[Vision2020] city tazes

[Donovan Arnold]

Mr. Strand,

I agree with you in part. We must provide more business opportunities in 
Moscow. I also agree that Moscow remains to dependant on the University.

Where I disagree is where you have one student that contributes to the 
running of Moscow and another doesn't. One business pays taxes and another 
doesn't. One farmer pays taxes and another doesn't. One restaurant pays 
taxes to the community and another doesn't. I don't like that concept. I 
think it is unjust. I am student. I choose to live off campus for two 
reasons. One, Moscow is my hometown and I want to help support it. Second, 
it is actually cheaper to live off campus than on campus.

What many people don't realize is that the University has established "legal 
domain" over many services and products. A few examples are computers and 
health insurance. The University unfairly claims rights of products and 
services that render other Moscow community businesses profitless.

I find it unjust for a health insurance company to pay money to a system 
that in turn creates health insurance that is cheaper than what they can 
provide. Likewise, computer companies have to pay the University which 
requires some students to buy computers from them. To me, this is like 
requiring Safeway to pay a certain percentage of its' income to Tidyman's so 
they can make their prices cheaper than Safeway. This kills businesses. It 
is a monopoly that can't be fought.

The reason I support more businesses to come in is to lessen our dependence 
on the University so that we can say "NO" to the University every time it 
wants something. To many politicians in Moscow cave into the University 
demands that hurt students and residents of Moscow.

We need to have Resident Halls run and managed by Moscow Businesses. We need 
to have the University do Health Insurance through local and Idaho 
businesses. We need to have all construction done by area workers in Idaho. 
We need to have computers purchased through Moscow and/or Idaho computer 
companies. We need to have all the University banking go through local area 
branches.

Moscow Businesses are in competition with the University. I don't think this 
economy can grow as long the University sucks up the profit margin and gives 
all profits to national and foreign corporations or wastes it on water 
fountains and poorly constructed building that cost a fortune. I have been 
to meetings on campus where they told the students not to buy from local 
businesses.  The University has policies and contracts that prevent local 
businesses from even being allowed to compete for business from Students. 
Any student that lives on campus is required to put money on a Vandal Card. 
The Vandal Card cannot be used off campus.

I also don't think businesses like Naylor Farms are the solution either. 
Naylor Farms will use more water than the entire cities of Pullman and 
Moscow combined. The area does not have the resources nor can we tolerate 
the environmental damage it would bring.

Moscow needs to grow. But it needs to grow intelligently and within the 
structure of Moscow culture. I don't want Moscow changing its' face or 
turning into another American sprawled suburb. Moscow is Unique. I hope to 
keep its' flavor. Unfortunately, the University has become a corporation and 
not a school, and  it hijacking the local community from being able to move 
in the friendly direction of helping Moscow residents and more toward the 
interests of the University of Idaho Incorporated to make more money and 
expand to an ever fattening bureaucracy that has the purpose of only feeding 
itself even more. This must stop for any Moscow Community businesses to move 
in here and be able to survive. We must first stop the annihilation of 
businesses before creating new ones.

Thanks!

Donovan J Arnold


>From: "Bill Strand" <strand@pacsim.com>
>To: "'Donovan Arnold'" <donovanarnold@hotmail.com>, <jdanahy@turbonet.com>, 
>   <vision2020@moscow.com>
>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] city tazes
>Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 22:56:41 -0700
>
>Donovan,
>
>The issue of high property taxes will remain as long as the city of
>Moscow remains dependent upon entities such as the University of Idaho
>and Gritman that pay no property taxes. Think about the land that has
>come off the tax rolls in the last few years (such as Cavanaugh's
>Landing). This means that a larger percentage of property taxes will be
>placed on homeowners. I was once told that Latah County has one of the
>highest proportion of taxes coming from the homeowners in all of Idaho.
>
>The answer isn't to tax the students and/or visitors to Moscow - the
>answer is to develop the business community in this town. These entities
>require the minimum amount of increased services (fire, hospital, water,
>garbage, etc...) and thus have the highest return on investment for
>their taxes.
>
>However, this takes a long term commitment in a wide range of areas.
>
>Bill Strand
>

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