So yesterday was finally the day where we'd managed to scrape together enough money to pay our oldest outstanding year of property taxes.
The way it works, here in the state of Washington, is that once you get to be three years behind, you at at risk of "Tax Foreclosure."
We managed to "buy" ourselves another year.
$5,953.66. Thank you, come again!
I see green...
We OWN it... but...
The ironic thing is that our property taxes now basically amount to the equivalent of a $500.00 a month payment... pretty much like paying rent.
Except we own the house.
Actually, let me clarify. We own the house outright; no mortgage, or loans, or liens.
We pooled our assets, investments and savings to buy the place outright with cash, with the ambition of knowing that at least we would have a place to live. "Rent free."
At the time we bought the house, the property taxes were about $2,200.00 a year... and we figured we could easily swing $200-odd a month for a place to live.
Camellia in bloom
So Far, So Good... and THEN...
I don't like to ever consider myself a "victim." Yet, sometimes I can't entirely overlook an undercurrent feeling that our struggle to keep living is the product of a world obsessed with material accumulation and greed.
You see, the reason our taxes have increased 200% over a period where the inflation rate/cost of living has otherwise been 28.3%... is this thing called "the housing bubble" and "speculation" and "properties as investment assets."
It's a world turned upside down. A world that has lost its way.
I also find myself pondering how many Libertarians would argue that "taxation is THEFT!" while also protecting the rights of the greedy to be uncontrollably greedy at the expense of everyone else.
But I digress...
If you feel so inclined, I highly recommend you go read this very poignant piece by 
Ironically, I first came across it on Steem; below, I'll share the bulk of my reply to his post "over there:"
Variegated ivy leaf...
I Feel Cautiously Hopeful... No, Really
I find myself hoping that the current circus show will expedite humanity's trip to the "reset button;" that being an examination of our core values and realizing that "enough" is a better ambition to live by than "more."
My wife and I own our house outright but we grow increasingly at risk of losing it because the property taxes on the same pile of bricks, wood, pipe and wire has been escalating 10-15 percent a year. When we bought it, the taxes were $2,200 a year. Next week, we'll go hand over a check for nearly $6,000... for what? Pretty much "thin air," as far as I can tell.
People say things like "But look what a great INVESTMENT your house has been!" to which I can only say... "but we LIVE here!"
And frankly, we intend to continue living here. We LIVE here. We don't give a flying flip whether the house goes back to being "worth" $225,000, next year. We care about our home; our shelter; our vegetable garden; the wildlife that wanders through the yard.
Tint new life...
The Reset Button: "Enough" is ENOUGH!
Back when I was in college — yes, I went to Business School — I used to be shunned by several professors who regarded me as some kind of infectious two-headed red snake communist because I had the audacity and nerve to point out that our current (at the time, early 1980's) version of "Capitalism" was doomed to fail just as badly as "Communism"
Not a popular viewpoint.
At the risk of getting "soap-boxy", the LONG TERM reality of a system based entirely on perpetual economic growth is that it eventually has to implode on itself. We just don't need that much stuff. "Demand" become an artificial construct, rather than... well... demand.
You can only play "Economic Jenga" for so long...
Zen view...
In the simplest of terms, I still only need to buy one new toaster every ten years, regardless of whether or not "the system" is dependent on growing at 5% every year in order to sustain itself. I won't need 11 toasters 50 years from now. Nobody does.
"That's not how it works!" I can hear the peanut gallery say.
Well... actually, it is how it works, because the core issue isn't really about toasters but about this "investor class" who expects to earn an ever-increasing annual rate of return without actually materially contributing to the well-being of humanity. And that "rate of return" has to come from somewhere!
And don't say "print more money!" because we all know where that equation leads...
Lavender in late afternoon sun
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...
I'm just grateful we have our house for another year.
Frankly, I wouldn't feel too butthurt if we all had to shelter-in-place for another couple of months, because it would truly be an invitation to have a look at what matters.
That Lambo... isn't feeding your family, is it?
That Rolex... isn't comforting your kid who's feeling scared, is it?
That Investment Portfolio... doesn't seem to make toilet paper magically appear, does it?
For now, we just want to keep living in our home!
Thanks for reading, and stay healthy!
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Created at 20200328 10:36 PDT
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