A Perspective

The following are pictures of this year's "Delinquent Tax List" for Hillsborough County Florida. 





This year's edition contains 14 sections and weighs 3.4 pounds.  As a comparison, the Wall Street Journal during the work week weighs 0.45 pounds.  The entire content of these 448 pages are a listing of people who have failed to pay their property taxes in Hillsborough County for 2008.  These citizens have been fined, publicly outed, are accumulating interest on their debt and will lose ownership of their properties if they do not pay the back taxes. 



I assume similar numbers of supposed homeowners have failed to pay their property taxes throughout the nation's 3,141 counties, boroughs and parishes.  Amazingly these people have chosen to pay money for the opportunity to incur annual property tax obligations which they are unable to afford or unwilling to fulfill. 

Is it possible that property taxes are too high when somewhere between 5% and 10% of homeowners cannot afford to pay them?

Does a person really "own" a home if they are unable to service the required annual tax burden?

Why does overpaying for an asset continue to be viewed as a positive?  Why does committing oneself to recurring, unaffordable expenses and the perpetual burden of property taxes persist in embodying "The American Dream" for so many people?  Shouldn't these important decisions be examined in context and on a fully-informed basis?