Vancouver resident Jim McConnell shares startling news about spending in his city

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

Anyone who has looked at the data knows that states and cities run by Democrats on the average have higher taxes, larger budgets, and waste more of taxpayer’s money.
A pervasive trend these past few decades is that the West Coast of the U. S. has become more progressive, with Oregon and Washington following California’s lead. Much of this seems to be from Californian’s fleeing their state because of increased taxes, government regulation, and crime. Sadly, many Californians keep voting the same way in their new home state that they did which resulted in the policies causing them to leave their former home.
The following examples show how irrational this is:

• Los Angeles’s population is 3.9 million people.
  • Los Angeles city budget is an astonishing $14.8 billion.
  • The average portion of the budget is $3,800 per person.
  (Realize that some of the budget is paid by businesses. However, residents contribute a significant portion through property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, utility taxes, and various fees.)
• Seattle’s population is 793,000 people. This is 20% of LA’s population.
  • The Seattle city budget is $8.9 billion. This is 60% of LA’s budget.
  (In other words, Seattle residents pay over one-half as much for their budget as L. A. while only having one-fifth as many people.)
  • The average portion of the budget is a ridiculous $11,000 per person.
• Portland’s population is 630,500 people. This is 16% of LA’s population.
  • Portland city budget is $8.6 billion. This is 58% of LA’s budget.
  • The average portion of the budget is an absurd $14,000 per person.
• My hometown of Vancouver’s population is 202,000 people.
  • Vancouver city budget is $2.5 billion.
  • The average portion of the budget is an outrageous $12,000 per person.
  (Congratulations, Vancouver has topped Los Angeles’s and Seattle’s insanity!)

Jim McConnell

Jim McConnell
Vancouver

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