|
There Oughta be an
Impact Fee on Babies
editor's note: The following song was written in the Key of G and is one of 150 songs with just three chords that I can play on my guitar. The lyrics are intended to anger as many people as I can because I believe that facts should be considered, not spin, in addressing an important issue facing DeKalb County... that being the lack of affordable housing for the residents who live here now.
Impact fees are nothing more than a loophole in the citizen-mandated tax cap laws. By directly adding an upfront cost to the price of a new home, impact fees result in higher housing costs. They serve to inflate land values and, because tax assessments are relative in terms of location, increase taxes on both new and existing home owners.
Critics of impact fees, like me, claim they encourage irresponsible spending by the governmental units that collect them. Many governmental units, charging impact fees, are now claiming that residents of a new construction home, averaging around $215,000 in DeKalb County, don't generate enough revenue, at an annual average of more than $5,000 in taxes, to pay for government services.
Since existing homes are selling for an average of about $60,000 less than a new construction home in DeKalb County and paying about 40% less in taxes... is that evidence enough to make the case for irresponsible spending?
So without further ado...
An Impact Fee on Babies
There oughta be
an Impact Fee on babies
That way they can get an early start
to bleeding every dime
that kid will make in his life time
and they can bank on
our kids' longer life expectancy
There oughta be
an Impact Fee on ladies
cuz they keep on squeezin' those babies out
the cash register will ring
every time the fat lady sings
and they can collect those fees
throughout her pregnancy
There oughta be
an Impact Fee on a penis
fully metered out by the inch
and with those morning rises
money will pour in from all sizes
and maybe it will cut down
on all those intercourses
There oughta be
an Impact Fee on God
afterall, He created this whole mess
and for a whole eternity
they 'll get to keep collecting those fees
cuz I understand
He has unlimited resources
words and music copyrighted by Tramp Swan (aka Mac McIntyre)
Comments: 1
Submitted Monday September 11, 2006
I believe in "Freedom of Speech" and all, however, I would like to know the feelings of the members of the DeKalb County Building & Development Association regarding your song written in the Key of G and of which you are their Executive Director. Is this a conflict of interest, if not, I would hope there may be a classier way of denouncing impact fees especially with your position tied to the association.
editor's note: I don't see a conflict of interest. I've opposed impact fees long before I was ever involved with the DCBDA as I see them as 1) a loophole in the tax cap laws; 2) a catalyst for irresponsible government spending; and 3) a tool for discrimination against lower income families. I will also point out that this website is my private venture and has nothing to do with the DCBDA, nor does it, or will it, receive any support from that organization. As for how the DCBDA members like my song, I don't know. Those who have heard it, for the most part, have been kind but firm in expressing their opinion that I should not give up my day job to pursue a career as a rock star. There certainly are classier ways to denounce impact fees, but my intent in writing this song was to offend as many people as I could in hopes of stirring dialogue. I do so because I strongly believe that misinformation in the most politically correct form is being fed to the public.
|
