Is is just me, or does this title fit a good portion of the people that post in the Rant & Raves? Personally, I am a Heterosexual Conservative, God-fearing Christian, but to each their own. Before you get all froggy & jump, I have many friends from all walks of life & that includes homosexual liberal.....well, I don't know any atheists.

Basically, I just wanted a reason to post this pic. Ya'll can Rant & Rave about it. Have fun & I'll enjoy reading.

We have at least 3 if not 4 or 5 threads going simultaneously.

That must be a record.

We don't pay city taxes - just federal and provincial. The city gets the income from property taxes and that's it.

And yep, there are a whole lot o threads goin' on.

We have created a monster. This thread has a mind of its own.

We have created a monster. This thread has a mind of its own.

A big confusion for some of us....rotfl...I am so lost....

We have created a monster. This thread has a mind of its own.

Yep, I was torn between talking about the tax situation where I live or explaining why I am an atheist or talking about the fact that up here where I live same sex marriages are legal and the roof has fallen in yet! No one has been smote, eh.:faint:

Outside of the NY city limits, they pay real estate tax through the nose. Some of my coworkers were paying $8,000 on a $300,000 house, though they had no city income tax and their sales tax was 2% lower.

And of course, then there's New Jersey. On our house, which we bought for $240,000 12 years ago and even though it's now probably worth $650,000 on the market (due to nearby development) -- it has never yet been reassessed -- our taxes are $9000. We pay another $2000 in taxes for our backyard, which lies in the neighboring municipality. And we're deed-restricted from subdividing.

Nice, huh? I live in fear of the moment the town announces a reassessment plan. Half of us will probably have to leave. And considering my family has been here since 1933 that will be quite an unhappy day.

Our state income tax is quite reasonable, though.

And of course, then there's New Jersey. On our house, which we bought for $240,000 12 years ago and even though it's now probably worth $650,000 on the market (due to nearby development) -- it has never yet been reassessed -- our taxes are $9000. We pay another $2000 in taxes for our backyard, which lies in the neighboring municipality. And we're deed-restricted from subdividing.

Nice, huh? I live in fear of the moment the town announces a reassessment plan. Half of us will probably have to leave. And considering my family has been here since 1933 that will be quite an unhappy day.

Our state income tax is quite reasonable, though.

I don't know if this will be of any consolation to you, but the house I own near Pittsburgh and the housed that I owned in Brooklyn were both reassessed. The house near Pittsburgh was reassessed to market value, but simultaneously they lowered the millage so that the taxes were only marginally effected. In Brooklyn, the reassessment was not as bad as we thought it would be and only caused a 10-15% increase.

I hope that your county has similar plans for any future reassessment. If they act irrationally, they will drive everyone into selling which will drop the property value back down again.

And of course, then there's New Jersey. On our house, which we bought for $240,000 12 years ago and even though it's now probably worth $650,000 on the market (due to nearby development) -- it has never yet been reassessed -- our taxes are $9000. We pay another $2000 in taxes for our backyard, which lies in the neighboring municipality. And we're deed-restricted from subdividing.

Nice, huh? I live in fear of the moment the town announces a reassessment plan. Half of us will probably have to leave. And considering my family has been here since 1933 that will be quite an unhappy day.

Our state income tax is quite reasonable, though.

Oy gewalt!!!!! Ugh, but that's nasty!

I don't know if this will be of any consolation to you, but the house I own near Pittsburgh and the housed that I owned in Brooklyn were both reassessed. The house near Pittsburgh was reassessed to market value, but simultaneously they lowered the millage so that the taxes were only marginally effected. In Brooklyn, the reassessment was not as bad as we thought it would be and only caused a 10-15% increase.

I hope that your county has similar plans for any future reassessment. If they act irrationally, they will drive everyone into selling which will drop the property value back down again.

That actually is a consolation, and I've heard it before. Still, we're paying so much now that it's hard to imagine what would be a "tolerable" increase.

On the other hand, our Governor has signed a bill that is supposed to give people earning less than $200K an up to 20% rebate on property taxes for 2007. If it really happens, that'll be a nice chunk of relief for us. Fingers crossed.

Up here in Canada we cannot get mortgage relief by applying this against our taxes but on the other hand any profit we might make when selling our principal property is clear profit. For those of us who happen to be living in the right place at the right time this can mean making a bunch o bucks. There are people who make money by buying run down houses, moving in, fixing them up, and then flipping them for a good profit. Because the profit is made on the principal dwelling the profit is exempt from tax.

I have ridden the inflation train by buying houses and then trading up. Two of my homes have doubled in price, and one of them had come close to quadrupling.

Now we are thinking of moving again. We will be trading up but we have no desire to engage in the hassles of home reno. I guess we are figuring that this will be the last one until it is time for us to be warehoused in nursing homes. We have been looking for a couple of years now but haven't found anything which would justify going through the aggravation and expense of moving. Green may well die in her current crib, eh.

Up here in Canada we cannot get mortgage relief by applying this against our taxes but on the other hand any profit we might make when selling our principal property is clear profit. For those of us who happen to be living in the right place at the right time this can mean making a bunch o bucks. There are people who make money by buying run down houses, moving in, fixing them up, and then flipping them for a good profit. Because the profit is made on the principal dwelling the profit is exempt from tax.

