insurance. If you are government permits you to deduct only 25 of your health insurance premiums. In short, Large numbers of us are forced to pay for our health insurance with aftertax dollars. The government requires this of persons who are unlikely to comfortably and those who must pay for their afford it - the unemployed, the health insurance because their employers don't provide it (i .e. mostly lower income workers). The government then becomes alarmed because 15 to 20 of us don't have health insurance. If the feds really want to help us get health insurance, why don't they revise the tax code so that all of us can buy our health insurance with pre-ta- x dollars? That's what they do to encourage home ownership - allow people to pay their dollars. Nobody (yet) suggests that employers be mortgage interest with pre-ta- x required to provide housing for their employees, and that the government provide it for everyone else. Is health insurance more important than housing? Changing the tax code so that everyone can buy health insurance with pre-ta- x dollars wouldn't create any new bureaucracies or impose new burdens on business, but would significantly reduce the number of Americans without health insurance. Such an Uncommon Sense strategy would be simple and effective, and therefore it doesn't have a snowball's chance in - uh, Washington. GROWTH - IT'S NOT A THREAT, IT'S A PROMISE We denizens of Grand County are all refugees of one kind or another. Whether we have lived here all our lives or have just recently moved here, we have all chosen to be disconnected with urban life. We think we live better than people in the city -almost without regard to economic consequences - and we want to keep it that way. At the same time, most of us have livings to make. We recognize that, for better or worse, the traditional mainstays of the local economy - mining, agriculture, and ranching - aren't going to regain their former prominence. Realistically, our economic future is tied to tourism and real estate. Most of us have reconciled ourselves to tourism (however begrudgingly), but not to real estate development. The fact is that tourism drives real estate development - directly and indirectly. Tourists need restaurants to dine in and motels to sleep in and shops to buy merchandise in. More tourists mean more restaurants, more hotels, and more shops. If tourists like Moab (and, thankfully, many of them still do), those who can afford it will be tempted to buy property here. Those who already own property here will be tempted to sell to make a profit. Out of such temptations, rising real estate markets are made. There will be speculative bubbles tied to low interest rates and national economic conditions and we may be about to encounter our first downturn since the tourism boom began. But long term, the beauty and popularity of the area ensure a rising real estate market for years to come. self-employ- By Hank Rutter THE IMPORTANCE OF CIVILITY It's almost time for politics to rear its ugly head again. As the elections draw near, genuine disputes will arise among the candidates about taxes, growth, disposition of transient room taxes, funding for the hospital, and the like. I hope the candidates speak openly about their positions on the issues, and that we listen to what they have to say and accord them the respect they deserve for being willing to assume the mostly thankless task of being involved in local government. We have enough disputes and divisions in this town without exacerbating the situation with political (and impolitic) rhetoric. While we may have strong disagreements about this or that issue, we all live here and most of us plan on staying. If we spent more time listening to one another, we might find some common ground and resolve our disputes more wisely. I always remind myself during election season that politics aren't very important. The best parts of life have little or nothing to do with who runs the government. I don't think it's right to uncritically transfer attitudes about the federal government to local government. For example, I believe the federal government squanders an unacceptably large percentage of the taxes we pay it (grammatically, the federal government is an it, but never forget it's really diem). It's too big, too powerful, and too intrusive. I haven't reached that conclusion about local government. I think it perfectly appropriate to vote against anyone involved in raising federal taxes, but I don't automatically do so on the local level. Neither should you, but don't forget that eveiy dollar you pay in taxes is one less dollar you get to spend the way you want to. We are entitled to .very good explanations for tax increases. If good explanations are forthcoming, we shouldn't shoot the messengers. However, the desire of certain members of the county council to have a financial cushion is unpersuasive. Many, if not most, of the taxpayers from whom the county directly and indirectly collects property taxes don't have much of a cushion. If we give the county a cushion, the money will be spent and we'll be asked to provide a new cushion next year. Far better for the county to wage its battle with the tourist industry for transient room tax revenues than to come knocking on our doors. How come I haven't read much about potential spending cuts if the county is in such dire financial shape? If I could have one wish in this political season, it would be that the campaigns be devoid of name-callinAny label you attach to someone which he or she finds offensive is name-callinStiles protests when I call him a liberal and prefers to be known as a "progressive traditionalist. I find him neither progressive nor traditional. g. g. self-employ- ed, As shocking as it may seem, even Stiles and I agree "ISeet fhe fee" fheme continues on this one (for totally different reasons.) Now he can say that he has been right ONCE in his life...BUT it's a start. -- sTrt Twe JjtknzOCK,'ts6UpPWfiM 1 |