I am going to study deep into the difference ways of financing of rural and urban areas and come up with a what my clear idea of a perfect policy for rural counties. I just know personally that my home county has always had a problem with debt and it's just been growing and growing these past few years. I would like to find out why and if it is the way that the country raises its money. She has told me in an email that 70% of the county's money is raised through Property taxes. 15% is through different charges [ I'll get more details on that when I get home for Thanksgiving :) ] and the remaining 15% is through the state in the form of grants most of the time. The bad thing about grants is the fact you can ONLY use them for what they are for. (But I'm sure you know that)
I plan to study different ideas on how to tax local governments or a policy that can fix the problems because counties are going bankrupt everywhere. There must be a better way to fund the counties! Especially the rural ones. If you haven't noticed, I'm all about studying rural areas and why things are the way they are. From education to basic financing, sometimes it feels like its unfair the way rural counties get treated compared to more populous areas. I could get into a whole paragraph about that but this is getting long enough as it is!
Annotated Bibliography
Briffault, Richard. "The Most Popular Tool: Tax Increment Financing And The Political Economy Of Local Government." University Of Chicago Law Review 77.1 (2010): 65-95. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
This is about the Tax Increment Financing, commonly abbreviated as TIF, that a huge percentage of the states use in order to finance their local governments. This article goes into the corruption of the system and the puzzlements as well as the accomplishments. This article describes exactly how the TIF system works. This is the way most counties are funded now.
Ryan, Paul. "Beyond BCRA: Cutting-Edge Campaign Finance Reform At The Local Government Level."National Civic Review 92.1 (2003): 3. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
This article describes what the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act is. It also dates back to the 1970s on how local governments were funded then. It also goes into detail on local government successes due to this act. It goes through many different states and the impact on each of them.
Hamilton, Randy. "The World Turned Upside Down: The Contemporary Revolution In State And Local Government Capital Financing." Public Administration Review 43.1 (1983): 22-31. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
This article indulges itself in state and local governments capital financing. It goes into detail on how things have changed over the years and the counties and states have to be innovative on how to fund. It also explains a way on how the governments have acquired a lot of debt in the first place. The importance of bonds and the way they have shaped society is also discussed, due to the importance of the money they provide.
Young, Peter C. "Local Government Risk Financing And Risk Control Pools: Understanding Their Forms, Functions, And Purposes." Public Budgeting & Finance 9.4 (1989): 40-54. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
This article talks about the risks that many local governments have taken that have gotten them to the position they are in now. It also talks about pools, which are several groups coming together to make a risky economic move, and the effect on the government and economy. It goes into detail on how long these pools have been around. It also talks about how the pools can be helpful as well.
Rybeck, Walter. "United States." American Journal Of Economics & Sociology 59.5 (2000): 137. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
This article talks about land taxation and its importance in our government and financing. It goes through the history of the land tax and how the land is actually 'graded' in value. The higher quality the land is, the more taxes you pay is how this system works. This article is extremely important due to the fact that 70% of the funding comes from property tax.
Douglass, Denise R. Personal/Email interview. 15 Nov. 2011.
I interviewed my mom on some general questions via email. I am going to talk more to her in detail on this matter when I get home for Thanksgiving.
My mom has her BA in Accounting from St. Leo University, located in Florida and has her Masters in Accounting from Strayer University, located in Washington, DC. She has worked with the county for 13 years. She started off in family court and then moved to become the Finance Director in 2002. She kept that position until 2008 when she was promoted to Interim County Administrator. In July of 2010, she was promoted to County Administrator. She has a lot of experience with local government and as Finance Director, she knows how my hometown government is financed.
These are not all of the sources I'm going to use but these are the ones I'm starting with.
Elizabeth, this looks great so far! I like your idea of proposing a specific tax/financing policy for rural counties/areas. One thing to consider is the role of the national economy in local government finance. It might be a good idea to include a proposal for automatic payments to local governments during recessions. This is because there's not much that counties can do to counteract national recessions, so they are basically forced to impose a greater burden on their citizens through greater taxes or spending cuts.
ReplyDeleteSo much about how local governments work is actually set at the state level, which determines the powers they have, how they can finance themselves, etc. (certain tax increases sometimes need to be approved by the state). One thing to keep in mind is that even the best county or city officials are often at the mercy of higher level officials, and situations arise in which there is just not much to be done. The current problems are a good example of that. So you might want to specify both the areas in which things cannot get done currently (because of state/federal problems) and areas where the local governments do have some control.
Good project so far! Remember to keep an eye on your sentences--I know you were typing informally, but a quick proofread in your written papers, and a focus on a clear subject-object-verb structure, will really help. Even in sentences in which you play around with the order, always be able to answer the questions: What are my subject, object, and verb here?