I have ridden the inflation train by buying houses and then trading up. Two of my homes have doubled in price, and one of them had come close to quadrupling.

Now we are thinking of moving again. We will be trading up but we have no desire to engage in the hassles of home reno. I guess we are figuring that this will be the last one until it is time for us to be warehoused in nursing homes. We have been looking for a couple of years now but haven't found anything which would justify going through the aggravation and expense of moving. Green may well die in her current crib, eh.

I don't know if the prices of homes in the USA effects the prices in Canada, but the prices down here are going to dropping quite a bit in the next year or so.

The gimmick mortgages are starting to bite the borrowers in the butt and foreclosures are going to double this year and be even higher next year. Selling homes will reach epidemic proportions.

And they hate the sin and love the sinner. Do they say that about others? Like their fellow Christians? Those who cheat on their spouse? Those who are a priest and rape little children? Those who steal from others?

Absolutely! Most Christians do. Sin is sin. One Christian on here pointed out that they even hate their own sin, as we all should. People are people, regardless of who they are, what they believe and how they behave. We are all corupt and sinful. Christians do not save themselves, they are not perfect and 99.9% will gladly admit that. They had to to become a Christian. We were all created with a free will (I already know that some will be offended by my believe that we are created, get over it. Or don't read, like so many have pointed out before on here) we chose to believe or not. We chose our actions, and are all responsible for those choices.

A christian is a sinner like everyone else, they are just forgiven, believe it or not. Everyone chooses their path based on what they believe as truth. It is that simple.

Absolutely! Most Christians do. Sin is sin. One Christian on here pointed out that they even hate their own sin, as we all should. People are people, regardless of who they are, what they believe and how they behave. We are all corupt and sinful. Christians do not save themselves, they are not perfect and 99.9% will gladly admit that. They had to to become a Christian. We were all created with a free will (I already know that some will be offended by my believe that we are created, get over it. Or don't read, like so many have pointed out before on here) we chose to believe or not. We chose our actions, and are all responsible for those choices.

A christian is a sinner like everyone else, they are just forgiven, believe it or not. Everyone chooses their path based on what they believe as truth. It is that simple.

But look at what they write, it's a given if it is a gay person they make it a point to explain gays are human. It isn't your job or the job of any xtian to hate the sins of another. It is your job to deal with your own sin.

Not everyone agrees homosexual behavior is sinful. That is based on a 2000 y/o myth. Not everyone believes as you do.

It's insulting to point out that gays are human. I made it a promise to myself to bring this up each and every time I hear this from here on out. I'm sick of it. It's like saying a dog has a few rights, so do gays.

*I KNOW* gays are human. There is little need to point out the obvious and only xtians do this.

As for a xtian being a sinner like "everyone else" that is a bunch of hooey. I'm no sinner. Sin is a xtian concept, not an "everyone else" concept. You sin, I make mistakes and strive to do better. We do NOT all sin. Christians sin.

But look at what they write, it's a given if it is a gay person they make it a point to explain gays are human. It isn't your job or the job of any xtian to hate the sins of another. It is your job to deal with your own sin.

Not everyone agrees homosexual behavior is sinful. That is based on a 2000 y/o myth. Not everyone believes as you do.

It's insulting to point out that gays are human. I made it a promise to myself to bring this up each and every time I hear this from here on out. I'm sick of it. It's like saying a dog has a few rights, so do gays.

*I KNOW* gays are human. There is little need to point out the obvious and only xtians do this.

As for a xtian being a sinner like "everyone else" that is a bunch of hooey. I'm no sinner. Sin is a xtian concept, not an "everyone else" concept. You sin, I make mistakes and strive to do better. We do NOT all sin. Christians sin.

I did not say anything about gay people. I said that PEOPLE, regardless of who they are or what they do, are sinners. Obviously, that is my belief, based on the scriptures. Granted, they are scripture that some dismiss, I however, hold fast to them, hence, they are what I believe.

I also pointed out that you can share my beliefs or not. I fully expected that you and many of the others that visit this section of the site would not share my beliefs. Some will. That is fine with me. I'll state it another way, I love PEOPLE, I don't always love their actions. Mine included. As a Christian, I believe that is what I am called to do.

Live your life by any standards you choose, it is your right. I will live my life by the standards I choose, those are the standards found in the Bible. I will not apologize to you or anyone else for what those are. I realize that they are not accepted by all, but it is my right and the right of anyone else who chooses to believe. I will not force my beliefs on anyone, I will not force Christ on anyone, he does not even do that himself, according to the Bible.

Remember, this is a debate section, if you do not want to read about the views and opinions of others, don't read.

Actually, QT... I think you are very cool. You don't force others to live by your beliefs. I fully respect your choice to have your beliefs. I merely don't share them.

My main point is not that I think Christians are bad, I don't. I DO think it is bad when they feel the need to point out that gays are human.

My sissy is gay, I've seen what she has been subjected to because others feel she should follow their beliefs. It has been an eye opener. I don't like that.

If you don't push your beliefs on others, kewl beans!