The Debts of the Spenders: The US Consumer and the Property Tax Bubble

The consumer has clamped down because taxes - property taxes in particular - are killing most homeowners. Property taxes are making the American Dream of homeownership a lost ideal. The property tax bubble is yet another primary problem, and may become the biggest impediment to growth as discretionary income is swallowed up by local bureaucrats who have become addicted to the myth of rising home prices. In the US, most local budgets derive from property taxes. Only in the larger cities are public finances more diversified - business taxes, fees, licenses, and various forms of registration contribute a larger share to budgetary projections than property taxes.