Expand the district or keep students paying higher tuition cost

If you live in Bastrop County you know that it has a small town feel even thought it has grown so much that a new high school was just built to accommodate for the number of students. Austin Community College has proposed to build two new campuses in Bastrop County and expand the district so that all of Bastrop County will pay in district tuition. Bastrop already has a center at Bastrop High School that many high school students and other people of the community take classes at. I personally know that at Bastrop High School you can take dual credit classes and Austin Community College plays a big role in the future of many students. 

The cost of a four year university compared to going to a community college and then transferring to a four year university is less expensive. If the proposal passes then all residents of the county will be able to pay the in district tuition effective immediately. If Bastrop joins the district residents will pay the $0.0951 per $100 valuation property tax starting in 2012. Construction of the two new campuses will start in 2011. 

There are people in Bastrop that do not want this proposal to pass, but what do they have against higher education? Most of all the people who vote no or are advertising to vote no do not want to join the district because they feel as though the small town feel will go away. Bastrop County has grown over the years and is not a small town as it once was. With the growth, some Bastropians don’t want the change of a big city. Another reason people want to vote no is because they think the tax is too high when in reality the tax for this college district is lower than most other places in Texas.

Things in life that are free are not actually free. We are able to go to public school for free because someone is paying taxes for that school to be free. Libraries, schools, and parks are called common goods. Common goods are things that residents pays for threw taxes on various items so that the community can use them for free. Paying an additional property tax will lower tuition rates for all of Bastrop County and make college one step closer to obtaining a college degree.  

Insurance Checkpoints

I was reading a blog called "Grits for Breakfast" and there was an article that caught my attention about Insurance Checkpoints in Corpus Christi. The police chief in Corpus wants to set up these Insurance Checkpoints and seize cars that are not insured. I agree with what the City Council and Police are doing, If you don't have insurance you should not be allowed to drive. The author doesn't think that this is a good idea and that this checkpoint system will fail like it did in Dallas. Then again he also stated that they didn't put as much effort or money behind the checkpoints. A law is a law and if you are not going to follow it then you have to face the consequences. I would think that everyone knows this but I guess not. The police aren't going to take your car the first time. Its just like speeding, if you get caught then you get a warning, then a ticket and another ticket and maybe even some jail time. If you drive without insurance then you get a ticket and if you don't get it taken care of then the next time you get pulled over and they ask for insurance then the police are going to take your car and sell it in an auction. Not only is having insurance the law but it will also help you in the long run. If you get into an accident insurance helps you pay for damages to other vehicles and yours as well. I think common sense would be to have insurance if it was the law or not.

Tax Breaks

The Austin American Statesman did an article on generous tax breaks that are leaving the city with a loss of revenue that is unbearable. The City of Austin has many tax breaks that you can qualify for such as “historic landmark”. If you are looking to reduce your taxes and rip the city out of money to improve roads, among other things, then apply for this tax break. There are over five hundred “historic landmarks” in the City of Austin. Many of these landmarks are being questioned to whether they are historic or not. Some of the landmarks are only considered because of who the owner of the property is instead of being based off of historical value. Tax breaks can be a good idea but there are regulations that should be followed so that the tax break is given for the right reasons. The historic landmark tax breaks are being given to people just because the were a college professor or they own a car dealership. A car dealership isn't a historic landmark. The City of Austin is always saying how spending is in need of cut back due to the deficit. Budget cuts are taking away common goods from the community. Taxes are in place to create a revenue for the city. That revenue is used to fix roads, better the education of schools, improve water systems among many other things. The City of Austin is going to keep losing revenue unless they fix this problem.