From the Town of Anywhere in the USA

        As we await the outcome of the showdown in Washington on the halt of being tossed over the fiscal cliff by those who got us this far to the edge, I will only say that taxes will be going up for all Americans.  The president plans to have still another stimulus package to be distributed to the states.  Is this to be for bridges and road repair like he and others promised, I think not.

PEABODY — The value of your house may have dropped. Your investments may have faltered. And your paycheck might be shriveled.
But all the same, if you live here, your property taxes are going up in 2013 by an average of $95.
Here’s the good news, however. Only two other Essex County communities, Salisbury and Methuen, are leveling a smaller increase than Peabody.
“We’re still in tough financial times,” Mayor Ted Bettencourt told the City Council last night. He cited, for example, the uncertainties created by Gov. Deval Patrick’s announcement of a possible midyear reduction in state aid required by flagging revenues.
Additionally, the mayor continued, a hope for savings reaped by the agreement to put city worker health care into a statewide system can’t be expected until next year.
Bettencourt stressed his efforts to relieve some of the burden on the local businesses that have helped keep Peabody’s tax rate one of the lowest in the region for decades.
“The business taxes in the city of Peabody,” Councilor Dave Gamache said, “afford us the opportunity to have the third-lowest taxes in the county. ... We’re so lucky to have an industrial park and the mall.”

 He decried the impact of the increases on those living on fixed incomes. “How do you tell a retired homeowner it’s only $100, you can afford it? ... As President Obama says, the rich can afford to pay more.”

 more

PS    The mall has many empty store fronts and the industrial park has many empty buildings.
        So when all the rich are gone and business keeps moving out, the tax burden will always fall on
        the home owner.  The problem is the tax money does not pay for roads and bridges anymore but
        for wages and pensions and promises...........