TAX THIS!

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board has a tax fetish.

Editorial: Afraid of the answer?

They say there's no harm in asking. Tell that to Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.

He is once again standing in the way of letting voters express their opinion on raising the county sales tax by 1 cent. The County Board needs to override his Tuesday veto of a resolution to hold an advisory referendum on the tax on Feb. 19.

The resolution suggests earmarking half of the estimated $120 million for property tax relief, with the rest going to parks and culture, transit and police and fire protection.

That's too big a laundry list. The supervisors should narrow their focus to a few those goals, like parks, transit and perhaps the arts. But that's not the reason Walker is opposed.

He says he doesn't trust the County Board, on past experience, to return the $60 million from the tax increase to property tax payers. He also says this would give the county the highest sales tax in the region, harming businesses here and adding to the burden of county taxpayers. But there's another way to look at this.

The county, like other units of local government in Wisconsin, has relied primarily on the property tax rather than spreading the burden over a larger base by using a mix of taxes as other communities around the country do. So the county has to cut public services, such as parks, transit and courts, to help pay for such things as rising labor costs.

Relying more on the sales tax puts less strain on the property tax payer, provides additional money for services county residents want and need and captures additional tax revenue from people who don't live in the county but visit and shop here, including those who use facilities that the county supports with property tax dollars.

It was just a few days ago that the Board was complaining about poverty and jobs in the city of Milwaukee.

Now, it suggests an increase in the sales tax as way to help the county.

That means all those in poverty would be strained by additional taxes.

And as a rule, higher taxes certainly don't attract new businesses.

How short-sighted!

How contradictory!

How typical!

The fact is the JS Editorial Board takes every opportunity it gets to harass Scott Walker.

The County Board should NOT override Walker's "veto of a resolution to hold an advisory referendum on the tax on Feb. 19."
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In that editorial on poverty and jobs, as well as another article, Johnniemae Ashford was highlighted as an example of a Milwaukee resident struggling with poor conditions in the city.

The Journal Sentinel picked the wrong person to highlight. This pathetic CYA correction is joke and Johnniemae Ashford is a crook.

Correction: An article Wednesday and an editorial Thursday on Milwaukee’s rising poverty rate included quotes and a picture of Johnniemae Ashford, a woman trying to raise five grandchildren while earning $187 every two weeks as a patient care worker. The newspaper was not aware that Ashford was convicted last year in federal court for receiving more than $15,000 in illegal Supplemental Security Income payments. While the newspaper routinely checks whether potential story subjects have state criminal records, the paper does not typically check for much rarer federal convictions. Contacted Thursday, Ashford said she was not ashamed of her conviction: “I needed the money.”

Ashford should be ashamed.

The Journal Sentinel should be ashamed.