Is the American Dream Dead or Just an Illusion?
By Brian Massie, September 5, 2025
For the Founding Fathers, property ownership was not just economic – it was political, moral and the cornerstone of independence. Without it they feared liberty itself could not survive.
[Freedom generally refers to the absence of constraints, while liberty implies the presence of rights and privileges within a societal framework.]
[A constitutional republic is a governmental system where citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf, and the government’s power is simultaneously limited by a written constitution. This structure blends the concept of a republic, which emphasizes representation, with the rule of law enshrined in a constitution. The primary purpose of this governmental design is to balance the will of the majority with the protection of individual liberties and to prevent the concentration of power.]…Legal Clarity
The property tax issue has highlighted major problems within our society, and raised three basic questions that must be contemplated:
- Is home ownership still important to our freedom and liberty, or is our society now becoming closer aligned with the socialist model of governance rather than a Constitutional Republic?
- What is the role of government, and how can we provide checks and balances to prevent government from outgrowing the private sector’s ability to pay for the services?
- What is the most equitable means of funding local and state government that is properly sized to meet the citizens directed role of government?
Ask yourself this question: Two hundred and fifty years after the founding of our country, is home ownership still important to your freedom and liberty?
If ownership of land and our home is the foundation of our freedom and liberty, why would anyone choose to give it up? Is our Constitutional Republic a thing of the past? A great idea that allowed the early settlers a chance to cut ties with the tyrannical King George III of England, but whose time has expired to be replaced by a social order of the “haves and the have nots”. The elimination of the middle class is a forgone conclusion when socialism is entrenched in society.
If you own nothing, will you be happy? Are you willing to consign your children, grandchildren and future generations to living under tyrannical rule? What form of governance would you support – China, Canada, Australia, Europe, Cuba, Venezuela?
Would you accept living in government subsidized housing where your freedom and liberty would most certainly disappear? You must live by the government rules, or you will become homeless.
Socialism, with the mandatory redistribution of wealth, works until you run out of other people’s money.
State Representative Daniel Troy (District 23) describes Ohio school funding as “the purest form of socialism you ever saw.”
Ohio’s public school spending continues unrestrained while the proficiency scores are not acceptable. For the school year 2023 – 2024 only 64.5% of third grade students are reading at or above grade level, and only 53.5% of students in grades 4-7 are proficient in math. Why should we continue to fund a failing system?
We are experiencing an ever-increasing public sector that is outgrowing the private sector’s ability to pay for services. Our research into many Lake County taxing authorities shows a very impressive accumulation of surplus cash. Even Ohio schools have over $10 billion in cash reserves. They are draining the life blood out of the private sector because there are no checks and balances to protect the taxpayers from a bloated government. State legislators and the Governor have failed to provide authority to the County’s Budget Commission to reign in the spending and accumulation of cash by the local taxing authorities.
The public sector has outgrown the private sector’s ability to pay for the bloated government services.
Eliminating property taxes will drastically cut the size of government at the state and local levels, forcing legislators to do their jobs for their constituents and no longer just do the bidding of the donor class. Auditors’ and Treasurers’ roles at the local level will be drastically changed, perhaps consolidating roles, and the State Auditor’s department will undergo a needed reduction in staffing. An overall rethinking, reimagining, and consolidation of government at the state and local levels is desperately needed.
Why should the government be in the business of property valuation? Billions could be saved if property taxes could be eliminated and reasonable income taxes paid for a much-reduced size state and local government.
Opponents criticize the movement to abolish property taxes, while they wholeheartedly support the elimination of income taxes. We submit that they are on the wrong path. Governor DeWine states that public school funding is mainly from income and property taxes. Eliminating the income tax will put a greater emphasis on property taxes. We favor an increasing income tax versus a regressive sales tax that impacts business, and lower income citizens. We are not in favor of replacing the existing government revenue stream, but rather first concentrating on reducing the expenses of government, reallocating where existing revenue is spent, and then implementing an income and sales tax to replace the property taxes.
The problems with the current property tax system are:
- Overly complex, not even many of the State legislators understand it.
- Taxes unrealized gains and is unsustainable.
- Subject to manipulation of property values to achieve a desired result, and allows third party appraisers to control the destiny of citizens without being accountable to the citizens for the appraised property valuations..
- Citizens are merely renters from the government, miss three payments and you will see who really owns your home.
- The out-of-control property taxes and inflated home values are preventing the younger generation from buying their first home.
- Provide a disincentive to citizens to maintain or improve their home.
- It is pricing seniors and those living on fixed incomes out of their homes that they have worked all their lives to achieve.
- Prevents families from transferring wealth from one generation to another.
- Without the ability to own our home, we are merely serfs to the government.
- The government does not need to be in the business of property valuation.
IF CITIZENS CONTINUE TO VOTE FOR PROPERTY TAX LEVIES, THEY WILL BE FUNDING THEIR OWN DEMISE!
ANY TAX CAUSING A CITIZEN TO BECOME HOMELESS IS IMMORAL!
Categories: Community Activism, Real Estate Taxes