If renters leave, who will use the city's small businesses? Woonsocket would become a ghost town. Stop the xenophobia and work together. There are bills at the State House that could help alleviate the tax burden by legislating tax equity. That's right, tax the rich! They got a break in 2006 to create jobs. They didn't and took the money they saved on taxes and used it for other things; now its time to pay that money back. Call on Rep. Brien and Sen. Cote to support H-7729 and S-2622 so that Woonsocket can get its fair share of the fair share the wealthiest Rhode Islanders should pay to help everyone get back on their feet.

I, too, am puzzled and saddened by some of the anti-renter sentiment that's out there. "Renter" is NOT synonymous with "freeloader" by any stretch of the imagination, far from it!

Equally unhelpful are those renters who comment that the property owners are just greedy and need to "suck it up" and pay their "fair share";
such people are obviously cut off from the reality of Woonsocket's heavy tax rates, plummeting property values and currently bleak fiscal prospects.

The ratio of home owners to renters IS important.
I do appreciate that it skews certain numbers: for example, it has to be taken into consideration when Woonsocket is being compared to other similarly sized cities.
And it means that those who really "pay the bills" have less of a voice at election time, proportionally.
But that's not the ordinary working renter's fault! It just means we have to work harder to make sure the average renter, busy working and maybe raising a family, is aware of the fiscal condition of the city and how it indirectly affects him or her.
After all, higher taxes must equal higher rent sooner or later.
And poor fiscal conditions mean lower quality of life for ALL of us.

But it's unproductive and unfair to relieve stress by demonizing renters.
MANY renters have come out strongly on the side of the property tax payer-- and more would probably join them if a vocal few weren't blindly scapegoating them.

This is happening tonight May 14th for fair taxes http://www.rifuture.org/woonsocket-residents-tonight-come-learn-how-taxing-the-rich-can-reduce-your-tax-burden.html

Drive down Woonsocket streets, many quality renters have already left and any property owner who raises their rents to offset the new taxes will have only empty rentals. Bottom line, we can't afford to education the kids of non-productive renters and this city is swarming with them.

Another well written note, Mike. However, your words will only fall on deaf ears (and eyes). It is within our culture to blame that which we cannot control instead of acting on our own. Everyone benefits disproportionately from publicly funded services. Welfare, et al, just happens to be the poster child of today. I don't complain about the miles of road I don't use, the years of social security I won't receive, the services of the police and fire I won't need. Most people choose to focus their prejudice on the categories that they don't participate. So when they see an Escalade roll up to Price Rite, they immediately conclude that everyone is milking the system but them.

I don't know about everyone else on here but I take every tax deduction I'm entitled to and not a penny less. Good luck convincing a mother of three to not use EBT, and good luck convincing me to give up my Homestead exemption.

One point on the proposed tax legislature: we did lower the tax on the wealthy/businesses a few years back yet we still had a state surplus for 2011. Raising the tax rate back again will only add to the surplus unless the state learns how to spend it first. Revenue is not the problem, appropriation is.

I agree, nicely said.

Thanks Mike.