Just the facts . . . a straight-forward primer on taxes

Councilmember Carl Morehouse never tires of trying to explain the facts of (fiscal) life. He's used poker chips and jars of penny, held up dollar bills and lectured and written extensively to simplify the complicated maze of munipal finance.

It's not that cities want to make things complicated. They were once much simpler. But thirty years of voters and politicians tinkering at the State and local levels to try to keep taxes low and services high have made California budgets very, very confusing. Only a few people really understand how government services are funded -- and they have long since given up on explaining it to the public. Except Councilmember Morehouse.

His latest effort is a remarkable primer available at CAPS-TV. Sitting at a simple table, Morehouse spends 24 minutes breaking down where your taxes go and how they are spent. He starts with the Federal and State taxes and then brings it all home to Ventura. He then succinctly reviews the sources and uses of tax funds -- and along the way deals with a number of controversial issues and widely cited misconceptions.

In a second, related video, Carl takes a dispassionate look at the contrasting perspectives that often shape public debate on the role of government.

Together, they are a great introduction to the realities of local government -- fiscal and philosophical. If more of our public officials at all levels took a step back from the debates of the day to look at the big picture, perhaps we'd have a better informed and more civil discourse!

Check out Carl's videos here. On the same page are some valuable interview shows produced by the Chamber of Commerce on local topics from a business perspective. Check them out as well.